Jack Burkman, head of the Washington, D.C. lobbying firm J.M. Burkman & Assoc. who is seeking to ban gays from the NFL, says he intends to build a national coalition to boycott any football franchise that picks openly gay football player Michael Sam in the NFL Draft, which starts Thursday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
In a release issued Thursday, Burkman said he would "leverage his political clout" to ensure that the franchise that selects the 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive end from Missouri would get "roughed up financially."
"We shall exercise our First Amendment rights and shall not stop until the drafting NFL franchise cannot sell a single ticket, jersey or autographed football," said Burkman. "In short, we shall be relentless."
Threatening financial ruin for a football team that drafts a gay player, how Christian of them.
Miami Dolphins safety Don Jones took to Twitter to express his outrage over Sam's recruitment, including the hug and kiss which accompanied it, and has now been fined and forced to undergo "educational training."
Other conservatives are just pissed that Michale Sam is getting all kinds of love, while openly Christian Tim Tebow was mocked for his faith.
"@livinglegend_44: Y'all praise Michael Sam for being gay but y'all mocked Tim Tebow for being a Christian. Smh
#Society" the realest spoke
— Brandon J White (@OvaTimePodcast) May 11, 2014
Of course the fact that you are born gay, and you choose to be a Christian, seems to be lost on this crowd. As is the that there are tons of openly Christian football players, but most are not as obnoxious at Tebow was about it.Of course some, like our good friend Andrew Sullivan, had an entirely different take:
Here’s what that embrace and kiss meant to me. It meant that Sam is not afraid, and neither is Vito, his boyfriend. There are no double standards here or special exceptions. If Sam were with a girlfriend, the scene would be utterly banal, if still beautiful. It helps that they are so young – because they are not yet old enough to have their minds clogged with qualifications, warnings, worries. They just respond as two people in love. In that moment, the hug matters more than the kiss; and the faces more than the hug. Look at Vito in the video as he waits for and absorbs the news. The anxiety, the trepidation, the concern for his partner: this is what love looks like.
We must remember that there was a time when the first African American played on a white team. A first time a woman was able to vote in an election. And the first time that a non-Christian was elected to public office in America. There is an ideological thread which connects all of those who spoke out against each of these landmarks.
I am sure you can identify it quite easily.
This is just another example of why Bristol Palin thinks Gay people are the ones who are spreading all the hate. Imagine being a football player and being gay. What a hater!
ReplyDeleteBristol Palin is so smart and whatnot.
Bristol teaching Tripp to say "faggot" at a very young age, calling out the guy in her Hollywood mechanical bull riding that the guy at the bar commented on her MOTHER in every sense of the term. "Are you a homosexual!" OH yeah..........that's this stupid family and plenty of people think like them.
Deletewonder if jack burkman's little pink thong's all in a twist as from what i heard this morning on espn radio that Michael Sam's Rams jersey's flyin' off the shelf - as in folks are buying it up !
ReplyDeleteand as a lifelong Rams fan >>> GO RAMS !!!
I heard on the news tonight that the NFL is scrambling to print more as fast as their vendors can because they can't keep up with the demand.
DeleteI hope Sam gets a cut of all that!
I hope that he lives up to the hype. I would hate to see him not do well, then everyone hates the Rams (you know, the organization that didn't care) if they decide to trade him!
DeleteYou know, I had typed up a scathing beat down on the Jack Burkman, but you know what? Go for it dude.
ReplyDeleteWe boycotted your Chik Filet and your Duck Dynasty and whoever those twin idiots were who almost had a show. It's only fair that you guys get to boycott something too.
Of course it will be a laughable failure, and you'll be turning people away from your religion of "peace and love" in droves, but damn it, I respect your right to free speech.
So go out there and Westboro the fuck out of yourselves. You deserve it.
I agree. Let them boycott as is their right. What a surprise it will be when it finally dawns on them that the rest of the world has left them behind.
DeleteThe twin idiots got a post on Brancy's blog, they're being denied a television show because they're christians. No, they're being denied a television show because they've shown their bigotry and hate off the screen.
Delete@Anita: The problem is there's no distinction for them. Being allowed to denigrate others openly and unopposed and pushing for their prejudices to be enshrined as law and imposed on us all is what constitutes "being Christian" to these people.
DeleteDespite that book they obviously didn't read telling them the exact opposite, they actually believe it is their job to judge others and heap repression upon them in Jesus' name.
Doesn't matter that Jesus never said one word about homosexuals, that Paul guy said to kill them and their gutsy-feely bible-sense just knows that Jesus was totally down with that.
