Turn of Phrase - Top WNBA Draft Pick Is Gay

Brittney Griner - #1 WNBA draft pick

"If I can show that I'm out and I'm fine and everything's okay, then hopefully the younger generation will definitely feel the same way."

- From Brittney Griner, the number one overall pick in Monday's WNBA draft. 

The 6-foot-8 Griner, who led the Baylor Lady Bears to a 40-0 season and the NCAA women's basketball title in 2012, acknowledged her lesbian sexuality this week in a Sports Illustrated interview.

According to Griner, public recognition of her sexual orientation "wasn't too difficult," as she has lived openly and never attempted to hide who she was. It also helps that the trail for professional lesbian athletes has already been blazed by women like Sheryl Swoopes, the three-time gold medalist and first woman ever signed by the WNBA, and by tennis legends Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova. 

Coming out on such a big stage takes guts nonetheless and Griner should be commended for having the mettle to be open about her sexuality. Gay kids across the spectrum need all the support we can muster, and out gay and lesbian role models in professional sports are still pathetically few and far between, particularly among male athletes.

John Amaechi and Glenn Burke

Gay men have played in the big four professional sports in the U.S., but few have ever publicly acknowledged their sexuality and none have done so before retiring from their respective leagues. John Amaechi, who played in the NBA off-and-on for several years between 1995 and 2003, came out in 2007 and was the first NBA player (albeit a retired one) to do so. Similarly, MLB outfielder Glenn Burke, who had a brief career with the LA Dodgers and the Oakland As, came out in 1982 after retiring from baseball at the tender age of 27.

Can you imagine the hullaballoo that would surround a current top NBA draft pick who came out? Better yet, what if RGIII had announced he was gay just after signing with the NFL's Washington Redskins? I'm not expecting such a revelation anytime soon in mens' professional baseball, football, or basketball, but the world is ready. 

Now, we just have to hope there's a young gay male athlete somewhere out there with as big a heart and as much courage as Brittney Griner.

Bad Lip Reading in the NFL

Just in time for the Super Bowl, the folks from Bad Lip Reading are taking their "talents" to the NFL. I took a break from BLR videos after the November election, but this one is too good not to share.

All your NFL favorites - Adrian Peterson, Tom Brady, Payton Manning, and more - spouting gibberish that will make you laugh 'til you pee.

Turn of Phrase - The NFL Finally Comes Out

Kluwe, Ayanbadejo, and Burns

"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 c*ckmonster.

They won’t 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..."

- From Chris Kluwe, punter for the Minnesota Vikings, in a letter he wrote to Maryland state delegate Emmett Burns, after Burns recommended the coercion and censoring of pro-LGBT Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo.

Although the full story has been widely reported and Kluwe's letter has gone insanely viral online, it warrants additional discussion here nonetheless. 

For those of you who missed it somehow, here's the play in three acts. 

1. Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo is a strong and vocal supporter of a November ballot initiative in the state of Maryland that would recognize same-sex marriage. 
2. A Baltimore County delegate, Emmett Burns Jr., is mortified by Ayanbadejo's public support of the measure. Burns sent a letter to the Ravens owner expressing his displeasure with Ayanbadejo and insisting the player be pressured to "cease and desist such injurious actions." 
3. Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, also an advocate for same-sex marriage, delivered a public and verbally brutal beatdown to Burns, in his very direct and powerful open letter. 

The online reaction to Kluwe's letter has been overwhelmingly positive, and LGBT rights groups are understandably thrilled to have both Ayanbadejo and Kluwe weigh-in so forcefully in favor of marriage equality.

The significance of the actions of these bold NFL players cannot be understated.

Turning Saints Into Sinners in New Orleans

Saints coach Sean Payton

When I read that NFL head coach Sean Payton received a one year suspension for his role in the New Orleans Saints "bounty" program, I was flabbergasted by the severity of the disciplinary action.

I can recall several NFL players in recent years whose actions have resulted in suspensions, but the sidelining of a coach, or the off-the-sidelining more accurately, is far less common.

As in other professional sports, you don't have to look far in professional football to find occasions where players have been benched for incidents related to the use of performance enhancing drugs or off-the-field behavior that violates the NFL's personal conduct policy. In football, there are also plenty of examples of players who have been suspended for unacceptable or dangerous on-the-field conduct. The egregious head-stomping incidences involving Ndamukong Suh and Albert Haynesworth both come to mind, although even those only resulted in 3 and 5 game suspensions, respectively.

But do NFL coaches get suspended?

There was the much-publicized Bill Belichick SpyGate scandal a few years ago, wherein the hoodied leader of the Patriots was held accountable for videotaping another team's defensive signals in violation of league rules. The incident cost Belichick $500,000 and it cost the Patriots an additional $250,000 plus a first-round draft pick, but there were no NFL-imposed suspensions.

