Freedom to Marry Voice for Equality, Brendon Ayanbadejo, nominated for Sports Illustrated's 2009 Sportsman of the Year

Sports Illustrated

November 23, 2009

Voice for Equality, Brendon Ayanbadejo, was recently nominated as Sports Illustrated's 2009 Sportsman of the Year. SI applauded Brendon's achievements off the field as much as on:

Imagine hearing this declaration inside the average [NFL] locker room or clubhouse: "I think we will look back in 10, 20, 30 years and be amazed that gays and lesbians did not have the same rights as every one else. How did this ever happen in the land of the free and the home of the brave? Are we really free?"...Within a multi-billion-dollar industry that is so culturally venerated and yet, at times, so culturally stagnant, even disturbingly homophobic, such a gesture by an active player is shocking. Humongous. Staggering for the perceived magnitude of risk involved -- to one's image, one's fan-base, one's checkbook, one's safety -- as much as the message itself... It's all in line with Ayanbadejo's typical mix of modesty and audacity.

[Link]