Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has stressed his regret over a recently unearthed homophobic comment.
Earlier this month, the Detroit Free Press reported on a homophobic remark that Campbell, 44, made while attending Texas A&M University in 1998.
Campbell, then 22, told 40,000 people at a pep rally that he was proud to attend a college where “men like women and women like men.”
A few days after the event, Campbell offered an apology to the Chronicle of Higher Education, writing, “I offended some people, and I’m sorry for that. It was heat of the moment. It’s not necessarily that I directed it at anyone.”
This past Thursday, Campbell, 44, echoed his regrets during a conference call, the Detroit Free Press reports, calling the incident a “bonfire comment.”
“I went to Texas A&M but it was a rivalry game for us. And so you’re in front of the student body,” he said. “I was 22 years old and I…made a comment I shouldn’t have made is exactly what it was. And at the time I was, ‘Oh, man, this is, you know’ — I thought it was something exciting.”
Campbell continued: “And I remember I got home and who is now my wife, my fiancée at the time, was like, ‘Oh, my God. What have you done?’ But she was right. It slapped me right in the face after I had talked to her.
“And look, I’ve apologized for it and it was something — I was young and I wish I wouldn’t have said it. If I could go back, I wouldn’t have. But, you know, here we are and it’s out there and all I can do is apologize for it.”
Prior to Campbell’s hiring, Detroit Lions team president Rod Wood told reporters that the team was looking for a couch who would help create “a culture that is open, inclusive, where everybody is pulling together as a team and, in one word, communication is paramount and everybody is doing the right thing for the Detroit Lions.”
The resurfacing of Campbell’s comments was somewhat overshadowed after Detroit Free Press reporter Marlow Alter, who wrote the article, was found to have tweeted the anti-gay slur “fag” several times between 2011 and 2012.
Alter had to issue his own apology after writing about Campbell’s 1998 comment, saying there was “no excuse” for his tweets, some of which also included a racist slur for Black people.
On Tuesday, January 14, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill banning transgender women and girls from participating on school-sponsored sports teams matching their gender identity.
The bill, dubbed the "Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act," prohibits any institutions that receive federal funding from allowing any athlete who was not assigned female at birth to participate on sports teams designated for girls.
The bill does not eliminate co-ed or intramural sports teams, in which males and females alike can compete. Nor does it prohibit cisgender female students from trying out for, or competing on, non-contact sports teams traditionally designated for males. The latter instance is something that cisgender female athletes can request under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination, if their school does not offer a particular sport to female students.
A Florida man has been acquitted of murder charges in the shooting of a gay man at a Tampa dog park a year ago.
The six-person jury deliberated for two-and-a-half hours before finding Gerald Radford not guilty of second-degree murder in relation to the death of 52-year-old John Walter Lay at the city's West Dog Park on February 2, 2024.
The jury also failed to find Radford guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter with a weapon.
Prosecutors with the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office had sought to attach a hate crime enhancement to the charges. Had he been convicted, Radford could have been sentenced to life in prison.
Tulsi Gabbard has been under scrutiny ever since President Donald Trump first nominated her to be the next Director of National Intelligence.
Senators, including many Republicans, have expressed concerns about the then-congresswoman's 2017 meeting with Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and her past adulation for Edward Snowden, a former NSA intelligence contractor who leaked classified information.
Democrats have also expressed concerns about past comments the Democrat-turned-Republican made appearing to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Senators raised questions about those issues during hearings on January 30.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell has stressed his regret over a recently unearthed homophobic comment.
Earlier this month, the Detroit Free Press reported on a homophobic remark that Campbell, 44, made while attending Texas A&M University in 1998.
Campbell, then 22, told 40,000 people at a pep rally that he was proud to attend a college where “men like women and women like men.”
A few days after the event, Campbell offered an apology to the Chronicle of Higher Education, writing, “I offended some people, and I’m sorry for that. It was heat of the moment. It’s not necessarily that I directed it at anyone.”
This past Thursday, Campbell, 44, echoed his regrets during a conference call, the Detroit Free Press reports, calling the incident a “bonfire comment.”
“I went to Texas A&M but it was a rivalry game for us. And so you’re in front of the student body,” he said. “I was 22 years old and I…made a comment I shouldn’t have made is exactly what it was. And at the time I was, ‘Oh, man, this is, you know’ — I thought it was something exciting.”
Campbell continued: “And I remember I got home and who is now my wife, my fiancée at the time, was like, ‘Oh, my God. What have you done?’ But she was right. It slapped me right in the face after I had talked to her.
“And look, I’ve apologized for it and it was something — I was young and I wish I wouldn’t have said it. If I could go back, I wouldn’t have. But, you know, here we are and it’s out there and all I can do is apologize for it.”
Prior to Campbell’s hiring, Detroit Lions team president Rod Wood told reporters that the team was looking for a couch who would help create “a culture that is open, inclusive, where everybody is pulling together as a team and, in one word, communication is paramount and everybody is doing the right thing for the Detroit Lions.”
The resurfacing of Campbell’s comments was somewhat overshadowed after Detroit Free Press reporter Marlow Alter, who wrote the article, was found to have tweeted the anti-gay slur “fag” several times between 2011 and 2012.
Alter had to issue his own apology after writing about Campbell’s 1998 comment, saying there was “no excuse” for his tweets, some of which also included a racist slur for Black people.
Read More:
Biden names LGBTQ legal advocate to Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights
Trump ally furious that Biden won’t let him discriminate against LGBTQ people
Task Force’s new leader Kierra Johnson on the future of the LGBTQ movement
READ NEXT