The Specter of Homophobia in Sports Rises at the Super Bowl

Well we have made it to Friday at last and the weekend is upon us.  I you are like me, you are ready for a little bit of R N R with activities designed to be fun and entertaining, perhaps even a little adventurous.  Lots of folks will be having big time parties for the Super Bowl on Sunday between the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.  Of course the Specter of Homophobia in Sports raised its ugly head when the Niners Chris Culliver went off on a rant with shock jock Artie Lange.  Culliver has since apologized as has the 49er organization, but the fact remains that Homophobia is still alive and well in the NFL.  The 49ers are the only football club to have made an "It Gets Better" video which has been pulled down because two of their players in the video denied making it.  When confronted with the video evidence of their participation, "one now seemingly isn’t very LGBT-friendly and the other won’t comment".

One participant who does acknowledge the video, Safety Donte Whitner had this to say to the media: “The fact is there are people in the NFL that are gay and they’re afraid to come out. I guarantee you there are guys in the NFL like that. A lot of people are afraid to come out because they’d be scrutinized. A lot of people are not comfortable in a locker room and being naked and walking around a gay guy.”  Coach Jim Harbaugh, "who said that he would welcome a gay 49er, had a private talk with Culliver on Wednesday and addressed the media on the matter today. Harbaugh said he was convinced Culliver was not a bigoted person. “It’s going to impact him going forward,” Harbaugh said. “He will learn about himself. I hope and pray it affects him in a positive way going forward. … That’s not who he is and not what believes in. It took the incident — to hear those words being said, and to see them written on paper — to realize those were hurtful and ugly. I really believe this is something he’ll learn from.”' (quotations from Outsports.com).  

One thing is for sure, the issue is now up front and being talked about which is a good thing.  I am still going to root for Baltimore and our unabashed and outspoken ally/advocate Brendon Ayanbedejo and the Ravens organization that stands with him all the way.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out on Sunday.  I will be watching, how about you?

Your play list for Friday is Sette Concerti a Quattro (Seven Concerti for String Quartet) written in 1740 in Venice by Baldassare Galuppi aka Il Buranello.  The Concerti are as follows:

Concerto n. 1 for two violins, viola and basso continuo in G minor
I. Grave e sostenuto, allegro e spiritoso - 0:00
II. Allegro - 5:04

Concerto n. 2 for two violins, viola and basso continuo in G major
I. Andante, allegro - 8:43
II. Andante - 11:07
III. Allegro assai - 13:50

Concerto n. 3 for two violins, viola and basso continuo in D major
I. Maestoso, allegro, andantino - 14:36

Concerto n. 4 for two violins, viola and basso continuo in C minor
I. Grave, allegro - 20:57
II. Andante - 28:23

Concerto n. 5 for two violins, viola and basso continuo in E flat major
I. Largo - 30:18
II. Allegro a tempo - 33:30

Concerto n. 6 for two violins, viola and basso continuo in B flat major
I. Preludio: Adagio, allegro spiritoso - 38:00
II. Allemanda: Allegro - 44:44

Concerto n. 7 for two violins, viola and basso continuo in A major
I. Largo - 47:01
II. Allegro - 50:47
III. Andante - 55:01

Today's performance is by Fabrizio Cipriani (violin I), Davide Monti (violin II), Guido De Vecchi (viola), Marcello Scandelli (violoncello), Maurizio Less (violone), and Paola Cialdella (harpsichord) accompanied by Ensemble Il Falcone / Fabrizio Cipriani (conductor).

Now to put you in an adventurous, weekend state of mind is the following eclectic collection of manly adventurers all set to expand your horizons while being Naked or Nearly So.  Thanks for taking time to stop by Nichevo today.  Be sure to check in over the weekend for this weeks photo review of the Best of the Web This Week.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!