COMMENT: Those who can’t accept gays in NFL are the ones with the problem

By Gordon Monson

Action: A notion comes out this past week that NFL executives want to know whether Manti Te’o is gay, raising the issue of whether players would accept an openly gay teammate.

Reaction: When will those in the NFL grow up to the point where they will not concern themselves with the sexual orientation of someone with whom they work or, in this case, play?

Is that reaction really too advanced or progressive for people in and out of the NFL? Is it too liberal a place for players on and fans of teams at which to arrive, regardless of their own sexual orientation or religious beliefs?

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the prospect of playing alongside a gay man is a "dilemma" facing those in the machismo world of the NFL. He said on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday:

"Here’s the elephant in the room for the teams and it shouldn’t matter but we have to step aside from the rest of reality and walk into the unique industry that is the NFL. Teams want to know whether Manti Te’o is gay. They just want to know. They want to know because in an NFL locker room, it’s a different world. It shouldn’t be that way. … I don’t think anyone knows how to solve this dilemma yet. It’s just that they want to know what they’re getting. They want to know what issues they may be dealing with down the road."

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