Now the suspended Saints linebacker has banned Outsports from his Twitter feed (we cannot access his feed but can as other log-ins and without logging in). I presume it’s because we’ve asked him to clarify statements and because we have tweeted about his suspension and alleged bounty scandal involvement.

Typical of a guy like Vilma. He marches around questioning other people’s manhood, but when the heat gets turned up he shuts people out and lashes out. Or maybe he just doesn’t want to interact with a bunch of fags. Either way, he can dish it out, but he just can’t take it. Waah, Jonathan Vilma, Waaaaaaaah…

PHOTO: Bruce Kluckhohn-US PRESSWIRE

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Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita received a three-game suspension for his role in the bounty program. What’s most troubling about Fujita’s role is his position on the executive committee of the NFL Players Association. Here’s a guy who is repping the players union…and he was involved in this scandal? That’s a big black eye for Fujita and the NFLPA. Fujita has previously voiced his support for gay equality.

Green Bay’s Anthony Hargrove (eight games) and New Orleans’ Will Smith (four games) have also been suspended.

PHOTO: Bruce Kluckhohn-US PRESSWIRE

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Deadspin has compiled a “best of” tweets, but a short version: Williams wonders why there are so many gay people, fearing that “if everybody decided to be gay then the human population will be extinct.” He then calls gays an abomination based on the Bible, and says seeing “bold acts of gayness in public” offends him like seeing someone smoke crack. Oh, and he’s sorry if he offended anyone.

Here is Williams getting into a “discussion” with someone calling him out on his homophobia:

Williams first asked “Why are there so many gay n***** these days?” then changed it to people. In a story last year on Williams (then a Minnesota Twins prospect), one baseball scout called him “just a good human being.” It was not an April Fool’s story.

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Roddy White (Photo: Phil Sears-US PRESSWIRE)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White says he is sorry for a tweet where he says he doesn’t want to be gay, but he really isn’t sorry based on followup tweets where he makes light of the whole thing.

White got in a Twitter spat after a fan asked him whether he would rather win the Super Bowl or lead the league in stats and he replied: “Would u rather be gay or straight come on u know that answer?”

After he was criticized for that comment, he took umbrage, claimed his freedom of speech was being violated and mocked people for “getting their panties in a bunch.” Hours later, after Outsports contacted the Atlanta Falcons for comment, White then tweeted this “apology”:

“OK people I apologize for saying the word gay I know it’s a sensitive subject and a athlete of my stature should not use it.”

He then undercut any sense that this was any kind of apology with these two tweets:

So, those who criticized him were “haters” whom he was giving the middle finger to. In addition, he retweeted a lame joke about how apologizing is itself gay. White reaffirmed  he is a jackass and would have been better off not trying to fake apologize.

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Colin Clark (Photo: Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE)

Major League Soccer has handed down the punishment to Colin Clark of the Houston Dynamo for calling a ball boy a “faggot” — a three-game suspension with pay, a fine and he must undergo sensitivity training. From MLSoccer.com:

“Major League Soccer will not tolerate this type of behavior from its players or staff at any time, under any circumstances,” Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement. “Colin Clark has expressed sincere remorse for his actions and I believe that he will learn from this incident.”

In the seventh minute of the Dynamo’s 2-0 loss to the Sounders, field-side broadcast microphones picked up Clark using a homophobic slur toward a ball boy after he wasn’t issued a new ball as quickly as he wanted on a throw-in situation. Clark is seen and heard on video picking up the ball, directing his comments toward the ball boy, and then throwing the ball back into play.

“I am sorry about what happened during the Seattle match,” Clark said in a statement. “I have personally apologized to the ball boy, and I want to take this chance to say I’m sorry to everyone that I’ve offended. I intend to never use those words again in any context. There is no excuse for them. What I said does not properly represent who I am or what I believe. I made a mistake that I truly regret. I accept the punishment that has been handed down by MLS, and I want to learn from this incident and move forward.”

Based on Clark’s 2011 salary of $98,000, the suspension would amount to a loss of about $9,800 in earnings, a pretty stiff penalty, in addition to the fine. The MLS has a 34-game season and Clark will next be able to play for the Dynamo on May 9. He will be allowed to train with the team and use its facilities during the suspension, SB Nation reports. The punishment is an appropriate response and shows MLS means business when it comes to diversity.

Since I wrote this, I have been told by the Dynamo writer for the Houston Chronicle that the suspension is with pay, and that the fine has not been disclosed. With pay? Then it’s not much of a punishment, which is why I noted out those sentence above. It’s a B.S. punishment to sit someone and still pay them. The fine had better be large or there is much less here than originally thought.

Deadspin has a good look at how Clark’s suspension stacks up with similar incidents in the NBA and NHL.

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Colin Clark (Photo: Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE)

Major League Soccer is investigating Friday’s incident where Houston Dynamo player Colin Clark called a ball boy a “faggot” during a game in Seattle. Clark was mad that the ball boy threw in a ball low, forcing him to bend down to pick it up.

Via Twitter, Clark said he was sorry, and asked to be consider a “soccer ally” to end homophobia. MLS officials are investigating before handing down any disciplinary action. Put on your MLS commissioner hat and tell us what punishment you think Clark deserves.

I think he needs to be both fined and suspended. His outburst was uncalled for, both for his use of language and for verbally abusing a minor. Clark’s 2011 salary was $98,000, so a $10,000 fine would send a clear message. John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News has his opinion:

When [MLS Commissioner Don] Garber and MLS complete their investigation into the matter, and it shouldn’t take long given the clarity of the audio on the broadcast, Clark needs to be whacked, not just slapped on the wrist.

