For whatever inexplicable reasons, there has unfortunately been a recent procession of athletes parading about gay slurs or speaking out against same-sex marriages.
Hall of Fame wide receiver Michael Irvin intends to reverse that hateful trend.
The former Dallas Cowboy did a feature for Out, a gay men’s fashion, lifestyle and entertainment magazine. Irvin’s older brother, Vaughn, is homosexual, and for the first time in Irvin’s life, he felt it was time to openly discuss the matter, as well as homosexuals in sports.
In the feature, Irvin recounts a story from when he was 12 years old. He and his father, Walter Irvin, were driving home and they came across a young man dressed in women’s clothing. It was Vaughn.
“My dad looked back at me and said, ‘Yes, that’s your brother. And you love your brother,'” Irvin told the magazine.
The NFL Network analyst has always looked up to his older brother, and he now wants to give back what he can to both Vaughn and the rest of the gay community — particularly gay athletes.
“If anyone comes out in those top four major sports, I will absolutely support him,” he said in the interview with Out. “That’s why I do my radio show every day. When these issues come out, I want to have a voice to speak about them. I think growth comes when we share. Until we do that, we’re going to be stuck in the Dark Ages about a lot of things. When a guy steps up and says, ‘This is who I am,’ I guarantee you I’ll give him 100 percent support.”
