Chris Kluwe has become one of my favorite athletes. He’s not afraid to voice his opinion regardless of who likes it or not. He’s been very vocal in the fight for equality. Yet so many people seem to ignore him (like the 32 NFL teams) or chastise him. Several radio hosts have said the reason Kluwe may not be signed yet is because NFL teams may not want to deal with questions they may get every time Kluwe says something that becomes an attention-getter. Kluwe has made it clear that he doesn’t want to sit in a corner and keep his thoughts and beliefs to himself. So if he is not being hateful or disrespectful with the things he says why should anyone be critiquing him?
It doesn’t matter what side of gay marriage you are on, or any other “political” issue, as long as you are not speaking in a hateful way, it shouldn’t be a reason for anyone, whether they are a public figure or not to be criticized. Sure it’s ok to disagree but why the big firestorm? Why resort to hateful language and other means of trying to degrade someone because they expressed “their” views? Kluwe was on Conan last night and shared some thoughts and even successfully pulled off an Aaron Hernandez joke which itself was impressive given how serious the crime is Hernandez is accused of.
In the aforementioned video Kluwe also explains the art of cursing and the proper way to use certain words. It’s actually a very fascinating take. Some people use the words they use whether clean or not because that’s the type of language they use all the time. Others like myself and Kluwe apparently, like to go more so without a filter to emphasize a point or make a certain joke funnier. If you don’t believe that using “bad” words can help make a joke funnier I understand that. But if you listened to what Kluwe says about it, you might not disagree quite so much.
But getting back to the original point. Kluwe is a guy who just wants everybody to be equal. What’s wrong with that? It’s amazing why so many people feel the need to hate on a guy who wants the same rights as everyone else. On a side note it’s also amazing that an NFL punter could get this much publicity. But the hate needs to stop. That’s the bottom line. Respect Kluwe’s opinion for what it is and move on. Most people seem to agree with his stance on certain topics so it’s not like he has a lot of enemies. He’s always been very honest. So has Charles Barkley. People love him because he’s always so honest and made it very clear during his playing he days that he doesn’t care if people like him for that or not.
Let’s never disregard athletes for being honest and instead embrace it. That’s what a role model should be, upfront and truthful. That’s the kind of guy Kluwe is. Be a fan, not a hater.
