It’s ironic that athletes from the Southern Baptist Church-affiliated Baylor University seem to be leading the way on LGBT inclusion in professional sports.
Earlier this year, of course, former Baylor center Brittney Griner came out publicly as a lesbian after the Phoenix Mercury made her the the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft.
Now, former Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III is speaking out in support of Griner — his friend — and other LGBT athletes. Griffin, who now plays for the Washington Redskins and is known as “RG3,” is on the cover of the September issue of GQ, which asked him about the likelihood of an NFL player coming out:
“I think there are [gay players] right now, and if they’re looking for a window to just come out, I mean, now is the window,” Griffin said. “My view on it is, yes, I am a Christian, but to each his own. You do what you want to do. If some Christians want to look at being gay as a sin, then thinking about other women, committing adultery — or any of those other sins that are in the Bible—those are sins, too. And God looks at all of us the same way.”
Griffin III also commented on Griner’s coming out, which he says was hardly a shock.
“I was lost when they said, ‘Brittney Griner came out today,’ ” Griffin told GQ. “I know Brittney. I’m close to Brittney. Griner was never in. Everyone knew that.”
It’s not the first time Griffin, who attended high school in Copperas Cove, Texas, has expressed support for gay athletes. From an interview with OutSports last year:
Griffin remembered a high school teammate who had come out to his team in Copperas Cove, Texas. While Griffin said he has gay friends and wouldn’t care if a player came out on his new Washington Redskins team, he remembered a sad ending to the football career of his gay former teammate.
“When he came out, he stopped playing,” Griffin said. “He might have stopped playing because of the negative feedback he might have gotten from being that on the football team. So, I think that’s probably why he ended up quitting.”
It was from that out player that Griffin learned a gay teammate poses no threat.
“Just because they’re gay doesn’t mean they’re hitting on you,” he said.
Griffin and Griner are evidence that despite the efforts of anti-gay schools like Baylor, most young people today support LGBT equality. Griffin’s statements also show the impact that coming out can have on the people around us, as his views were clearly impacted by the experiences of both Griner and his teammate in high school.
