Dale Hansen

[armadillo slim]

Hansen's commentary was uncommonly well stated. There have been times where I have taken issue with his views, but not this time.

I have only one word to say.

Bravo.

 

[BevoBlake]

Can you show me an example of where gays were oppressed or robbed of their rights in the last 10 years that didn't result in some action taken on their behalf? What rights are you referring too? You can't just throw something out like that and not be willing to back it up.

Are you kidding? The right to marry? The right to adopt? The right to include their spouse on their taxes? There are still thirty three states in the United States that don't allow two people that love one another to get married. Purely because those two people share the same genitalia. That's how they've been oppressed and robbed of their rights.

 

[Hiphopopotamos]

So please point me to stories with quotes from any of those people saying Sam shouldn't be playing in the NFL.
I'll wait off line because it may take you a while.

No worries - this won't take long.

49's DB Chris Culliver:

"I don't do the gay guys man," said Culliver (per Yahoo! Sports). "I don't do that. No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do.
"Can't be with that sweet stuff. Nah…can't be…in the locker room man. Nah."

NFL LB Jonathan Vilma

Jonathan Vilma, the veteran Saints linebacker and team leader, told NFL Network last week he thought a gay player “would not be accepted as much as we think he would be accepted.”

Former NFL coach Herm Edwards:

“When you go into the draft, look at it this way. Let’s say Michael Sam is not a gay player, but he’s a player that has some issues, off the field issues. The thing you talk about in the organization with the GM and obviously the owner is, can we handle this guy? Can we handle the media that’s going to come along with his situations? He’s bringing baggage into your locker room. So when you think about Michael Sam, all the sudden, can the players handle the media attention they’re going to get when they get the question asked, are you OK with a gay teammate?”

Anonymous NFL GM/Scouts/Administrators

And I am sorry to say where we are at this point in time, I think it’s going to affect most locker rooms. A lot of guys will be uncomfortable. Ten years from now, fine. But today, I think being openly gay is a factor in the locker room.”

“A team with strong leadership at coach and in the locker room, like New England, I would imagine, would be okay. … But without that strong leadership, I could see it being divisive, and I could see a team saying, ‘We don’t need this.’ ”

“There are guys in locker rooms that maturity-wise cannot handle it or deal with the thought of that,” the assistant coach said. “There’s nothing more sensitive than the heartbeat of the locker room. If you knowingly bring someone in there with that sexual orientation, how are the other guys going to deal with it? It’s going to be a big distraction. That’s the reality. It shouldn’t be, but it will be.”

“Unfortunately,” the scout said, agreeing with Vilma, “this is a lot more okay in society than it is in lots of locker rooms. Some locker rooms are still stuck in the ’50s.”

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/02/09/michael-sam-monday-morning-quarterback/?eref=sihp

And if you really want to read some vile thoughts on the matter - just check out the 'replies' to Michael Sam's tweet.

CFL players fined over tweets related to Sam and homosexuality: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000325171/article/cfl-players-fined-for-negative-michael-sam-comments

 

[JMagana]

I laughed.

Dale has a right to believe what he wants as do all humans have a right to love each other regardless of what any book or law says.

 

[mesoHorny]

Are you kidding? The right to marry? The right to adopt? The right to include their spouse on their taxes? There are still thirty three states in the United States that don't allow two people that love one another to get married. Purely because those two people share the same genitalia. That's how they've been oppressed and robbed of their rights.

There is no such thing as a right to marry, or right to adopt.

You can't be stripped of a right that you never had to begin with. The constitution does not list those things as rights.

Gay men have the same rights as straight men. They don't need further protections under the law. And constitutionally speaking creating special groups within groups is illegal.

 

[Lukus Alderman]

I don't believe that there was a need for that statement/rant by Hansen. The only people who are making an issue out of this are the liberals in the media. Nobody else cares. The guy is welcome to play in the NFL and nobody is saying its illegal or trying to implement rules against it.

There is a big difference between drafting a thug/alleged criminal than a gay athlete. Thugs and criminals have been drafted and brought onto teams usually when they have great talent that will help the team win games. Moreover, NFL players seem comfortable around these thugs. It's a different issue when it comes to gays being in the same dressing room. That creates an issue of players being uncomfortable around other teammates. Every decision that NFL front offices make are business decisions based on whether or not it will help their team win. Jobs depend on it. No team will pass a player up if they believe it will help their team win games.

Furthermore, if I was a black person I would be highly offended at all these notions that the homosexual community has endured anywhere near the persecution that blacks had dealt with throughout the history of America. When were gays forced into slavery? Show me the white hoods that burn crosses in their yards? It's ridiculous and highly offensive. Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, not a skin color or ethnicity issue.

 

[Hookem14]

Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, not a skin color or ethnicity issue.

