NFL player Scott Fujita: ‘A gay football player would not be an issue at all in the locker room’
NFL player Scott Fujita has spoken out about the issue of a lack of gay players in professional sport, and has said that he thinks it would “not be an issue at all” to have a gay player in the locker room.
The Cleveland Browns player said in an interview that more straight athletes needed to show their support for gay people to come out in professional sport.
He went on to say that he thought that times had changed, but that there was still a perception that the NFL, and locker rooms were homophobic, but that was not the case, reports NESN.
He said: “It takes more and more straight athletes to come out and show our support and that’s what it’s about,” said Fujita. “I think for far too long there was this perception, or I guess I would call it a misperception, that our locker rooms in the NFL are extremely homophobic and that could not be further from the truth.
“I would argue that the overwhelming majority would be fine with having a teammate who was gay. I said the only way you are going to find out if that was the case if you start asking guys how they would feel about having a gay teammate.”
He was asked whether he thought it would be an issue for players on his team to have a gay teammate, to which he replied “It would not be an issue at all.”
Going on to say that he thought he had seen progress in recent years, he said: “the conversation has evolved considerably just in the last three or four years.
“I appreciate the fact that more minds are being open to talking about this conversation, and in the very near future it’s going to be the point where this conversation won’t even need to be had.”
Mentioning recent rumours that teams at an NFL Combine scouting event had asked a player about his sexuality, Fujita was frank in saying that was inappropriate.
He said: “Certainly asking someone about their sexuality — first of all it’s against the law. Second of all, it’s absolutely a violation of our CBA and that’s where the NFL the onus is on them to do the right thing.”
On Proposition 8, California’s statewide ban on equal marriage, Fujita tweeted on Friday: “Text I just got from a good friend: ‘Love that the United States is telling the Supreme Court to repeal Prop 8′”.
