Kirk Cousins, NFL quarterback for the Washington Redskins, has been beaten down in the liberally biased mainstream press lately, and his criticism is undeserved. Or it's at least persecution fit for most Christians in this world, so we should all identify with how he believes, and learn from his treatment.
His persecutors snip at him because of comments he made at North Pointe High School in Michigan on April 28 when he acknowledged how he would try to bring a gay teammate to Christ, if he found himself in that situation.
"From a football standpoint, if the guy can help us win, come help us win," Cousins said during the Q&A portion of his talk with the high-schoolers, as reported by MLive.
Cousins followed up by saying he believes that homosexuality was a sin, but he did not see it as greater than other sins that other people might have committed.
"Now, there are a lot of teammates in my locker room right now who may not have a homosexual lifestyle, but they have sins, too. They're not perfect. So I don't say they can't help us win. Nobody's perfect," he said. "To that degree, we'd welcome him into our locker room and say come help us win, and hopefully I can love him like Jesus and hopefully show him what it means to follow Jesus."
According to other current news, Cousins might find himself in that position very soon.
Cousins' comments came just weeks after Michael Sam came out as gay in interviews with ESPN. The former Missouri Tiger defensive end could become the first active, openly gay player in NFL history if he is drafted. The NFL draft is set for the weekend of May 8-10. Sam is expected by most experts to be drafted somewhere in the third round.
Cousins' main criticism comes from the fact that he considers homosexuality a sin, but otherwise his words are of tolerance and speak of finding a bond with another player that has nothing to do with sexual preference.
That is a sentiment that Michael Sam is echoing these days as well.
With all the media attention that fell on him after his announcement, Sam begged the media to turn their attention back to football and not his sex life.
"I just wish you guys would see me as Michael Sam the football player, instead of Michael Sam the gay football player," Sam said at a recent press conference.
This is exactly what Cousins was trying to say, because Cousin's clearly sees that everyone is sinful, and that his intent was to see past that and work with a gay player for the betterment of the team. As a Christian he probably hopes that his example shows everyone around him what it means to follow Christ. Gay, Prideful, Hateful, Muslim, Lazy, whomever, Cousins was just trying to claim a belief that his example should help out anyone he is around.
This is also a mainstay belief in the Christian faith, and not one that should be criticized by those advocating tolerance. After all before there is tolerance, there is always disagreement of some sort. Just like there can't be any submission without disagreement, there really can't be tolerance, either. Cousins was advocating a positions that says, although I may disagree with you, I am still willing to work with you. That is tolerance. He even mentioned loving the other, which takes it a step further. He should be applauded, rather than chastised.
It's common knowledge among most Christians that Homosexuality is a sin. Unfortunately for the Cousin haters, that is not going to change and that's not his fault either. The Bible spells it out pretty clearly in Leviticus 18:22, " You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Or from 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
The media and other detractors really need to take this issue up with God, not with Cousins.
To a non believer, this doesn't make sense, but my prayer is that they would understand that these words are very important to us, and choose to practice tolerance the way Cousin's advocates.
Considering an openly gay player is relatively a new issue to the NFL and all of us, and one that is going to take some time to work through, one hopes the media will consider this before attacking a players intelligence and belief system in such a harsh way for being honest.
It has also been reported that other NFL players might really not know how to handle a gay teammate.
Not all members of the Washington football team would be comfortable with a gay man on the team, some players anonymously told CBS D.C.
"I think some guys would kind of shy away from him a little bit... maybe three or four guys," the anonymous player said. "But for the most part he'd be accepted."
According to CBS's reports, another player anonymously said that not everything said to the media reflects the players true feelings.
After seeing the treatment Kirk Cousins received for being forthcoming, it's not hard to understand why a player might be tempted to be dishonest to a reporter.
"The political correct things are almost a must among teammates," another player said. "There might be a little bit of separation outside of the locker room. It's not like college where you're all in dorms together. Some guys are married, some have families."
This players comments seem to imply that a gay player would bring separation and not unity.
Maybe cousin's Christ-like example of real unity and acceptance can help this player, too.
