Scott Fujita: Gay Teammate Will Be No Big Deal

Most pro footballers 'would be fine with having a teammate who was gay,' he says.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

March 02 2013 12:52 PM EST

May 26 2023 1:48 PM EST

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With reports of potential NFL draftees being quizzed on their sexual orientation, LGBT rights supporter Scott Fujita has stepped up to say it wouldn't matter if a player was gay.

"I would argue that the overwhelming majority would be fine with having a teammate who was gay," Fujita, a linebacker with the Cleveland Browns, told Cleveland radio station 92.3 The Ticket Friday.

He said sometimes when players use gay slurs, "a lot of guys don't mean it to be harmful in any way," but they need to be told it's not acceptable. "A lot of times it is about educating a guy and letting him know, 'Hey, a lot of people might be affected by that. You have no idea if the guy in the locker next to you could be affected by that, so why not create an atmosphere where everyone feels comfortable to be who they are?'" he said.

When an NFL player does come out as gay, he said, it will be a big deal at first, but then will be accepted as part of the normal scheme of things. "Once a guy comes out, yeah, it'll be very newsworthy," he said. "It'll be a huge, huge breakthrough and then it'll be another one and another one and another one. Then it'll be just another guy in the locker room. So the sooner we get to that point, we can get past all the difficult things the PR staffs feel they might have and should be ashamed they even feel that way, but once we get over that first hurdle then everything should be just fine."