baltimore ravens linebacker & special teams ace brendon ayanbadejo has unconventional plans for the upcoming super bowl week. ayanbadejo intends to utilize the global media blitz as a unique opportunity to express his views on anti-bullying, gay rights & marriage equality.
ayanbadejo is bi-racial & grew up in a liberal environment where discrimination was frowned upon. his stepfather was a resident director for a lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender (lgbt) dorm at the university of california at santa cruz. ayanbadejo & his family lived in the dorm, which helped him cultivate passionate feelings for lgbt people & their rights.
earlier this season, ayanbadejo was at the center of a developing controversy: a maryland politician wrote a letter to the ravens demanding the organization silence him for speaking publicly about lgbt issues. surprisingly, minnesota vikings punter chris kluwe supported ayanbadejo & wrote a scathing letter to the politician - admonishing him for discouraging a citizen for sharing their views.
despite the political backlash, ayanbadejo remains steadfast. according to the new york times, he e-mailed two marriage equality advocates hours after returning home from the team's come-from-behind win against the new england patriots in the afc championship game last sunday. he also swapped e-mails with the founder & executive director of athlete ally, a group dedicated to eliminating homophobia in sports.
ayanbadejo began working on ways to get out his message as soon as the ravens clinched a berth in the game against the san francisco 49ers. in fact, he even has a dream scenario in mind: the ravens win the super bowl & he is invited to the ellen degeneres talk show as a guest, where the duo will discuss the importance of equality for all gays & lesbians. but before they get their talk on, he wants to get his dance on, with ellen.
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