I think this is where a lot of people would fundamentally disagree with you. Ask yourself if there is anything in this world, any circumstance, any experience that could make you( as a straight man) attracted to other men. I don't know any straight men that could think of a single example. If homosexuality is a choice/lifestyle etc. then heterosexuality must also be a conscious choice that you have made to be attracted to women....meaning theoretically it's possible for you to flip some switch and choose a gay lifestyle which you have thus far been abstaining from.

 

[Hookem14]

To the point about how uncomfortable it would be to change/be in a dressing room with a gay teammate, I can understand that. I've had a gay teammate before, he respectfully changed in a separate room. He still poured his blood, sweat, and tears into practice like the rest of us so his not being in the locker room didn't negatively affect team chemistry. Also you can certainly argue the degree to which homosexuals have been discriminated against compared to other historically persecuted groups. Trying to brush this story off as if homosexuals have not in the past and don't still face severe discrimination is laughable at best.

 

[mesoHorny]

I think this is where a lot of people would fundamentally disagree with you. Ask yourself if there is anything in this world, any circumstance, any experience that could make you( as a straight man) attracted to other men. I don't know any straight men that could think of a single example. If homosexuality is a choice/lifestyle etc. then heterosexuality must also be a conscious choice that you have made to be attracted to women....meaning theoretically it's possible for you to flip some switch and choose a gay lifestyle which you have thus far been abstaining from.

Let me flip that on you a bit. When I got married I was still attracted to other women physically. But I made a promise to my wife and I ignored those attractions and have stayed faithful. If I were to cheat do you think my wife would by the argument that it's a natural attraction and one that I have no control over?

To me being gay is the same thing. I don't deny that gays are truly attracted to other people of the same sex. Won't deny that for a second. The question is whether they should act on those attractions. What about a person that is attracted to children. Nothing he can do about his instincts. Are we going to excuse pedophilia because it's natural?

 

[beevomav]

I couldn't disagree more. If "we" are comfortable with any of that behavior, then "we" have a problem. We can move on, but I do not have to accept it as being okay.

Well put me down as one who really doesn't give a crap what makes you uncomfortable.

 

[beevomav]

To the point about how uncomfortable it would be to change/be in a dressing room with a gay teammate, I can understand that. I've had a gay teammate before, he respectfully changed in a separate room. He still poured his blood, sweat, and tears into practice like the rest of us so his not being in the locker room didn't negatively affect team chemistry. Also you can certainly argue the degree to which homosexuals have been discriminated against compared to other historically persecuted groups. Trying to brush this story off as if homosexuals have not in the past and don't still face severe discrimination is laughable at best.

He respectfully changed in a separate room. Now that is what's laughable at best.

 

[Hookem14]

Let me flip that on you a bit. When I got married I was still attracted to other women physically. But I made a promise to my wife and I ignored those attractions and have stayed faithful. If I were to cheat do you think my wife would by the argument that it's a natural attraction and one that I have no control over?
To me being gay is the same thing. I don't deny that gays are truly attracted to other people of the same sex. Won't deny that for a second. The question is whether they should act on those attractions. What about a person that is attracted to children. Nothing he can do about his instincts. Are we going to excuse pedophilia because it's natural?

Not at all an apples to apples comparison and in no way flipped around. You can be homosexual and also monogamous. You're decision to get married was a choice, your attraction to women was not. With pedophiles there is an innocent victim, not two consenting adults who are mature enough to decide what kind of relationship they want based on their mutual attraction.

Also the point that Hansen was making was you can't support legislation restricting the personal freedom of homosexuals and also claim "I could care less what his orientation is" "why is this a big deal?" etc.

 

[Davharjac]

I don't believe that there was a need for that statement/rant by Hansen. The only people who are making an issue out of this are the liberals in the media. Nobody else cares. The guy is welcome to play in the NFL and nobody is saying its illegal or trying to implement rules against it.
There is a big difference between drafting a thug/alleged criminal than a gay athlete. Thugs and criminals have been drafted and brought onto teams usually when they have great talent that will help the team win games. Moreover, NFL players seem comfortable around these thugs. It's a different issue when it comes to gays being in the same dressing room. That creates an issue of players being uncomfortable around other teammates. Every decision that NFL front offices make are business decisions based on whether or not it will help their team win. Jobs depend on it. No team will pass a player up if they believe it will help their team win games.

Furthermore, if I was a black person I would be highly offended at all these notions that the homosexual community has endured anywhere near the persecution that blacks had dealt with throughout the history of America. When were gays forced into slavery? Show me the white hoods that burn crosses in their yards? It's ridiculous and highly offensive. Homosexuality is a lifestyle choice, not a skin color or ethnicity issue.

