"Opinion: NFL draft Michael Sam: Just a kiss, and more than a kiss," Carson Wright, 5th Period

This article pertains to the recent NFL draft. After Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL player, was drafted, he turned to his partner and kissed him. This kiss spurred on a slew of varied reactions, primarily on social media, ranging from approval to disgust. CNN collected a series of specific opinions on the matter, beginning with psychology professor Peggy Drexler who, while approving of societal progress, argued that not everybody was ready for the kiss. CNN columnist John D. Sutter was more pronounced in his approval, taking a strong stance against homophobia and calling for quick progress on the social front. Craig James differed; a former player for the New England Patriots and current assistant to the president of the Family Research Council, James defended the tweets of "OMG" and "horrible" that came from NFL player Don Jones. James contended that Jones, who was fined and temporarily barred from NFL events, should be able to speak freely. Sally Kohn, a CNN political commentator, spoke of her relationship with her partner and her child, citing the normality with which she, a lesbian, lives her life. Sportswriter Stefanie Loh argues that equality and free homosexual expression is the "new normal." Pepper Schwartz, a professor of sociology, noted that players may be nervous about the "sexualization" of the team, remarking that "the hope is once the league gets used to him as a player and a person, the fear and anger responses will subside and eventually disappear."

Most of the commentators expressed moderate to absolute approval of Sam's kiss with his boyfriend. They make some fine points about society and progressivism, but what I'd really like to dissect here is Craig James's argument. It seems that for every instance of LGBT progress (or for that case, the progress of any other social minority), a member of the social majority is there to play victim, to cry foul and claim infringement. Whenever a proponent of the Christian Right (which is barely Christian and far from right) faces the societally induced and legally fair consequences of their speech or actions that target the LGBT community, they argue that such is a violation of the right to freedom of speech. However, while the government cannot restrict their freedom of speech, their employers can. If a member of a company expresses views that sharply differ with the principles of said company, the executive branch of that organization is free to terminate their position on the grounds of misrepresentation and undesired affiliation. The public may do the same; if society has a problem with what you say, then it's free to oppose you.
James says that he lost his "job as a TV sports analyst because of [his] religious beliefs about marriage." He claims, "I know what Don Jones is going through." "Going through"... so here, James apparently feels the need to play the victim of persecution, to claim that he's being targeted because of his beliefs--beliefs that are made up of the diminishment of another person's identity.


Article: http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/12/opinion/opinion-roundup-michael-sam-kiss/index.html?hpt=hp_c2