GLAAD jumped on him immediately, demanding that CNN fire Martin for his tweet and Facebook post that made a crack about a New England Patriot wearing pink.

I’d be curious what went through Martin’s head in the seconds after he posted that Tweet, because he quickly covered his tracks moments later:

He knew he had to cover his tracks, but we don’t know whether it was because he initially meant it as homophobic, or because he realized he inadvertently could be seen as homophobic.

This morning he explained his tweet (though did not apologize); Condensed and re-ordered for ease of reading:

Fam, let me address the issue that some in the LGBT community have raised regarding some of my Super Bowl tweets yesterday. I made several cracks about soccer as I do all the time. I was not referring to sexuality directly or indirectly regarding the David Beckham ad, and I’m sorry folks took it otherwise. It was meant to be a deliberately over the top and sarcastic crack about soccer; I do not advocate violence of any kind against anyone gay, or not. As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, anytime soccer comes up during football season it’s another chance for me to take a playful shot at soccer, nothing more

Was Martin’s tweet homophobic? Was he truly dissing on soccer fans? Only one man knows.

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Ayanbadejo has spent much of Monday trashing the Patriots and Giants on Twitter:

@MImbriani the pats schedule was easier then your girl friend

@ProFootballTalk all you giant fans do you think you out played #49ers ? Shit no you didn’t. But you got the job done.

@GordonParksIII who made the pats look so bad? The ravens!!! Not the broncos

@Chris_Begley pats didn’t lose. There’s a difference between not losing it and winning it. Semantics none the less

if you ain’t cheating you ain’t trying “@marcquez_wing: @brendon310 I saw Gronk give you that little push when you were covering him.”

And on and on and on.

Give me a break. Those were two equally matched games yesterday. Any of those teams making it to the Super Bowl after what should have been two overtime games would be deserving of their place in the game. If the Ravens and 49ers are so much better than two of the gay-friendliest NFL franchises, then why are their players home sulking? Because they couldn’t back up their trash talk.

Frankly, the Patriots got homefield advantage in that game because the Ravens couldn’t beat four teams on the road that didn’t even make the playoffs: Chargers, Titans, Seahawks and Jaguars. Not sure how you can claim you’re a “better team” when you lose more road games than you win. Sometimes games are equally matched. That was the case on Sunday; There wasn’t a “better team,” there was just one team that won and one team that lost.

It’s sad to see someone of Ayanbadejo’s stature reduce himself to a pity party. un-Super Bowl? In the words of the great Artie Lange, “Waaah. Waaaaaaaaaaah.”

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Lee,38, was released by Oxford City this week due to comments on a social media site, these were made tongue in cheek at the time and Lee would like to apologise for this and any offence that this has caused and would also like to stress that he is not homophobic in any way.

Dabbers Boss Jimmy Quinn said, “I am pleased to have been able to bring Lee into the squad.  He is an experienced proven striker that holds the ball up and can make a difference to us and hopefully we will be in a position to strengthen the squad further over the next couple of weeks.”

Let’s be super clear: This is the posterchild for the non-apology. There’s no quote from Steele, just a statement from the team referring to the fact that Steele “would like” to apologize.

I didn’t want the guy to lose his job, but in the world of non-apologies, this gets the gold medal.

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“We are not going to just lay down, we come to play,” the message read. “Who the hell do you think we are the DALLAS COWGIRLS OR THOSE GAYBIRDS FROM PHILLY…NO WE ARE THE NEW YORK GIANTS.”

The most offensive part has to be the fact that he referred to the New York Giants as “we.” I don’t remember seeing Mainor out there in freezing cold making any tackles. I don’t remember seeing Mainor catch any touchdowns. No, Mainor was in a nice, warm party sipping who-knows-what and stuffing his face with pigs in a blanket. “They” are the New York Giants, Mr. Mainor.

Second is what’s gotten Mainor into so much trouble: Calling the Philadelphia Eagles “Gaybirds.” It doesn’t help that he calls their other NFC East rival the Dallas “Cowgirls,” but that term is thrown around so much it’s lost most of its impact. Of course, the implication is that gay people don’t “come to play” and don’t make big plays and hard hits. Gays are fairies, flitting about the shopping mall. Maybe Mainor would like to learn a lesson about that from Esera Tuaolo.

The third troubling piece is the requisite non-apology:

Here’s where things get interesting: According to Mainor, he authored only part of the post. He claims a “friend” sat at the computer and punched in the “gaybirds from Philly” line before it went public.

“I have to take full responsibility because it was under my name,” Mainor told The Star-Ledger on Monday. “I have no excuse, other than me not looking before he did send the post.”

Are you kidding? Who types part of a Tweet (but doesn’t submit it), then walks into the other room while someone else sneaks up on the computer, adds a homophobic comment, and submits the Tweet? The excuse is even worse than Anthony Weiner’s!

Hat tip to Matt M.

