Chris Kluwe and the Vikings

I guess I slept in a little later than I thought I would today as I did not get up and about until after 2:30, then I had to work form 5-10.  When I opened my feed reader, one of the main story lines across several of my news and sports sites was the Deadspin article by our old friend and ally Chris Kluwe.  Kluwe along with former Baltimore Raven Brenden Ayanbadejo were the NFL's leading advocates in the Marriage Equality battles of 2012.  Kluwe's open letter to a Maryland political opponent of Marriage Equality, Delegate Emmett C Burns, Jr,  who unsuccessfully tried to use his influence to get the Ravens to silence Brenden's voice, was an instant viral classic that brought the term 'lustful cock monster' into the lexicon of the English language.  Both Kluwe and Ayanbadejo continued their advocacy and played pivotal roles in the unprecedented election victories for Marriage Equality in the 2012 election cycle.  Both were subsequently released by their former teams for 'football reasons'.  In his article Kluwe recalls the events that lead up to his release last spring by the Minnesota Vikings.  He stated his belief that he was fired by a bigot and two cowards (Special Teams coach Mike Priefer, Head Coach Leslie Frazier and General Manager Rick Spielman) because of his advocacy and not his performance on the field as claimed.  The Minnesota Vikings have denied that his advocacy was the reason for his release.  However, as his article illustrates, Special Teams Coach Mike Priefer has made some horrifically inflammatory homophobic comments including that all us Gay folks should be 'gathered on a single island and nuked until we glowed'.  I don't know about you, but I really have no desire to become so much nuclear slag or a walking radioactive glow worm.  I also do not believe that such an attitude should be held by someone in a position of power over any group of people, athletes or not.

To their credit, the Minnesota Vikings have, at the behest of openly Gay Minnesota State Senator Scott Dibble, hired two of the finest legal minds in Minnesota for the investigation into Kluwe's claims.  You can read Dibble's letter to Viking owner Zygi Wilf below.  Former Chief Justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court Eric Magnuson and former Us Department of Justice Trial Attorney Chris Madel, both partners in the law firm Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi, L.L.P. will head up the investigation and report their findings to the Vikings organization.  Madel is also Minnesota's 'Lawyer of the Year' for the last three years (the only 3 time winner in Minnesota's history).

   Zygi Wilf From Senator Dibble

When asked why come forward now instead of last year when it happened, Kluwe said:

"If there's one thing I hope to achieve from sharing this story, it's to make sure that Mike Priefer never holds a coaching position again in the NFL, and ideally never coaches at any level. (According to the Pioneer Press, he is "the only in-house candidate with a chance" at the head-coaching job.) It's inexcusable that someone would use his status as a teacher and a role model to proselytize on behalf of his own doctrine of intolerance, and I hope he never gets another opportunity to pass his example along to anyone else. I also hope that Leslie Frazier and Rick Spielman take a good look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are the people they truly profess themselves to be.

Some will ask why I waited so long to tell this story. It's a fair question, and I have two answers. The first is that I still have friends on the Vikings, and opening up something like this during the season would not help them focus on their jobs. By doing it now, I hope they don't have to answer questions about an issue that concerns only four people, and I hope the issue will have died down before next season starts.

The second is that I wanted to prove I still had the physical ability to compete in the NFL. I can still hit the ball 45 yards outside the numbers with good hang time, and at the tryouts I've had this year I've gotten praise from the scouts and personnel people on hand, but for whatever reason I cannot find a job. (Side note: My numbers from last year would put me right in the middle of the pack for this year, and I've traditionally been in the middle to top third of punters each year).

However, it's clear to me that no matter how much I want to prove I can play, I will no longer punt in the NFL, especially now that I've written this account. Whether it's my age, my minimum veteran salary, my habit of speaking my mind, or (most likely) a combination of all three, my time as a football player is done. Punters are always replaceable, at least in the minds of those in charge, and I realize that in advocating noisily for social change I only made it easier for them to justify not having me around. So it goes.

Some will ask if the NFL has a problem with institutionalized homophobia. I don't think it does. I think there are homophobic people in the NFL, in all positions, but that's true for society as well, and those people eventually get replaced. All we can do is try to expose their behavior when we see it and call them to account for their actions.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. Never be afraid to do what's right. If no one ever says anything, nothing ever changes."

How very true.  I am sorry that his time in the NFL is over, but I don't think Chris will stay down, he will resurface in another career with success.  I also don't think he will quit being an ally to our community or hold his tongue when he thinks he can positively influence progress and change for the better.  I wish him and his family well, and I will be watching for the results of the Vikings investigation.  

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Your Weekend Musical Moment features the Music of Giuseppe Tartini with several pieces from Volume 9a of  Tartini's Violin Concerti as recorded by L'Arte Dell'Arco conducted by Giovanni Guglielmo.  Tartini was a prolific composer of concerti for the Violin and as we go along, I am sure I will feature more of his works.  Include in this play list are Violin Concerto in F major, D.70, Violin Concerto in D major, D.42, Violin Concerto in A major, D.109, Violin Concerto in B flat major, D.123 and Violin Concerto in E major, D.54.  

