by Christopher
Lisotta
Gay.com / PlanetOut.com
Network
|
On Sept. 10 Shockey, the New York Giants' first-round draft pick who was a member of last year's University of Miami championship team, appeared on the radio show. Stern asked Shockey if he thought there were any gay players in the National Football League.
"I don't know," Shockey said. "I don't like to think about that. I hope not."
Stern then asked Shockey if there had been any gay players on his college team.
"No," the rookie pro player replied. "I mean, if I knew there was a gay guy on my college football team, I probably wouldn't, you know, stand for it. You know, I think, you know, they're going to be in the shower with us and stuff, so I don't think that's going to work."
The Giants were quick to distance themselves from Shockey's comments, and stressed they had not been supportive of his decision to go on Stern's show. "Those views don't represent the views of our organization," said Pat Hanlon, vice president of communications for the Giants.
"But let's put his comments in perspective," Hanlon told the New York Daily News. "It's Howard Stern. It's not `60 Minutes.' It's not a forum for the sociological issues of our time."
"It's a show just for comedy," Shockey told the News on Thursday. "I guess I do regret saying it. I didn't think anyone was going to make a big deal out of it. I'm not prejudiced against anybody's beliefs or what they do in their off time. I do regret saying something like that. Whatever I did to offend people, I apologize. I'm not prejudiced in any way."
Connie A. Ress, northeastern regional media manager for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), said that the Shockey controversy is indicative of problems for gay athletes who are trying to decide if they should be open about their sexuality.
"No one of note has come out on a male team sport," she told the Gay.com/PlanetOut.com Network. "Until a major player comes out, we'll continually hear comments like this."