Tell them they don't get to "represent" on your dime and now you're repressing their "religious freedoms" by not letting them destroy your business as a platform for their stupidity.
Because somehow, in the demented logic of the zealot, being free to believe whatever they want is not enough, they must also be allowed to "validate" those stupid beliefs by imposing them on the world, otherwise it is bigotry against THEM.
As history has shown us, there is no "live and let live" with these people unless you allow yourself to be subjugated by them. They'll tolerate you just as long as you know your place as second-class subhuman trash that they can feel superior about how they're lavishing so much heavenly grace upon you by choosing not to burn you at the stake. Today.
So true, and the bar is so low to prove, one need only call themselves a "christian", and they're in the club. Very few real Christians (who live their faith and walk the walk) call them out nor choose to see the obvious is astounding.
DeleteYou forgot the first time an African American was elected president. Twice. Also ironic that Don Jones was a teammate of Richie Incognito, the player who was suspended for bullying a teammate who was percieved to be gay. Says a lot about the culture in that locker room.
ReplyDeleteDon't fool yourself about NFL lockers room culture, it wouldn't be 'that' locker room, it would be 'all' of them. But frankly this is PC police stupidity. If a player wants to say 'horrible' he should be able to without some weird 'educational training'- it is his honest opinion, and he has a right to express it, so what?
DeleteSo, a white NFL player should be able to call a black NFL player "nigger" because he has a right to express his honest opinion? What about a player telling a Latino player that Hispanics are all lazy. That's his honest opinion, right?
DeleteThis isn't the PC Police. These guys are doing a job and the locker room is a place of employment. There should be no place for insulting, bullying, threatening violence, etc. in any locker room.
Would you put up with a co-worker insulting, bullying, or threatening you where you work?
It's time to stop all this bullshit. "Free speech" or macho culture or "that's the way it's always been" is no excuse for being an asshole.
My understanding is the he tweeted 'OMG' and 'Horrible'. So, game of life- that is not inciting hate or violence no matter how much you want to dramatize it in your little liberal head. And 6:31 he didn't say nigger or anything about hispanics being lazy- no matter how much you want to take it there in your little liberal head. He had a pretty common reaction to two guys kissing. A lot of the world reacts that way, if that is his honest reaction, he should not be punished for it. And 6:35 you can just simply GFY. Is no-one allowed to speak their mind anymore? Good luck with your policing. Makes me want to say stuff I don't even mean just to piss of you little weasels.
DeleteGo ahead, 7:15. Let's see what kind of bigoted shit you can come up with. We'll all pretend you don't really mean it.
DeleteWho gives a shit except you, 7:15? You just keep on hating, and I'll wait for Judgement Day as you will face. In your little paranoid brain, do you think he's going to be checking out the size of anyone's dick in the shower or coming onto them? YOU are an IDIOT.
DeletePreach it! Sing it! Shout it from the rooftops. E-QUAL-I-FUCKING-TY!!!
ReplyDeleteHow is a gay football player affecting this bozo's First Amendment rights?
ReplyDeleteA privately owned football franchise hires a good player to be part of its team.
If "christians" want to boycott that team, or the others who will have openly gay players in the next years, that's their right. Don't watch the team -- tune into a Sunday afternoon Pat Roberts telethon instead.
Something tells me that the religion of football will win out among many of these protestors in the end.
And when did one person's 1st amendment rights trump another person's civil rights?
Delete@3:37: try not to think about it too much, there is no logic there. To the extremist christian conservative, telling them they cannot hate and denigrate people publicly is "against their 1st Amendment rights", but also too, ruling that people are allowed to BE the things that they hate is an assault on their "religious freedoms".
DeleteSo basically, unless everyone agrees to let them spew hate unopposed AND ALSO agrees to help them oppress anyone they don't like, then it is a "war on religion" and they are martyrs and you hate America and the baby Thomas Jefferson.
Realize they are doing all this in the name of Jesus, the "love thy neighbor/enemy" guy, and it really gets confusing.
There's no point in trying to reason with them or treat them fairly, they are clearly not willing to do the same in return. They are not honorable, reasonable or trustworthy. I say we go to war against these "religious freedoms" and get it over with.
They can keep their beliefs inside their homes and churches (which we will now tax like everyone else) where they belong and keep them out of our schools and government.
Amen, 3:37 PM! These people live in the Old Testament and pay not one bit of attention to what Jesus said. Let them boycott all they want, it WILL backfire big time on them. One look at the WBC tells you what "being relentless" gets one.
