Vikings punter tackles homophobic pol

Maryland delegate Emmet C. Burns Jr. wants football player Brendon Ayanbadejo to shut up. Chris Kluwe disagrees

Published September 7, 2012 9:21PM (EDT)

Chris Kluwe  (Minnesota Vikings)
Chris Kluwe (Minnesota Vikings)

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo is pro-gay marriage. Maryland politician Emmet C. Burns Jr. is not. After Ayanbadejo expressed his beliefs to Burns, Yahoo Sports published a letter that Burns wrote to Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, calling Ayanbadejo's actions "injurious," and asking him to "inhibit such expressions." Now, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe has weighed in with a scathing letter to Burns. Here's an excerpt via Deadspin:

I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your house and steal your children. They won't magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster. They won't even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population—rights like Social Security benefits, child care tax credits, Family and Medical Leave to take care of loved ones, and COBRA healthcare for spouses and children. You know what having these rights will make gays? Full-fledged American citizens just like everyone else, with the freedom to pursue happiness and all that entails. Do the civil-rights struggles of the past 200 years mean absolutely nothing to you?

In closing, I would like to say that I hope this letter, in some small way, causes you to reflect upon the magnitude of the colossal foot in mouth clusterfuck you so brazenly unleashed on a man whose only crime was speaking out for something he believed in. Best of luck in the next election; I'm fairly certain you might need it.

Read the rest of the letter here.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Chris Kluwe Football Gay Rights Politics Sports