Sports commentator fired after bemoaning gay marriage and “liberal left”
It was reported yesterday that a Canadian sportscaster had been fired after Tweeting about his personal opposition to gay marriage.
Damian Goddard, a TV sportscaster for Canada’s Rogers Sportsnet, let his feelings be known about the “liberal left” and “same gender marriage” on May 10. His Catholic-driven criticisms seem to be rooted in two unrelated sports headlines that occurred earlier in the week.
First, Goddard squawked about the resignation of Peter Vidmar, a U.S. Olympic representative, who allegedly donated his money and support to California’s infamous anti-gay marriage referendum, Proposition 8. Vidmar stepped down shortly after accepting the prestigious Olympic position because he felt his Mormon beliefs shouldn’t take away from the U.S. athletes. Sportscaster Goddard wrote this on his Twitter account:
“What a load of b-s. And the thing about Vidmar is that he’s such a wonderful human being. The left is truly lost.http://tinyurl.com/3qrghmb”
Following that, Goddard dove headfirst into another sports- and gay-marriage-related controversy, throwing his support behind hockey agent Todd Reynolds. Reynolds publicly criticized hockey player Sean Avery, who proudly supports gay marriage in New York. Goddard sent out these tweets about Reynolds (and he was roundly criticized in return):
“I completely and whole-heartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage.”
“To those who have been…well…critical of my stance, God bless you. You are all in my prayers, and I am so sad for the pain in your lives.”
“It is times like these when I am so thankful for my Roman Catholic faith. I would be COMPLETELY lost without it….”
“[T]he silver lining to all of this? I have a new friend in Todd Reynolds. Have yet to meet him, but I love the dude. The man is a pillar!”
Sportsnet released a statement about Goddard’s dismissal:
“Mr. Goddard was a freelance contractor and in recent weeks it had become clear that he is not the right fit for our organization.”
Gay marriages are currently legal in several U.S. states and the District of Columbia. And for nearly six years, gay marriages have been legally recognized across Canada. Other states, such as New York and Maryland, have come very close to legalizing same-sex marriage this past year. Unfortunately they fell short of votes in their Democrat-led legislatures.
Many prominent New Yorkers are lining up to express their support for marriage equality. A recently released video featuring Sean Avery made headlines:
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