Brendon Ayanbadejo, a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, has always been outspoken about his stance on gay marriage, but was surprised when politician Emmett C. Burns Jr. attempted to silence him.
The politician sent a letter to the Ravens’ owner Steve Bisciotti, asking him to silence Brendon that read:
“Many of my constituents and your football supporters are appalled and aghast that a member of the Ravens Football Team would step into this controversial divide and try to sway public opinion one way or the other.”
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Emmett also said he believes that Brendon should concentrate on football rather than same sex marriage.
Brendon responded to his comments with a statement to the media:
“I was surprised. Just what our country was founded on, for someone to try to take that away from me, I was pretty surprised that something like that would come up, especially from a politician.”
He also has said that the support from fans on Facebook and Twitter has been overwhelming and thanked them for it:
“Surprisingly, Steelers fans, Patriots fans, Bengals fans, Cowboys fans, people who don’t even watch the NFL have all sent me messages saying that, ‘I now have a reason to watch football or even cheer for the Ravens because of your support for equality,’ so that feels good.”
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Brendon has been one of the first professional athletes to express his words of support for gay marriage after writing a piece for The Huffington Post.
The Ravens’ team president also offered his supportive words to Brendon:
“He [said], ‘We’re in support of you, and it’s good that you’re able to voice your opinion and say how you feel,’” Ayanbadejo said. “Dick personally told me that we’re not an organization that discriminates.”
It will be interesting to see how Emmett Burns responds to Brendon’s words once again, and we’re glad that he is sticking up for his opinions!
