There’s sticking to your guns, and then there’s whatever Chris Broussard is doing right now. After NBA veteran Jason Collins came out on Monday, Broussard appeared on ESPN’s Outside The Lines, where he proceeded to spew verbal diarrhea all over the set:
“Personally, I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or an openly…like premarital sex between heterosexuals. If you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says ‘you know them by their fruits.’ It says that, you know, that’s a sin.”
Because ESPN must retain Broussard and his precious “sources”, the network issued a weak non-apology apology, referring to Broussard’s comments as merely a “distraction” amid the otherwise overwhelmingly positive response to Collins’ announcement.
Fast forward to Thursday morning, when Broussard appeared on Power 105.1’s Breakfast Club (full interview here), where hosts DJ Envy, Angela Yee and Charlamagne Tha God riddled him with questions regarding his general stance on homosexuality:
“I’m fine with homosexuals,” Broussard protested, insisting that he has at least one gay friend. “I disagree [with being gay], but disagree respectfully…I don’t have any problem with homosexuals.”
In addition to his silly “I can’t be racist, I have black friends” defense, Broussard dug himself a deeper hole by referencing the Bible’s New Testament books First Corinthians and Romans, and the Old Testament’s Book of Leviticus — claiming it was possible to save homosexuals through the power of prayer:
“That’s the life of a Christian, you have to fight against temptation, and if you stumble and fall, you get back up and ask God for forgiveness, and you move on.”
“I think that applies to homosexuals as well. If a person who is a same-sex attractive [sic] and they’re sincerely trying to live for the lord, and they fall into a same-sex relationship…and they repent, and they ask for forgiveness, and they keep trying to serve God, I believe that person is a Christian.”
While Broussard is absolutely entitled to his opinion, doubling down on comments that warranted an apology from his employer merely days earlier (no matter how half-assed it was) doesn’t strike us as the smartest approach to the situation.
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