Rounding out this weekend post, just to remind everyone that it is warm somewhere in the world and there will be gorgeous guys romping around the sun splashed pools and beaches, there is this collection of Sexy Studs in Swimwear to add some heat to your weekend.  Thanks for sharing a part of your weekend with me, see you again on Monday for Music, Men and More.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scotus Briefs, Music and Men

Yesterday was the deadline for filing briefs before SCOTUS takes up oral arguments in the Prop 8 and DOMA cases on the 26th and 27th of this month.  A great many were filed by a wide variety of individuals, companies, corporations and associations.  There are three of which I would like to make special note.  The first I would like to note was filed by two of our greatest allies from the NFL ranks, Brendon Ayanbedejo and Chris Kluwe.  In their brief the players stated: “When we advance the idea that some people should be treated differently because of who they are, demeaned in public as lesser beings, not worthy of the same rights and benefits as others despite their actions as good citizens and neighbors, then we deny them equal protection under the laws. America has walked this path before, and courageous people and the Court brought us to the right result. We urge the Court to repeat those actions here.”

The second one I would like to make note of was from the Obama Administration.  The President was directly involved in the decision to file the brief and in deciding what argument they wished to present.  "Having previously endorsed the general idea that same-sex individuals should be allowed to marry the person they love, the President was said to have felt an obligation to have his government take part in the fundamental test of marital rights that is posed by the Proposition 8 case....What the brief endorsed is what has been called the “eight-state solution” — that is, if a state already recognizes for same-sex couples all the privileges and benefits that married couples have (as in the eight states that do so through “civil unions”) those states must go the final step and allow those couples to get married.  The argument is that it violates the Constitution’s guarantee of legal equality when both same-sex and opposite-sex couples are entitled to the same marital benefits, but only the opposite-sex couples can get married.  The eight states that apparently would be covered by such a decision are: California (whose Proposition 8, which denies marriage to couples who already have all of the other marital benefits, would fall), Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island."

Attorney General Eric Holder released a statement about the filing: “In our filing today in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the government seeks to vindicate the defining constitutional ideal of equal treatment under the law. Throughout history, we have seen the unjust consequences of decisions and policies rooted in discrimination. The issues before the Supreme Court in this case and the Defense of Marriage Act case are not just important to the tens of thousands Americans who are being denied equal benefits and rights under our laws, but to our Nation as a whole.”

Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights (AFER), the sole sponsor of the Perry case, issued the following statement: “The brief filed by the Solicitor General is a powerful statement that Proposition 8 cannot be squared with the principles of equality upon which this nation was founded. It is an unprecedented call to action by our Government that it is time to recognize gay and lesbian Americans as full and equal citizens under the law. AFER looks forward to having Solicitor General Verrilli and the Federal Government by our side as we make the case for marriage equality for all before the Supreme Court.”

The third brief I would like to note is from the American Sociological Association who quite literally obliterated the argument made by many Marriage Equality opponents, that being that same sex couples are inferior parents.  In a press release posted to the organization's website, ASA President Cecilia Ridgeway says: The results of our review are clear. There is no evidence that children with parents in stable same-sex or opposite-sex relationships differ in terms of well-being. Indeed, the greater stability offered by marriage for same-sex as well as opposite-sex parents may be an asset for child well-being.

When the social science evidence is exhaustively examined -- which the ASA has done -- the facts demonstrate that children fare just as well when raised by same-sex parents. Unsubstantiated fears regarding same-sex child rearing do not overcome these facts and do not justify upholding DOMA and Proposition 8.  The brief itself states: As the social science consensus described in Part I demonstrates, the evidence regarding children raised by same-sex parents overwhelmingly indicates that children raised by such families fare just as well as children raised by opposite-sex parents, and that children raised by same-sex parents are likely to benefit from the enhanced stability the institution of marriage would provide to their parents and families. All told, the Regnerus study ... does not undermine the consensus that children raised by same-sex parents fare just as well as those raised by opposite-sex parents.

In everything that has been filed before the court, the preponderance of the evidence is heavily weighted in favor of Marriage Equality and the striking down of both DOMA and Prop 8.  This preponderance of evidence has collapsed the foundation of any argument that would favor continued discrimination, leaving them without a viable leg to stand on.  Even if all 9 justices were blind, they should still be able to read the writing on the wall and come down on the side of Equality for all citizens of this great nation.  Let's hope that at least five of them do just that and strike down both DOMA and Prop 8 unequivocally.  

Your Friday Musical Moment concludes our week of first symphonies with a classic 1951 recording of Symphony Number 1 in F Minor, Opus 10 by Dmitri Shostakovich featuring the Soviet State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kirill Kondrashin. 

Then finally today is an especially spicy collection of the fine art found in the male form in this week's edition of Naked or Nearly So.  Any one selection in the collection should be enough to inspire a proper weekend state of mind as well as any number of fantasy adventures.  Thanks for spending part of your day here at Nichevo.  Be sure to check in tomorrow for this week's review of the Best of the Web This Week.  Until next time as always, Enjoy!