Former Minnesota Viking's head coach Mike Tice scalped a pair of Super Bowl tickets and received a $100,000 fine as a result. Jeff Fisher, formerly the head coach of the Tennessee Titans, has been penalized for his vocal criticism of game officials and referees - and the punitive response from the NFL for Fisher, and several others who have committed the same offense, has always been to pay a fine for their remarks.

That said, there have been a few recent coaching suspensions in the NFL.

Today's Top Tim Tebow Trade Tweets

By now, you've heard that Denver has traded Tim Tebow to the New York Jets.

The announcement nearly killed the internet (Twitter loves Tebow), and as usual there are a few gems among the approximately 10 hundred zillion Tweets.

No worries though - you won't need to weed through all the chaff to get to the wheat. I've already spent seconds doing it for you. Some Tweets are funny, some are true, and some are funny 'cuz they're true. Enjoy.

Ndamukong Suh Should Be Suspended for Season

Detroit Lions star defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh is facing suspension for his Thanksgiving Day attempt at stomping on an opposing player after holding him down by pinning his helmet to the ground.

Suh, who has already been fined over $40,000 since last year may face another fine from the Lions of up to $25,000, and the NFL is likely to suspend him for at least two games. With a per game salary in excess of $80,000, the suspension will impact Suh far more than the fine.

The NFL will determine and announce the specific extent of Suh's punishment this week, but I believe he should be suspended for the remainder of the year. Clearly, prior fines (and a one-on-one meeting arranged a month ago between Suh and the commissioner of the NFL) have been inadequate in clarifying the rules of the game to him.

This is more than a misunderstanding - Suh is a dirty player, and based on his post-game remarks Thursday, he really doesn't care. Amazingly, the video of his embarrassingly unapologetic press conference is still posted on the Detroit Lions website. In his comments, Suh apologizes to his "true fans" (whatever that means), and then attempts to explain that he was simply trying to remove himself from the situation (I suppose a sharp kick is necessary to remove yourself from the guy whose head you are mashing into the turf).

Lions defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh "removing" himself

I don' think the stomp itself was egregious enough to warrant suspension for the remainder of the year, but in light of Suh's prior dirty play issues, and his utter lack of remorse or even recognition of the impropriety of his actions, I think a severe penalty is in order. Suspension for the remainder of the year would not only provide the two-by-four-to-the-forehead lesson that Suh apparently needs, but it would also send a message to NFL teams around the league to take more responsibility for holding their players accountable.

In his downtime for the rest of the season, perhaps someone could walk Ndamukong Suh down the career track of Albert Haynesworth, whose famous headstomp, slovenly work ethic, and apparent honeybun habit have led to him being tossed around the league like an overweight and unwanted rotten potato.

Can the Colts Muster One Win?

Manning with winless backup
QB Curtis Painter

Peyton Manning still wants to play football in 2011 if his health permits. Considering his painstakingly sluggish recovery thus far from recent neck surgeries, this is a mammoth "if" (so huge an "if" that there are no font styles large and bold enough to capture it in writing). Peyton's return may be the only thing that stands between the Indianapolis Colts and a depressing 0-16 season. For the Colts to win one game, it will likely require either the return of Peyton, or the reappearance of the entire Colts' defense, which may also be suffering pains in the neck - caused by the rapid turning of their heads as opponents race past them to the end zone.

With a 0-8 start, the first eight games break down this way.

• Five old-fashioned straightforward beatings (Houston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Tampa, Tennessee)
• Two late collapses (blowing a 17 point lead against Kansas City and squandering multiple 4th quarter opportunities in Cincinnati)
• One utter embarrassment (the 62-7 rout in the Superdome, which now stands as the worst defeat for any of "my teams" in any sport in my 40 years of sports fandom).

As for the second half of the season, November games against Carolina and Atlanta are not likely victories for Indy, and the first two weeks of December look bleak, even if Peyton gets in the game, as the Colts travel first to New England and then to Baltimore.

There are still a couple possibilities for victory in the remaining eight games though, especially if Peyton can return to the field in December as he and the rest of us are wishing (hope isn't a strong enough word). The Colts will face Jacksonville twice, and they will have revenge opportunities at Tennessee and Houston, in the last half of the season. Being an eternal optimist, I believe it will be one, and maybe even two, of these divisional games that might just keep the Colts from sharing the dubious distinction of "worst NFL season ever."

On the ridiculously bright side of things, the only other team to go winless in the NFL since the 16-game season was introduced was the 2008 Detroit Lions, and Lions fans don't have too much to bitch about this year. So there's that, and there's always hope for better luck next year, Andrew Luck that is.