By Jonathan King The Clinch Report
Kudos to former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans for speaking up this week about gay rights. Evans, recently became the latest pro athlete to petition the Supreme Court to over turn bans on same sex marriage. By speaking up as a hetero sexual male, in a very masculine sport Evans has stepped outside the stereo-typical shadow cast by combat athletes in a world where ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ has become the norm.
Evans makes the point in his statement that marriage is about “love”, not sexuality.
Read his statement below!
Rashad Evans issued this statement:
“I’ve never been a homophobe, never understood what that is all about. I knew some people who were gay and never cared about their sexuality. But at the same time, I didn’t fully understand the issues around gay people until my friend BA started telling me about his full public support for gay marriage. We talked about the issue and I decided its not enough to not be against a minority, if you want things to go better for them you have to speak up with them.”
“I’m a UFC fighter, a macho-type sport. I am a heterosexual guy in a tough macho sport, which is exactly the reason I feel a duty to say I support gay marriage and gay rights.”
“I have nothing to gain personally from supporting this issue, and that’s the point. Society as a whole is better when there is equality, and I want to live in a country where everyone has the same rights because we all benefit from that.”
“What people overlook is that is isn’t a sex issue, its a love issue. There’s no justifiable reason for trying to get in the way of two people who love each other. I have kids. I don’t want them growing up in a society where they, or their friends, could be second class citizens based on which person they fall in love with or who they want to be happy with.”
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