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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A couple other interesting Tweets. While some may assume Patrick Burke and the You Can Play project would be all over it, marriage simply isn’t their issue.

They are laser-focused on the YCP mission — to make sports more welcoming for LGBT athletes. Politics and marriage aren’t part of that. You may scratch your head, but it makes sense. Many athletes may be totally fine with a gay teammate, but they aren’t ready for marriage. By staying out of the politics of marriage and other issues, it makes them more approachable to the new allies who are critical to changing sports.

The other one we’re now waiting for is Chad Ochocinco. Why do I get the feeling he’s going to say something particularly newsworthy…?

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For the first time, an English Premier soccer game was shown on ESPN’s main channel. It was a huge match, with first place on the line between Manchester and Manchester City (City won, 1-0). The game started at 2:30 p.m. EDT on a Monday, meaning there was nothing else going on in sports and ESPN simply would have shown the same SportsCenter weekend highlights for the thousandth time.

But seeing such a “gay game” on a channel reserved for more manly sports like American football and car racing upset a fair number of people with Twitter accounts, who let their homophobia and jingoism fly. Deadspin has an entire rundown of assorted negative comments, but here are the anti-gay ones:

These tweets bring back memories of a piece we wrote in 2008 – “Americans hate soccer because it’s gay” — that still gets comments four years later. I am not sure how soccer is supposed to be “gay” unless some people think all non-Americans are gay.

After posting this on the Outsports Twitter feed, this came in:

Photo: Vincent Kompany (right) of Manchester City celebrates with teammate Pablo Zabaleta after beating Manchester United. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

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First he fired off this tweet yesterday:

Then he followed up with several more, explaining is position in a twitter convo with @speefmoney:

I’m kind of with McCarthy on this. I’m not offended by the Kiss Cam poking fun with gay kisses, but it’s kind of a tired joke and I’d probably rather not see it if possible. It would be one thing if they actually featured gay couples along with the “joke” gay kisses; That would be much easier to swallow. But have you ever seen them focus on a gay couple who embraced for a kiss? And even if you did, how quickly would that camera move on to the next couple? Two years ago the St. Louis Cardinals refused to show gay couples kissing.

McCarthy is 28, from Glendale, Calif., and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2002.

PHOTO: Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Brandon McCarthy (32) in the dugout during the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-US PRESSWIRE

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I’ve thought this for years: I’d personally choose to be gay. I’m so glad I’m gay. My life is amazing and if I could magically choose to be one or the other, I’d choose to be gay. I don’t think I chose my sexual orientation, but if I could I’d choose this in a heartbeat.

Clearly White thinks that being gay is bad, otherwise he wouldn’t use the analogy to demonstrate such a stark “easy-to-choose” contrast.

He went on to scream “freedom of speech” and attack a follower for daring to question him on his anti-gay tweet:

Hat tip to our friends on Twitter: @WRMC_BattyBeach and @SportsLawGuy.

PHOTO: Nov 20, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White (84) stretches before the game against the Tennessee Titans at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

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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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But I’m also thrilled that Jonathan Vilma is being singled out for an alleged $10k bounty on the head of Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship game. From SBNation:

“In the week of the NFC Championship Game,” Schefter said on NFL Live Friday, “Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma put $10,000 in cash on a table and said ‘this goes to the guy that knocks out Brett Favre.’” Those weren’t Vilma’s exact words, but they were similar, according to Schefter, and he’s sure to be atop the league’s target list for impending discipline. It’s worth nothing that Vilma is due $5.4 million in 2012 and has been discussed as a possible salary cap casualty. We wouldn’t expect him back with the Saints.

When Vilma tweeted in December that men should not ‘hav female tendencies‘ [sic], the Saints were completely unhelpful in getting through the linebacker’s thick skull about his own deep-seated homophobia. Saints spokesperson Greg Bensel shrugged his proverbial shoulders and told me at the time that Vilma said it wasn’t homophobic, so there was nothing he could do.

Now that Vilma has encountered a pretty nasty reaction for his alleged $10k bounty on the head of Brett Favre in the 2009 NFC Championship game, Vilma has resorted again to his own deep-seated homophobia:

Really? A grown man has to say a crush on a guy is “ewwwww” and “yuck”? Man, this guy is a real jerk. So glad he’s about to get fried by the NFL. Eight-game suspension? Season-long suspension? How much does it cost to put $10k in cash on a table and ask your teammates to injure the opposing QB? We’re about to find out…

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Welcome Martina to Twitter. Her handle is, as it should be, @Martina.

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Next on the list is Nile Ranger, a striker for Newcastle United who took to Twitter to call teammate Andy Mogwo a faggot:

Both of these players have been brought up on charges by the Football Association. The only thing worse than their casual homophobia is their stupidity. How can you, as a public figure, still be tweeting these words? Crazy.

Hat tip to Queerty.

PHOTO: Foxborough, MA, USA; Manchester United forward Federico Macheda celebrates after scoring a goal against the New England Revolution during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Manchester United defeated the New England Revolution 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Stew Milne-US PRESSWIRE

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The lovely series of tweets looked just like this:

Walsall FC acted quickly and arranged a meeting between Paddock and Smith, after which Smith apologized publicly, via the team Web site:

I would like to publicly apologise to Kevin. The comments were borne out of frustration and were tweeted in the heat of the moment. I deeply regret them. I realise that, as a professional sports person, I am a role model and my conduct, both in person and via social networking sites, should reflect this.

I met with Kevin in person today and apologised to him face-to-face. He has kindly agreed that this will be the end of the matter.

I just want to concentrate on my football and help Walsall maintain our League One status. I apologise to all our supporters and everyone connected with the club for this unfortunate incident, especially when all the focus should be on yesterday’s deserved win over Wycombe.

As far as apologies go, it’s not a bad one. He’s really just apologizing for being caught, but it’s better than the non-apology we see so many athletes put out.

One of the problems with athletes demeaning people based on their sexual orientation is that it gives license to others to do so. A great example is this nasty tweet from a vile coward who simply goes by “disk” on twitter:

For his part, Paddock has accepted Smith’s apology and moved on, even though Smith will most certainly face a charge from the FA.

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