Larry Johnson, once one of the best running backs in the NFL, was fired from the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday.

Johnson, who turns 30 on Nov. 19, had caused a series of off-field controversies and the final straw seemed to come On Oct. 25 when he posted on his Twitter account several insults to fans, questioned coach Todd Haley’s credentials and used a gay slur. He repeated the slur the next day to reporters and was suspended for two weeks.

The quote in the Associated Press from Johnson’s agent Peter Schaffer is a pathetic attempt at spin: “A part of him is excited and a part of him is very regretful. There’s a lot of feelings going on right now. It’s analogous to breaking up with a girlfriend. Maybe you saw it coming, but it still hurts when it happens.”

Johnson was the subject of an online petition last week calling on the Chiefs not to let him break the team rushing record. He was never a fan favorite and his apology for the online comments came almost exactly one year after issuing a similar apology for alleged incidents involving women in Kansas City night clubs.

At last night’s GLAAD Tidings Event and Fashion Show, I chatted up new GLAAD Executive Director Jarrett Barrios and asked if more people are using gay slurs these days, like in the situation with Johnson, or if there is just more awareness of it.

“We’re on them more and we’re going to reach a day when it’s not okay just like it’s not okay to use racial words or masagonistic words on television or in a high school classroom,” he said. “That’s the kind of language that makes gay kids feel like they want to kill themselves and no kid should have to go througjh that.”

Comments

(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)

2 Remarks

1. November 9th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
   dobe says:

   F-U
   Leave pro-ball alone if you can’t handle the truth… as once said…”you want the truth, you can’t handle the truth” by Jack…
   you’re all a bunch of gay whiney ass bitches!!!

2. November 10th, 2009 at 11:02 am
   Andy says:

   Was expecting him to get released soon. Glad he didn’t get the rushing record, I liked Priest Holmes a lot more.