Some people may think it unfair or a “politically correct” overreach, but Clark needs to be made an example. Garber needs to suspend him for at least three to five matches to show that bigotry of any sort will not be tolerated in MLS.

What punishment would you mete out?

Update: Clark was suspended for three games.

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Colin Clark (Photo: Drew Hallowell / Getty Images)

Colin Clark, a midfielder for the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer, apologized on his Twitter feed after calling a ball boy a “faggot” during a game Friday in Seattle (video below). From the AP via ESPN.com:

Clark … can be seen in a video replay jogging toward the sideline for a throw-in, appearing to signal to the attendant for a ball as the game ball skips out of bounds.

After Clark is issued a new ball at his feet and forced to pick up the ball, he utters a gay slur toward the ball boy before making the throw-in.

From Clark’s Twitter feed:

The Dynamo issued this statement to Gay4soccer:

We are aware of the incident involving Colin Clark during the Seattle match. Colin is very remorseful for his actions, which were inappropriate and do not represent his true character. He has issued a public apology and he will personally apologize to the ball boy. The League is reviewing the situation to determine disciplinary measures. Colin and the club will be fully cooperative in the process.

Clark’s apology seems sincere, which is good, but simply posting something on Twitter is not. Plus, he yelled the slur at a ball boy (not sure how old he is), which makes it worse since that person is not in any position to fight back. He needs to be disciplined via a fine and suspension (one site urges MLS to “throw the book at him“). His actions were uncalled for, even in the heat of competition.

Update: Clark was suspended for three games.

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You can follow the ware with Amani Toomer and Jeremy Shockey.

PHOTO: New Orleans, LA, USA; Carolina Panthers tight end Jeremy Shockey (80) walks to the sidelines before their game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE

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Gregg Williams, photo by Derick E. Hingle / US PRESSWIRE

Former New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, the man at the center of the NFL’s “bounty scandal,” is also revealed to be someone who “used gay slurs with the best of them,” according to a player quoted by Washington Post columnist Mike Wise. Williams had been defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins from 2004-2007 when Wise covered the team. Wise wrote on Twitter in an exchange with fellow Post writer Dan Steinberg:

Gregg Williams = great coach. But you miss bad on “great human being” when you pay for body counts and use ugly gay slurs to motivate.

However, Wise says that when he included examples of Williams’ use of gay slurs twice in stories, they were taken out of his story by editors for “taste reasons.” Here is one example Wise gave of Williams’ use of gay slurs, one not reported, the writer said,  because “some things don’t make it into the family newspaper, you know that.”:

When guy misses a run-read and GW’s response is, “You dumb, stupid [MF], you went in the wrong hole. You went in the wrong, [expletive] hole. We’re not running an AIDS convention here.” Two players confirmed that story

There were other anecdotes that Wise says were “worse” and that he could not use on Twitter. The exchange was first reported by the Washington City Paper. Lucas Grindley of the Advocate also has a detailed piece and we thank him for the tip.

Wise is very much in tune with gay issues, and is writing a profile for the Post of former NFL player Dave Kopay, whose coming out in 1975 made him the first NFL player to declare he was gay.

It’s not only disturbing that Williams regularly used such slurs, but that Post editors covered up for him. I realize the media culture has changed regarding the reporting of gay slurs in the five years since Williams left the Redskins, but these incidents should have been fully aired at the time and the “taste” argument is garbage. Wise himself acknowledged that with a tweet today that “gay slurs are different than f-bombs.” The first mention of Williams’ gay slurs came in a Wise column on Saturday (after the bounty story broke) where he quoted one of the coach’s former Redskin players as saying: “Gregg could drop gay slurs like the best of ’em. Some of things that came out of his mouth didn’t need to be said.”

The only way to stamp out homophobia is to air any offensive comments in public. The Post, in its bizarre and indefensible “taste” justification for removing what Wise had wrote, failed in its mission to fully inform the public about a man very much in the public eye.

Note: Wise wrote me on Twitter upset that I did not contact him first. He defended his editors, saying that regarding the slurs, that “one column was on deadline and too long.”  He also felt that people also misconstrued his back-and-forth with Steinberg. I appreciate his remarks and should have contacted him to get more context. He has been very gay-positive in his reporting over the years.

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Federico Macheda, photo by Stew Milne-US PRESSWIRE

Federico Macheda of Manchester United, currently on loan at Queens Park Rangers, was among four players in  English Premier League soccer to be fined for homophobic remarks on Twitter.

Macheda, 20, was fined the $24,000 ($15,000 British pounds). Newcastle United’s Nile Ranger, was fined $9,500 and Walsall’s Manny Smith $1,900 for their homophobic tweets by the Football Association. A fourth player, Ravel Morrison of West Ham, was earlier fined $11,500 for his homophobic tweet. Said the FA in a statement:

“Federico Macheda has been fined £15,000 and warned as to his future conduct after the Manchester United player admitted use of an abusive and/or insulting word including a reference to a person’s sexual orientation. Macheda had requested a personal hearing in relation to the charge for comments he made on Twitter.”

Macheda will reportedly appeal his fine, wondering why he got hit with a larger amount than Ranger and Smith. His tweet, in reply to someone else on Twitter, said: “shhhhhhh u stupid little gay.” Macheda, in a tweet Saturday, said he was going to delete his Twitter account, though it is still active.

These fines comes as the FA is making a public push to try and end homophobia in English soccer.

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