Tressel on alternative lifestyles
I would not have bet the house on Tressel doing an interview like this:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-tressel030810&prov=y…
I wonder how that will be received by the BUCKNUTS(!!) community?
This point of view has been well received in the buckeye community. However, if this were RichRod supporting the gay community, I'm sure the reaction would be very different.
Basically, all this says is that the buckeye fanbase likes their football team more than they dislike homosexuals.
Why do you say if it were Rodriguez there'd be a different reaction? U of M, unlike OSU is known for its liberal leanings.
I think the point about RR/UM is that if RR were to make those comments - high minded as they are, and receptive as the UM community is to such thinking - the press' focus would be on RR unnecessarily opining on non-football topics, causing controversey, etc.
...aaamichfan's post shows he was implying that if RR had made similar comments, the Bucknut reaction would have been quite different than their reaction to Tressel.
...but I'm impressed. Would love to see RR and all coaches start to voice support for players of all backgrounds and persuasions.
All that said, I still hate that motherfucker.
...Even if it's your arch rival, having someone this visible opening up to the subject is always good.
How can you be surprised he would do something like this? The guy goes through wine coolers like they're water...
Kudos to the man. I honestly never thought he would ever agree to such an interview, and his insights are refreshing in today's day and age. My only concern is that while he might be accepting of a gay player, some of his teammates (and I'm fairly certain a good portion of the fans) wouldn't be, at least if that individual wasn't amazing on the field. I remember while watching a special on Jackie Robinson that because he was the first African American baseball player, he knew that he needed to be a dominant player in order to be accepted. He couldn't be a bench guy or defensive replacement - he needed to be one of the best guys in the league out of the gate or else the fans would (figuratively and perhaps literally) kill him.
The same is true for a gay player. The first openly-gay male athlete is going to need to be a top-10 talent for the average fan to accept him, not be a lightly-used DB or TE. I'm not saying that is right - it shouldn't matter how good you are just to be yourself - but in order to dispel some of the stereotypes and vitriol the player will have to win, and win convincingly.
I don't think an openly gay player would be a lightly used tight end.
maybe not all the fans support it, but the city sure does.
I've had a low opinion of Tressell ever since his handling of the Robert Reynolds choking incident. But this is a good thing, and he deserves full credit.
Regardless of your position on the morality of homosexuality, there's never a reason to treat them differently in any way.
Well done, Coach Tressell. I may not root for your team, but that took a lot of guts. You have my respect for being courageous on this one.
Coach Tressel is a man. Kudos.
I still "hate" all things OSU, at least like you would "hate" a good professional wrestling "heel," but Tressel does have to be given his due for doing the interview and supporting unity among all people regardless of various differences.
I also agree that if RR did any kind of interview regarding any "hot button" issue, Rosenpuke would find a way to spin it so that RR was "deficient" in some way.
Oops - dupe - sorry
I have largely found Tressel to be way classier than many of his players. I also believe the suckeye nation does not appreciate the caliber of their coach - he loses a game and it is like death. They will miss him when he is gone.
He makes it so hard to hate him. Why can't he talk trash to one of our players or something else a la Dantonio?
Is that why he wears a sweater?
I'm headed to Straight Dave's Man Slammin' Maxout to get away from all this Buckeye gayness.
Michigan is one of the few states left where it is still legal to discriminate based on sexual orientation - sexual orientation is not part of the Federal guideline and thus it's up to each individual state to add it or not. My friend was fired after coming out to his boss and he had no grounds to sue based on discrimination. So in a way, Tressel is giving Michigan a backhanded jab here for being less progressive than Ohio.
I did not know that. That's pretty sad, IMO. I hope that gets changed soon.
Tressel didn't actually say that he supports gay rights did he? IMO he somewhat danced around the issue. In this day and age it actually takes more guts for Christians to state that they believe homosexuality is a sin. Clearly not all Christians believe this, but most do.
...courageous stance to take. Call someone else a sinner.
followers that picket military funerals with signs that say "God Hates Fags" are real pioneers. Fucking moron.
By the way, don't speak for "most Christians." I don't want to be lumped in with idiots like you.
Kind of like you just lumped in someone saying they think it's a sin (which, actually he didn't say explicitly) with people that carry "God Hates Fags" signs? Those two things are most definitely not mutually inclusive. Just because you think someone is in the wrong in one aspect doesn't mean you hate them.
If you can't parse hyperbole from my overall point I'll make it a little bit clearer for you: it does not take a single ounce of courage to judge people and deem them "sinners" for engaging in a legal, personal lifestyle choice. All it takes is some idiot trying to impose his personal moral code on the rest of the world.
March 10th, 2010 at 12:09 AM ^
I saw hypocrisy actually... Similar to "imposing" on others with your moral code that it is wrong, or "idiotic", for them to "impose" their own on others.
unlike his conservative style of play… well done coach