Josh Elliott, ABC’s news anchor at Good Morning America, is heartbroken. The NFL has failed his political correctness test and failed to draft openly gay kicker Alan Gendreau of Middle Tennessee State. Then again, only two kickers were drafted, ruining what Elliott hoped “could be a watershed moment.”
In a typically one-sided Friday morning story pushing Gendreau as a barrier-breaker, Elliott – who goes to gay-left dinners and boasts of ABC's record of "advocacy journalism" for the Left – insisted emphatically, “There is a barrier that is ready to be broken.” Robin Roberts suggested kickers are rarely drafted. Elliott shot back: “Again, I think the time is now.” John Schriffen had the story:
JOHN SCHRIFFEN: It really could be Alan Gendreau doesn't like to think of himself in terms of his sexuality. He thinks of himself as a great kicker. But if he's drafted into the national football league later today, he would be one of only 1700 players to be public out of the closet....
It’s arguably the most exciting weekend for any hopeful future NFL’er. As the clock ticks...Alan Gendreau waits to see when and if his name will be called. You think now is the right time?
ALAN GENDREAU: It's a great time.
SCHRIFFEN: What's so special about the kicker from middle Tennessee State, aside from his 295 points he scored in college, he's the first openly gay player to enter the NFL draft.
SCHRIFFEN: Gendreau who has been openly gay since he was 15, wants to be the first out player in the NFL. This is groundbreaking territory for a player in this testosterone-fueled sport, often accused of making homosexuality taboo. In February, the 49ers Chris Culliver was forced to apologize after suggesting he wouldn't support a gay teammate.
CHRIS CULLIVER: We ain't got no gay people on the team. They gotta get up outta here if they do.
MIKE GREENBERG, Co-host Mike and Mike, ESPN Radio: Several of your players have come out in support of gay marriage.
SCHRIFFEN: On ESPN radio on Thursday, the league's commissioner spoke out about Gendreau -- his first public comments about the NFL’s evolving stance on gays.
GOODELL: We'd be incredibly supportive of this, And not to the point of tolerance, but the point of acceptance.
ADAM SCHEFTER, ESPN NFL Insider: If the NFL believes that society is open to this type of arrangement, then the NFL is going to adopt that stance, as long as it does not cost the league popularity.
SCHRIFFEN: Gendreau's not interested in becoming popular or breaking barriers. He just wants a chance to play on the gridiron. [To Gendreau] Being the first, do you think it comes with pressure?
GENDREAU: Sure, I mean, sure. There's always pressure being the first in anything. At the end of the day, it's about football. And it's about winning games.
SCHIRFFEN: And back in college, Gendreau said his teammates treated him like any other player. He hopes when he gets to the NFL, he'll have the same acceptance in the locker room. He's confident that will happen.
Perhaps next, the NFL can add compensatory draft picks designed especially to please ABC and its allies in the LGBT lobby. "Inclusion picks"?
Ironically, the Minnesota Vikings drafted a punter in the fifth round on Saturday, suggesting a possible end to the career of Vikings punter Chris Kluwe, an incredibly obnoxious gay-Left advocate in the last year. (Who can forget his "lustful cockmonster" prose?) Kluwe will be grand marshal of this year's "gay pride" parade in the Twin Cities.
