Reavens LineBacker Ayanbadejo Doesn’t Care What They About Him in The Lockers

Although Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has taken a verbal bruising from some of his teammates for his outspoken support of gay marriage, their mockery clearly has not stifled his message.

If anything, they can expect Ayanbadejo to become even more vocal and, in the wake of the team's victory over the New England Patriots in Jan. 20's AFC Championship game, he's been handed a megaphone.

After the Ravens 28-13 win, Ayanbadejo quickly recognized he had a prime opportunity to advocate for his cause célèbre.

Shortly following the game, the 36-year-old NFL player, who is not gay, emailed same-sex marriage proponents to ask how he could best make use of all the attention he'll be getting going into the United States' most popular sporting event.

 

Last February, Superbowl XLVI between the New York Giants and the Patriots was reportedly the most-watched television broadcast ever in the nation, with approximately 111.3 million people tuning in. 

In his email, sent to Brian Ellner, who has done work for the Washington, D.C.-based gay-rights organization Human Rights Campaign, and Michael Skolnik, who attended UCLA with Ayanbadejo and works with activist Russell Simmons, the football player reportedly asked, 'Is there anything I can do for marriage equality or anti-bullying over the next couple of weeks to harness this Super Bowl media?'

He told New York Times columnist Frank Bruni he wrote that message during 'one of those times when you’re really passionate and in your zone. And I got to thinking about all kinds of things, and I thought: how can we get our message out there?’

Last February, Superbowl XLVI between the New York Giants and the Patriots was reportedly the most-watched television broadcast ever in the nation, with approximately 111.3 million people tuning in. 

In his email, sent to Brian Ellner, who has done work for the Washington, D.C.-based gay-rights organization Human Rights Campaign, and Michael Skolnik, who attended UCLA with Ayanbadejo and works with activist Russell Simmons, the football player reportedly asked, 'Is there anything I can do for marriage equality or anti-bullying over the next couple of weeks to harness this Super Bowl media?'

He told New York Times columnist Frank Bruni he wrote that message during 'one of those times when you’re really passionate and in your zone. And I got to thinking about all kinds of things, and I thought: how can we get our message out there?’

Ayanbadejo grew up in California, and he and his relatives at one point reportedly lived in a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender dormitory at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where his stepfather was resident director.

                                        

'I was raised around gay people in a very liberal society,' Ayanbadejo told The New York Times in September. 'Discrimination was never allowed.'

The linebacker, a three-time Pro Bowl special-teams player, has been lobbying for gay marriage for years.

Skolnik, one of the recipients of that email, said in an interview with FoxNews.com that Brendon is 'like a brother' to him and 'it was very typical of him to not be thinking about himself after winning the AFC Championship. That’s the type of person he is.’ 

Ayanbadejo told The Baltimore Sun in November, shortly after Maryland voters approved same-sex marriage, that many of his teammates disagree with him on the issue.

'Some guys that are really upset with marriage equality in the locker room,' he said.

'Guys give me flak every day, they make fun of me in meetings, but, at the end of the day, the majority of them know it's the right thing to treat people equally,' Ayanbadejo told The Sun. 'I think guys respect me...Who cares what they think in the locker room? Who cares what people think anywhere?'

  

While the political debate over gay marriage does not impact him directly, he said 'it affects a lot of my friends. It affects my family. It affects Ravens' fans. It affects Marylanders. I've worked hard on it very diligently,' he said, getting the word out in interviews, videos and on Twitter. 

As of last November, nine states had legalized gay marriage while 31 states had constitutional amendments and six had laws banning it.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to take up the issue of whether gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry anywhere in the United States in late March, when the court will hear a challenge to California's Proposition 8, that state's same-sex marriage ban.

 By DAILY MAIL REPORTER