Former NFL player LeRoy Butler on how Wisconsin church canceled his appearance because he supported Jason Collins

Retired NFL player LeRoy Butler’s decision to send a tweet of support to now openly-gay NBA player Jason Collins cost him an $8,500 speaking gig at a Wisconsin church.

Butler, who played safety for the Green Bay Packers, won’t name the church that took issue with his tweet this week which simply read: ‘Congrats to Jason Collins.’

Within two hours, he heard from the church.

In a series of tweets he later explained: ‘Wow, I was schedule to speak at a church in WI, and a member said that the pastor wants to cancel my event, I said OK why? Then I was told, because I said congrats to Jason Collins on twitter, I said really? we have a contract, he said check the moral cause.’

He added: ‘I was told if I removed the tweet, and apologize and ask God forgiveness, I can have the event. I said no.’

Butler said he later spoke to the pastor of the church and suggested they should agree to disagree but said the pastor replied: ‘No, I’m right and you’re wrong.’

He appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 last night and said: “So basically you’re asking me to … some 16-year-old kid is somewhere in a closet with his father’s gun that he found and he’s thinking about putting it to his head because he’s been tormented in school every single day because they may have found out he is gay, or they suspected he’s gay. He doesn’t have a voice right now. You’re asking me to take all that back so he doesn’t have a voice. I won’t do that.”

Butler stood firm and told Cooper: “That’s taking my dignity, my respect away. I want that young man to come out of the closet, put the gun down, and you’re a part of society. When did we get to this, starting to judge who gets to be a part of what society? It just bothers me. And I told the pastor to blame it on my mom  because my mom brought me up to love everybody.”

That’s a good mom – and a good son!