As an African American, I don't get into the "who has had it worse throughout history" argument. I had a friend in high school and he loved to bring up the struggles of those of the Jewish faith, even then I wouldn't get into it...mostly because I don't know what it is like to be a slave..I know it had to be terrible, but I have not lived the nightmare, I have lived through people walking in the grass to avoid walking by me(for whatever reason), or staring at me then looking away when I turned to smile at them, I have often experienced the judging eyes when my girlfriend and I have been out to dinner...and depending on the day I have emotions that rage from disappointment to something near rage. I often come back to the question..why the hell do they care what we are doing? I had a former boss tell me if he had a choice, he'd be straight..his exact words were " I grew up in South Dakota, I was fat, terrible at sports, socially awkward, and on top of that gay.." He went on to say if he had a choice he wouldn't add gay to that list.. I have witnessed my homosexual friend be told by his father that he isn't a man, and verbally abused..by his own father..is attraction not a chemical response in the brain? I am a heterosexual male, but I don't remember the day when I got to choose to be into ladies..it just happened..

 

[bbdude]

I haven't seen Dale Hansen in 25 years since my days in Ft. Worth. Man he has aged!

 

[joeywa]

I haven't seen Dale Hansen in 25 years since my days in Ft. Worth. Man he has aged!

Having to sit and interview Switzer for a season will do that to a man.

 

[mesoHorny]

Not at all an apples to apples comparison and in no way flipped around. You can be homosexual and also monogamous. You're decision to get married was a choice, your attraction to women was not. With pedophiles there is an innocent victim, not two consenting adults who are mature enough to decide what kind of relationship they want based on their mutual attraction.
Also the point that Hansen was making was you can't support legislation restricting the personal freedom of homosexuals and also claim "I could care less what his orientation is" "why is this a big deal?" etc.

My decision to marry has nothing to do with it. My decision to not act on my being attracted to other women is exactly the same thing. I as a human being had an attraction. In thinking over whether or not to act on that attraction I decided whether or not it would be moral to do so. Same thing with gays. They have an attraction. Whether they act on that attraction is a decision. All this really comes down to whether you believe homosexuality is moral or not. I don't. I am not the moral authority on anything. I don't believe my beliefs should be forced on anyone. But I expect the gay community to respect where I stand too. We don't all have to approve of one another to function as a successful society.

 

[Sirhornsalot]

As an African American, I don't get into the "who has had it worse throughout history" argument. I had a friend in high school and he loved to bring up the struggles of those of the Jewish faith, even then I wouldn't get into it...mostly because I don't know what it is like to be a slave..I know it had to be terrible, but I have not lived the nightmare, I have lived through people walking in the grass to avoid walking by me(for whatever reason), or staring at me then looking away when I turned to smile at them, I have often experienced the judging eyes when my girlfriend and I have been out to dinner...and depending on the day I have emotions that rage from disappointment to something near rage. I often come back to the question..why the hell do they care what we are doing? I had a former boss tell me if he had a choice, he'd be straight..his exact words were " I grew up in South Dakota, I was fat, terrible at sports, socially awkward, and on top of that gay.." He went on to say if he had a choice he wouldn't add gay to that list.. I have witnessed my homosexual friend be told by his father that he isn't a man, and verbally abused.by his own father..is attraction not a chemical response in the brain? I am heterosexual male, but I don't remember the day when I got to choose to be into ladies..it just happened..

There is an inherent instinct to mate and reproduce, hence your strong tendency to seek the female. You didn't have to decide that. It's how the species survives.

 

[longhorn15]

It seems there quite a bit of people here who have been brainwashed and indoctrinated from a young age... Glad I'm done with all of that BS.

 

[Davharjac]

There is an inherent instinct to mate and reproduce, hence your strong tendency to seek the female. You didn't have to decide that. It's how the species survives.

True, but there are animals that have chosen same sex partners, animals that certainly do not adhere to the same "moral battles" as humans, they act on instinct..if there is an instinct to be drawn to a partner that is the same sex, and it happens naturally, could that not be a form of population control?

 

[Hookem14]

My decision to marry has nothing to do with it. My decision to not act on my being attracted to other women is exactly the same thing. I as a human being had an attraction. In thinking over whether or not to act on that attraction I decided whether or not it would be moral to do so. Same thing with gays. They have an attraction. Whether they act on that attraction is a decision. All this really comes down to whether you believe homosexuality is moral or not. I don't. I am not the moral authority on anything. I don't believe my beliefs should be forced on anyone. But I expect the gay community to respect where I stand too. We don't all have to approve of one another to function as a successful society.

You're absolutely right that we don't all have to approve of one another to function as a successful society. Having said that, there is a huge difference between disapproving and legislating/descriminating/restricting freedoms based on your personal moral beliefs. After all, as you said you're not the moral authority on anything. Neither am I, which is why I live and let live unless the actions of another restrict my own freedom or cause harm to others.