DeleteFact of the matter is Tebow was hyped by the media to be waaay better than he was and they're doing the same to Johnny "Football" Manziel. There are many All-American college players that can't hack the NFL.
I wish Michael Sam all the best! The video made me cry.
gop is determine to make sport teams dems v gop. I don't know how they think it will work.
DeleteIf it were possible teams must base their decision to hire a player on his religious preferences and not on his skill. Yeah that will work.
The GOP decides who plays pro football.....
DeleteGood luck with that!
SNORT!
I think Michael Sam is a great role model. I am also dumbfounded that these kooks think Sam is the only gay professional football player. Seriously? There are gay players in all sports. In your kids' school. In their classroom. In your church, I bet. At your workplace. Get over yourselves. Jesus never said a word about gays. Not one. If you want to get upset, better check out that new gospel they just found that says Jesus was not crucified; Judas was on that cross.
ReplyDeleteI hope the Rams win the Superbowl and I hope this sweet man gets to throw the winning ball or tackle someone to make the winning play. Obviously, I don't know much about football but I know right from wrong.
ReplyDeleteTexasMel
Love to see this:
ReplyDeleteMichael Sam’s Rams jersey selling at ‘unprecedented’ rate, is No. 2 best-selling jersey among NFL rookies
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/sam-jersey-2-best-seller-nfl-rookies-article-1.1789104#ixzz31Xz3vRXo
Just another case of the Regressives, these Religulous... err Ridiculous (crediting Bill Maher's film) mouthpieces of Willful Ignorance united in fanaticism. Actually, all that matters to them is their bottom line. I shall be polite and reference that in the financial spectrum... feel free to add your own thoughts!
ReplyDeleteBrandon J. White: "Y'all praise Michael Sam for being gay but y'all mocked Tim Tebow for being a Christian."
ReplyDeleteIs it true that Sam is praised for 'being gay?'
Is it true that Tebow was mocked for 'being a Christian'?
The answer to both is, of course, 'No'; but don't try to explain the issues to White unless you want to watch his brain explode.
Do many right-wing Christians praise Tebow for his public religious demonstrations and demonize Sam for being gay?
Why, yes, they do. But that's okay and not at all hypocritical.
Dang those guys are 2 good looking dudes!
ReplyDeleteTim Tebow was mocked because he kept shoving his holiness in our faces. You can have your faith, but it isn't EVERYONES, so be quiet and just be a good person. Michael Sam has stated he was gay, but hasn't gone on constantly about it.
ReplyDelete"Tim Tebow was mocked because he kept shoving his holiness in our faces. "
DeleteThis ^
Over and over and over and over...
Sam's kiss was a spontaneous, emotional response to some thrilling news that will change his life forever. I suspect he will NOT embrace and kiss his partner after every successful play in a football game, unlike Tebow who made a public spectacle of himself.
Why cant he express his honest emotions like everyone else?
DeleteHe can give his partner tongue for 10 mins after losing or winning a game and it shouldn't make a difference. He's in love and he's minding his own damn business.
He's a good guy and that's all that matters.
Romantic Pictures Of Gay Couples Around The Globe
ReplyDeletehttp://www.demilked.com/gay-couples-lgbt-all-love-is-equal-braden-summers/
Why do you assume all "right wing" people are anti-gay? Again, that is like saying ALL democrats are welfare junkie supporting, no immigration-regulation, income equality assholes?
ReplyDeleteFor the record, the term "income equality" is ridiculous. If min wage (ie fast food wages) increase drastically, ALL other wages would increase to be fair. Then goods and services would increase in cost.
See where im going.
That's not to say I wouldn't support an increase to 9-10/hr, but things would have to be thought through. NO WAY is a McDonalds worker worth what a med tech makes (18-20/hr)
Make better decisions!!!!!
eh ?!?
DeleteAnd why is it I think "right wing" people like to hate on their fellow man (woman). Why, because I read a post that is hating on folks who serve at McDonalds - what did they ever do to you - other than smile and say "have a nice day".
DeleteEVERY worker deserves a living wage - stop thinking you are "better" because someone else is worse off than you. You both lose - big time.
@ 4:04
DeleteThat has always been an argument that is raised every single time the subject of a minimum wage is brought up. And it never really carries much weight to those who are in the main stream.
The one thing that no one against a minimum wage ever seems to seems to allow into their brains is the fact that the lower educated people need help. Badly. And please don't try tell me they are all too stupid or all too lazy or any of the other lame statements inevitably made.
