Sport

US: NFL’s Chris Culliver spends day with LGBT support centre

Mar 05 2013
Written by Corinne Pinfold

American Football star Chris Culliver has followed up on promises that he would work with the Trevor Project as part of sensitivity training, following homophobic remarks made about gay people in sports.

In February, Culliver, who plays for the San Francisco 49ers, said in an interview that he didn’t think there were any gay players on his team, and that they wouldn’t be welcome if there were.

He told an interviewer: “I don’t do the gay guys man… I don’t do that. No, we don’t got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can’t be with that sweet stuff.”

Culliver since apologised, and said his comments were “hurtful and ugly”, and said they didn’t reflect his true feelings on the issue.

His spokesman Theodore Palmer, promised that Culliver would work with the Trevor Project, a US charity that offers support and suicide prevention to young LGBT people.

On Monday, Culliver spent the day in the Los Angeles offices of the Trevor Project and paid to fly in the charity’s national education trainer from New York.

He also spent time with the Trevor Project’s director on Sunday.

“He wants to use his profile as a professional athlete to help,” Mr Palmer said on Monday. “He wants to become a volunteer for the organization and become more active. He really learned a lot today.”

Trevor Project spokewoman Laura McGinnis said she saw no reason to think Culliver’s motives were insincere, or simply a PR stunt.

“Chris is a young guy himself,” she said. “He reached out to The Trevor Project. And that’s a good thing.”