NPR Celebrates NFL Punter Who Unloads Profane 'Lustful Cockmonster' Letter on Black Politician

September 16th, 2012 7:31 AM

When a black Maryland politician pleaded with the Baltimore Ravens to silence their player Brendan Ayanbadejo from advocating gay marriage, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe wrote a profane, nasty open letter, including the sentence “They won't magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster.” Then later, he posted an slightly less nasty, non-profane version on his blog at the St. Paul Pioneer Press website.

Naturally, Kluwe drew the usual praise from celebrities on the left, including Ellen Degeneres and Sarah Silverman. And naturally, he was interviewed (along with Ayanbadejo) on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered on Wednesday. NPR’s Melissa Block made an utter mockery of the show title again, including no consideration of conservative questions, and without any questions to Kluwe about his profanity and insults at conservatives in his letter:

None of them disagree with you? None of them came up and said, I'm not quite comfortable with how public you're being about this?

Brendon, what kind of reaction are you hearing from your teammates and coaches?...

Chris, what about with the Vikings?...

Brendon, what about that question of whether, you know, becoming outspoken on a social issue - and a divisive social issue, for many people - could be a distraction for the team or you, as a player?...

Do you think, realistically, that we're at a point where teammates, coaches, fans would accept a gay NFL player?...

I was wondering whether as older players in the league, you have some standing; you may be more comfortable to take the positions you've taken, than a really young player might.

One can agree with Kluwe that NFL players should have a right to speak politically, although deeply secular NPR didn't dare ask Kluwe about a Christian player like Tim Tebow, and whether he would be allowed to speak out and disagree with Kluwe's rants publicly. It’s a little bit bizarre that NPR, that alleged beacon of quiet and civil discourse, wouldn’t take exception or even ask Kluwe about his profanity and rudeness. To make it more bizarre, Block actually suggested that Kluwe’s critics are the foul-mouthed, abusive ones:

BLOCK: I don't know, Chris. I've been reading some responses to your blog posts. And there is a lot of anger and disagreement out there...

KLUWE: (LAUGHTER) Well, those people are certainly...

BLOCK: ...to put it mildly.

KLUWE: They're certainly not coming on Twitter to say it because out of - I'd say I probably got like, 5- or 6,000 replies to the letter I wrote. And I counted maybe seven angry responses. And I think it's one of those things where people, they're going to say stuff on the Internet that they're not necessarily going to say in real life.

NPR let him claim that he received no pushback without laughing. That would be his Twitter page (@chriswarcraft). Let’s review some of what Kluwe wrote in real life (as opposed to the calm whitewashed guy on NPR). Begin with how he told the black legislator, Emmett Burns, he was “mind-bogglingly stupid.” Why wouldn’t Block ask him if that was racially insensitive? He lectured Burns that a black man should be pro-gay:

As recently as 1962 the NFL still had segregation, which was only done away with by brave athletes and coaches daring to speak their mind and do the right thing, and you're going to say that political views have "no place in a sport"? I can't even begin to fathom the cognitive dissonance that must be coursing through your rapidly addled mind right now; the mental gymnastics your brain has to tortuously contort itself through to make such a preposterous statement are surely worthy of an Olympic gold medal (the Russian judge gives you a 10 for "beautiful oppressionism").

His first sentence was “I find it inconceivable that you are an elected official of Maryland's state government. Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level.” Kluwe’s one of those intolerant leftists who thinks conservatives should never speak or have a place at the table. No wonder NPR likes him.

This is the “lustful cockmonster” passage:

If gay marriage becomes legal, are you worried that all of a sudden you'll start thinking about penis? "Oh shit. Gay marriage just passed. Gotta get me some of that hot dong action!" Will all of your friends suddenly turn gay and refuse to come to your Sunday Ticket grill-outs? (Unlikely, since gay people enjoy watching football too.)

I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your house and steal your children. They won't magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster. They won't even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population...

And this is the conclusion:

P.S. I've also been vocal as hell about the issue of gay marriage so you can take your "I know of no other NFL player who has done what Mr. Ayanbadejo is doing" and shove it in your close-minded, totally lacking in empathy piehole and choke on it. Asshole.

You can see why a trash-mouth like Sarah Silverman would appreciate this letter. But with NPR, it actually, amazingly, gets worse. After ignoring all that, on Friday’s ATC, they went to the letters pile, and instead of reading letters from listeners from both sides, they only read supportive pro-gay ones. Kluwe doesn’t find a Russian judge to grade that one. NPR anchor Audie Cornish mentioned Kluwe "wrote a strongly worded letter, much of which we can't repeat on air, to that delegate for his, in Kluwe's words, vitriolic hatred and bigotry."

Erich Alejandro of Alhambra, California writes with this admission, I'm not a sports guy. In fact, I am ashamed to say that I am one of those people who thought that football players were, for the most part, meatheads. I have never been more happy to be proven wrong. Chris and Brendon are clearly intelligent, well-spoken men who are fighting for a great cause.

Leslie Machado of Menifee, California adds, I am the sponsor for a high school Gay Straight Alliance. I was touched by the interview with NFL players Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo. Actually it made me smile through my tears. The students have been through so much, and it will be wonderful to play this interview for them at our next meeting this Friday.

PS: Friday also featured a story by Richard Gonzales about promoting acceptance of homosexuality in the Latino community with lesbian lobbyist Catherine Pino’s Family Is Family campaign. It at least had a single, solitary soundbite from a Latino evangelical insisting “we’re not homophobic and we encourage civil discourse.” But that, it was emphasized, was not the mainstream:

The campaign has been endorsed by more than 20 national Hispanic organizations. But is such a campaign necessary? Polls suggest that Latinos are far more tolerant than might be expected.

Luis Lugo directs the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life. He says Latino views are in line with mainstream opinion, with a two-to-one majority saying they're okay with homosexuality.

One way the “mainstream” media makes the liberal position the “mainstream” is by ignoring the religious, conservative opposition – even when conservatives pay the bill with their taxes.