Instead, come up with a different idea. Here's ONE.
I have long thought that a better way of helping those on the bottom rung would be to the create a zero taxation point. Right now EVERYONE making money pays a minimum of 10%. Change that so that anyone who makes (and this is just a number picked at random) 12K or less pays no taxes, while at the same time eliminating all those special categories of taxation that benefit ONLY the ones making multi-millions in income - like Romney! -
allowing them to make millions and have a tax rate of 13%!
Maybe because they vote for and support a party that again and again stomps on equal rights for all. Now run along back to the Peepond they are missing you weiner.
Delete4:04 Boy are you ignorant.
DeleteDo you know why the money is all on the top? Do you know we are picking up the slack for companies who don't pay a living wage by paying their employees' medical and foodstamps?
Damn straight everyone wages should be raised. The rich are getting filthy rich while the poor is getting dirt poor.
Open your eyes.
"See where I'm going?"
DeleteH E _ _
May I have an "L", Vanna?
Apparently Mr. Burkman doesn't realize that the proceeds from sales of NFL-branded jerseys, cups, etc, are split evenly between all teams (with the NFL itself getting the lion's share). Its kinda like socialism :)
ReplyDeleteSo a boycott of the Rams' merchandise won't make any real difference to them. Typical conservative, can't be bothered with the facts.
It was said in the 1950's, and is still true: "Not all conservatives are stupid people, but most stupid people are conservatives."
You are correct, jersey and other sales are split, it's really kind of a socialist set up :)
DeleteWTF? What insane lengths to go to, to punish a team just for daring to accept a gay player! I can't even fathom the depth of hatred and paranoia that this implies.
ReplyDeleteWhat those with their morals so outraged do not seem to get: it is not the faith of Tim Tebow that is mocked, it is his behavior.
ReplyDeleteAmericans can think or believe as they choose; it is how they behave that can be regulated.
...focus, people.
Sweep your own doorstep before you judge other people. All "sin" is equal according to God. This is a ridiculous argument.
DeleteMichael Sam jerseys sell like hotcakes as conservatives apoplectic at his popularity
ReplyDeleteConservatives both inside and outside of the National Football League are outraged that Michael Sam kissed his boyfriend after learning that he had completed one of his life-long goals — to be drafted into the NFL.
They are angry that President Barack Obama congratulated him:
...And, of course, because Sam is not Benghazi:
...They are angry that sales of Sam’s jersey are outpacing all but Johnny Football’s:
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/12/michael-sam-jerseys-sell-like-hotcakes-as-conservatives-apoplectic-at-his-popularity/
I SO look forward to the day when drafting a gay athlete gets no more attention than drafting an African-American athlete.
ReplyDeleteWe'll get there someday and Michael Sam will have had a great impact on that process.
I am straight and I am a Christian, but let me just say that I don't think Michael Sam has used his sexual preference to influence a game, or to parade up and down the field with it plastered on his face, while Tebow has done just that: I mean a Bible Verse written on your face; having to pray in huddles so passionately that God helps you win the football game? I believe in praying but not that God helps me win a freaking game. Tebow used God. Michael Sam is not "using" his sexuality. He is just being who he is.
ReplyDeleteI can't beleiev that any truly "Christian" person would be watching football on such a Holy day, like a Sunday, shouldn't they be repenting and a praying anyway?
ReplyDeleteBut it would be nice if racists and bigots would stay home from every public event in case some of us colored folk and teh gays might be around. It would be nice if they stayed home or in their bigoted churches, that way the rest of us wouldn't have to worry about smelling their stink.
Sorta agree with you on the hypocrisy you're pointing out here.
DeleteExcept that the "Sabbath" of the Bible is actually on Saturday, the LAST day of the week. Jews still treat it as their Sabbath. Christians? Well, they're flexible on which Bible verses they either ignore or choose to recite to hate against others.
When you posted the event yesterday, there was some assclown on the radio yammering about separate but equal showers, toilets, locker rooms would have to be built because no straight man would take a shower with a gay man, and because of this man's race, he would demand equal square footage, etc. So, yeah, the hate and bigotry jumped the gun, and it's going to get worse before it gets better, but it will get better.
ReplyDeleteMichael, his team and Vito have made history. Now lgbt youth have a role model, heck all humans with a heartbeat have a role model.
Ruh Roh!!! Dolphin's got a problem with Michael Sams.
