LGBT ally Chris Kluwe: “There’s a very rich tradition of athletes in America standing up for societal issues”

Chris Kluwe is such a fine man that whatever NFL team gives this suddenly unemployed punter a job next season, I will root for them and feature team members as Morning Men for a week!

Chris, who became one of the most visible LGBT equality activists in the US last year, was let go last week by the Minnesota Vikings who decided to go in another direction.

Who don’t officially know if it was his activism that cost him his job but it doesn’t take an NFL expert to read between the lines.

Anyway, Chris is showing that he has no regrets and has no plans – thank God – to quiet his unique voice. He talked with journalist Michelangelo Signorile about his situation a few days ago.

On Minnesota Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton saying that he doesn’t “doesn’t feel good” about the team’s decision and that “public officials should be honest about what’s going on” Kluwe says: “That was cool to hear from the governor, because generally governors don’t speak out about football players very often. It’s just one of those things where, right now, I’m just hoping to latch on with another team, and hopefully continue my football career. I feel that I have at least four, possibly five years left of playing at a very high level.”

On whether his activism cost him his job: “I honestly don’t know because I’m not in those meetings. I don’t know what’s said between managers, between coaches. All I can do is go out and punt to the bet of my ability and trust in the body of work that I’ve put together over the years, which has been pretty consistent.”

On if it was all worth it: “To me it’s something that, if I’m going to remembered for something, I’d rather be remembered for something that helps people’s lives, that keeps children from wanting to kill themselves as opposed to playing football. As much as I love playing football, and I really do enjoy playing football, there are serious societal issues that plague our civilization. And there are things that we need to address. And if no one ever speaks out, nothing ever gets changed.”

He added: “There’s a very rich tradition of athletes in America standing up for societal issues. Whether it’s Jackie Robinson, whether it’s Muhammad Ali or others. This thought that your job defines you, that you can only do your job, that you can’t talk about anything else, it really goes against the spirit of what this country is about, that every citizen should be vested in where it’s headed.”