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As I have gotten older, I have only developed more admiration for Dr. King.  He made a great personal sacrifice to champion the cause of many people who didn’t have the benefit of equal rights and protection.

Let’s be clear. Dungy fights against the “equal rights and protection” of many people, yet says he admires King for fighting for the “equal rights and protection” of many people. What’s the disconnect?

For Dungy, and sadly for many, King simply stood for racial equality. He didn’t intend to bring about justice for gay people. When King talks about “all God’s children,” apparently Dungy thinks that gay people aren’t God’s children. Dungy talks about the scope of King’s reach…

And it hit me very hard because I felt he had done so much–and not just for African Americans, but for our country as well.

Interesting that he would single out African-Americans but wouldn’t mention other races or sexual orientations. Why? Again, to so many King simply stood for the freedom of one racial group, not all people. As Dungy talks about equality for the whole country, does he not believe gay people are part of this great country?

As his column goes on, he further reveals my conclusion:

Today, my wife Lauren and I have to remind our children of what it was like when Dr. King was alive and how he and others had to fight for things we now take for granted.  Things like going to school in the neighborhood where they live, eating at any restaraunt [sic] they like, shopping at any store they happen to go into–these are things that never even cross their mind.  So it comes as a shock to them when we tell them there was a time when that wasn’t the case and that people like Dr. King helped bring about change.

All of his examples reference the horrible struggle that many Black Americans faced in the 1960s (and sadly, some of whom still face it today). They also reflect a head-in-the-ground approach to equality: “If I’ve got equality, if I can coach in the NFL and get paid millions to talk on TV, then everybody’s fine.”

It’s sad to me that someone who has openly fought against equality for so many Americans would invoke the name of Martin Luther King Jr. on this day of remembrance.

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Tennis Australia released a statement today distancing itself from Court’s political and religious views while embracing her as a tennis champion:

Margaret Court has won more grand slam titles than any other player and has been honoured for her achievements in tennis and she is a legend of the sport. We respect her playing record, it is second to none.

But her personal views are her own, and are definitely not shared by Tennis Australia. Like the WTA, we believe that everyone should be treated equally and fairly.  We concur wholeheartedly with the WTA who stated that “all human beings, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or otherwise, should be treated equally.

This is a fundamental right and principle, including within the world of sport.  Anyone advocating otherwise is advocating against fundamental and essential rights.”

TA does not support any view that contravenes these basic human rights.

That seems like the perfect answer to me. When it comes to recognizing someone’s athletic accomplishments, I don’t think politics should play into it. Certainly Court’s positions on gay people and gay rights are terribly disturbing to me. But if the “gay agenda” starts erasing people from history because they disagree with us? That would be very damaging to us in the short term and the long term; It’s something we’d all regret years down the road.

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I wouldn’t fancy the bed next to Gareth Thomas. #padlock my a**e

It’s possible that Steele’s Twitter account has been deleted; A lengthy search came up with nothing.

The club posted a statement on their Web site saying:

The Oxford City board have decided to release Lee Steele in view of his recent comment via social media which is considered seriously contrary to the ethos of the club.

Even in European soccer, it’s become more accepted to be gay and less accepted to be homophobic.

I actually feel sorry for him. He made a really stupid mistake, and now he may pay for it with his career. I don’t want him Tweeting stuff like that, but in this economy do you want people losing their jobs? I’m not sure that’s the most productive way to handle it.

Former pro rugger Ben Cohen celebrated the team responding to homophobia:

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I don’t intend to call names; I mean “asshole” in the most technical terms. “Asshole” is in the dictionary as “a stupid, incompetent, or detestable person.” In wake of his Twitter battle last week, that sums up Vilma pretty well. “Jerk” doesn’t quite do it. “Nasty” doesn’t work. “Asshole” fits like Joe Montana in a West Coast offense.

Last Wednesday Vilma Tweeted, and please excuse his spelling error: “Grown men should NOT hav female tendencies. Period.”

Period. With “NOT” in all caps. Seems pretty all-encompassing, right? He didn’t have to put NOT in all caps. He didn’t have to say “period” at the end of the statement. He made a sweeping claim and hit it home twice. Seems his position is pretty clear-cut.

Immediately fans questioned what he meant by it. When a concerned mother in New Orleans asked Vilma to “consider how a gay man might feel. Consider how women might feel,” Vilma tweeted:

“hey….SHUTUP”

The all-caps were all his.

When another woman Tweeted her displeasure with Vilma’s statement, Vilma shot back:

“hey….SHUTUP”

The all-caps, again, were all his.

When long-time Outsporter JoeinPhilly Tweeted quite observantly that “Grown men should NOT be sexist homophobic assholes,” Vilma called him a “hypersensitive idiot.”

When I asked Vilma what exactly he meant by his Tweet, he said, “get over it.”

The Saints weren’t much help in finding answers. When I emailed Saints spokesman Greg Bensel, he replied:

“I spoke to [Vilma], he tweeted it had nothing to do with anything homophobic…so not sure what else he can do.”