ReplyDeletehttp://aattp.org/dolphins-player-suspended-fined-for-anti-gay-hate-tweets-about-michael-sam/
Does this mean we can finally be done with football, for good, and forever? I hope that the angry right wing assholes simply cancel football, and when they're done with football they can take baseball and hockey as well and then we'll truly be free, of idiotic sports ball.
ReplyDeleteIf Michael Sams starts making a show of kissing his boyfriend in the middle of the game, when he scores a point or completes a play, then we can compare him to Tim Teboe.
ReplyDeleteMichael Sam plays defensive end and will probably be transitioned to an outside linebacker position unless he gains 15 or 20 pounds. If he ever scores a touchdown or creates a safety, you can bet that he will be at the bottom of a pile of teammates celebrating like crazy. All of these low-info non-football fans are a joke comparing him to a quarterback who never learned basic throwing fundamentals. I liked Tim Tebo as a college QB but there have been dozens of QBs much better than him who never made it in the NFL, and probably thousands who were equal or better passers who never had a shot. That's just the business. Anybody still whining about Tebo has no fucking clue about the game, period. Just a bunch of weanies who never learned the game, but think they know something. So they whine. Give em some cheese & crackers--- maybe that'll shut em up.
DeleteI graduated in high school 1975 in a very small town. My junior high and high school PE teachers were lesbian mates. NO one talked about it, because ewwwwww. I am GLAD to see this happen. I doubt they're alive to see it? 7:15? Screw you.
ReplyDeleteFox Sides with Persecuted Christians Complex in Tebow vs. Sam Debate (Videos)
ReplyDeleteFox News and others in the conservative press are crying foul over people applauding Michael Sam, the first openly-gay player in the NFL, but mocking Tim Tebow for being Christian and for praying on the field. Donald Trump, a regular guest on the Fox morning show, Fox & Friends, made noises about a double standard, because, of course, nobody would make fun of a Muslim praying openly. But people have no compunction about making fun of Tebow for his praying on bended knee, simply because he’s a Christian.
What Fox & Friends, and people suffering from the Christian persecution complex, don’t realize is that people often do that in response to feeling like they’re getting Christianity shoved down their throats. We have politicians trying to push a Biblical agenda. We have people crying up one side and down the other about how Christians are persecuted here because they can’t have organized prayer in school, or because the military has a no-proselytizing rule, and for a whole lot of other reasons.
We have states trying to pass laws that allow secular businesses to refuse to serve gays if it conflicts with the owners’ personal religious beliefs. We have cases in the Supreme Court over the contraception mandate, where religious owners of secular businesses are crying about the trampling their religious beliefs are receiving. We even have idiot politicians and pundits and groups claiming that the First Amendment only applies to Christians, meaning that only Christians are allowed to freely practice their religion.
Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Raul Labrador (R-ID), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Trent Franks (R-AZ), Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Jim Bridenstine (R-OK), Paul Broun (R-GA), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), and 92 others in the House co-sponsored a bill that would prohibit the federal government from taking action against individuals and organizations for saying that marriage should be between a man and a woman. That includes revoking the tax-exempt status of any non-profit, religious or otherwise, that holds such a belief.
That bill’s language doesn’t include anything about political activities, so it could conceivably make it so non-profits who engage in political activities opposing marriage equality, in violation of tax law, can keep their tax-exempt status. However, it contains no such protections for any non-profits who engage in political activities supporting marriage equality. The bill is called the Marriage and Religious Freedom Act, couching the intent of the bill in words that speak to freedom, but it really gives those who oppose marriage equality protections that nobody else would have.
And now, growing numbers of people have had it with Christianity being everywhere, and with lawmakers trying to force biblical law on the rest of us, so they can enjoy added protections that don’t apply to the rest of us. That would, in effect, make us a Christian nation, and screw everyone who’s not Christian.
We’re not a Christian nation. We never were a Christian nation. We’re not supposed to be a Christian nation. The supreme law of the land, the U.S. Constitution, prohibits having a national religion even if a majority of the population practices said religion. Fox & Friends can cry “persecution” all they want. All that’s actually happening is people are standing up to those who would force that religion on the rest of us, in violation of one of the most fundamental American rights.
Here are the videos with the “debate” on Fox & Friends, via Media Matters.
http://aattp.org/fox-sides-with-persecuted-christians-complex-in-tebow-vs-sam-debate-videos/
Burkman is an ass. One if his clients fired him over his comments and desire to boycott the nfl. http://thinkprogress.org/sports/2014/02/26/3331641/lobbyist-anti-gay-severed-ties. Expect more to follow
ReplyDelete