Vilma’s “no-homo” Tweet that Bensel had seen was this missive referring to gay people as “homosexual” and saying they’re too sensitive:

“So of course the homosexual men get sensitive to my tweet and respond all ticked off. RELAX I was not referring to u guys.”

I told Bensel that if it wasn’t a reflection of deep-seeded homophobia, I wanted to know what Vilma meant by “Grown men should NOT hav [sic] female tendencies.”

Bensel, predictably, never replied. I guess Bensel thought I was just being a “hypersensitive idiot” too.

Since Vilma won’t explain what he meant by his Tweet, and since the Saints won’t help answer the question, I’ll fill in the blanks for him.

Vilma meant that the only real men are those who fit into his small-world view of masculinity. He put a clear distinction between “grown men” and anything remotely resembling femininity. He meant that men who listen to anything but “masculine” music or sip anything but “masculine” drinks aren’t legitimately grown men. He meant that grown men shouldn’t hug or cry.

And let’s face it: Grown men should never have sex with other men. In the uber-macho, king-shit world of the pro athlete, that is the most “feminine tendency” you could possibly have. The deepest, truest definition of “masculine” in that macho world is nothing more than: “Has sex with women.” If you have sex with women, you’re masculine; Just listen to the conquests single and married pro-athletes brag about. If you don’t have sex with women, you’re not masculine. Period. Maybe, in a pinch, a “grown man” could be the “top” with another man. But a man who would allow himself to be penetrated by another man?

Might as well be a woman.

I doubt Vilma, even with his robust University of Miami education, gave that much thought to his Tweet. People rarely think too deeply before Tweeting anything. But ultimately, that’s what Vilma meant.

Statements like “grown men should NOT hav [sic] female tendencies” don’t show up on my Twitter feed. Why? Because I don’t think that. Vilma clearly does, so that’s what he said.

The problem with Vilma and other 29-year-old superstar athletes like him is they think they have all the answers. Part of me can’t blame him. Not yet 30, he has more money than he could ever need. He has achieved superstardom in the eyes of the public with a Super Bowl championship and three Pro Bowls. On Twitter, 50,000 people read what he says. Wherever he goes, strangers stare at him, treat him like a god. He’s got an ego the size of the state of Louisiana.

All of that has come through in the days after his initial Tweet, telling anyone who disagreed with him to “shut up” and “get over it,” calling them “hypersensitive.”

How would a true grown man have responded to the criticism and questions post-Tweet?

“Hey, you all got me wrong. Much love to my gay and female fans. I ain’t mad atcha.”

Quick, easy, positive, helps build bridges…and still with 58 characters left unused!

Instead, Vilma sent out venom and hate (tweeting “smh” about once a day, hate seems to be on his mind a lot). His ignorant Tweet and flippant responses are all incredibly sad. His unwillingness to listen or explain himself speaks to his “fuck you” mentality that so many young athletes aspire to.

But the saddest piece of it is what his mentality does to the young men who don’t fit into Vilma’s shallow definition of what a grown man should be. Robert, a New Orleans Saints fan, summed it up beautifully on our blog:

“As a guy who is less than the model of machismo that even guys at this site would like to see in gay men, I was saddened by this comment. It reminded me once again that a guy like me is not really wanted in the sports world — not even as a sports fan. In fact, Mr Vilma would probably be mad that a guy like me roots ferociously for his team.”

Kids kill themselves because of the sentiment that Vilma Tweeted. They struggle to fit into society’s definition of a man.
I guess they should just “shut up” and “get over it;” They’re all just being “hypersensitive” too. Vilma wasn’t interested in hearing about those kids or anything else.

While his Tweet certainly sent a homophobic message, I can’t define Vilma as “homophobic.” He was incredibly disrespectful to a couple female fans on Twitter, but I can’t define him as “sexist.” No, there’s only one word that sums up this “stupid, incompetent, or detestable person”…

Asshole.

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Baltimore Ravens fullback Vonta Leach, who was just selected to the Pro Bowl, quickly retweeted Vilma:

It’s hard to think Vilma and Leach are not including gay men in the crosshairs of Vilma’s rant. When a Tweeter named Zumbawithchris Tweeted to Vilma, “Just read what you said, and then consider how a gay man might feel. Consider how women might feel,” Vilma’s response was pretty telling:

In one of my brief conversations with former Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, he talked about heated conversations in the locker room about gay issues. I have to believe after that Tweet Fujita was mixing it up with a not-too-worldly Jonathan Vilma.

At the very least, Vilma’s comments are terribly sexist, nasty and mean. All while the NFL is desperately trying to draw in more female fans.

We know a couple gay Saints fans in New Orleans who may prefer sex with men, but they are the furthest guys from “female tendencies” I can think of. I wonder what he’d say to their faces.

Hat tip to Robert Francis.

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Hysen also has a new Twitter account where he’s Tweeting about his London adventure. Seems like a very fun guy.

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