Gay in Land of the Holy Rollers (the Esera Tuaolo story)

[theHandpuppet]

Terrific excerpt from Tuaolo's book at http://www.outsports.com/nfl/2006/eserabookexcerpt.htm

Gay in Land of the Holy Rollers
Tuaolo Is Told Hitler Can Be Forgiven
but Not His Brother Who Died of AIDS

By Esera Tuaolo

From "Alone in the Trenches: My Life as a Gay Man in the NFL" (with John Rosengren)


Editor's note: Esera Tuaolo created a stir when he came out as gay in 2002 after retiring from a nine-year career in the NFL. In this except from his new book, the story picks up in 1997 when Tuaolo leaves the Minnesota Vikings to join the Jacksonville Jaguars. Tuaolo was still in the closet, but in Minnesota he met his partner, Mitchell, (with whom he is now raising two children).

Jacksonville is the land of Holy Rollers. I have never been anywhere else like that, where religion has taken over the entire city. It extended to the football team. The Jaguars were known as a Christian team. About half of the players were involved in some way with an organization known as Champions for Christ. I had seen Christian groups on other teams, but nothing like this. The CFC members seemed to accept only the guys who attended their weekly bible study. I was my usual Mr. Aloha, always happy-go-lucky in the locker room and able to get along with everyone. But I could feel the tension between the CFC guys and the rest of the players. It was as though you had to choose between two cliques that divided the team.

A lot of the team’s stars belonged to CFC, including Mark Brunell, the quarterback who had upset John Elway and the Denver Broncos in the AFC Central Division playoffs the previous season, and Tony Boselli, an offensive lineman and the first player the franchise drafted. They were the two biggest stars on the team. They really pressured guys, especially the younger players. An older player might start preaching to a younger guy in the locker room that he needed to change his ways because the end was near. You could feel the threat of rejection. Don Davey told me the star players and other CFC members had shunned him because he hadn’t accepted their invitation. It felt like if you didn’t go to their bible study, you weren’t part of the team....

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[bumblebee1]

1. It sounds like a great book.

I'm looking forward to reading it.

[Robeson]

2. I knew Mark Brunell was a holy roller....

...he's always had the glazed-over look in his eyes.

[theHandpuppet]

3. I don't think he could beat Jon Kitna in that regard

But from what I hear he'll (Kitna) be praying with the Jets soon. Maybe they need a little divine intervention at this point.

Anyway, Tuaolo's book sounds fascinating. I remember one place I worked there was a fundie supervisor who held prayer meetings in the office during lunch hour, although those meetings tended to run over and there would be a line of people waiting at the counter for service while the supe and his followers were literally on their knees on the other side of the counter. He was always pressuring people in his dept to participate in these religious services. Although I didn't work in his dept I got fed up with the constant preaching at work and waiting too many times for the prayer meetings to break up so I could get my damn tools, so I filed a complaint. At least it got the prayer circle to get up off their knees when the lunch break was over.

NO athlete should ever feel pressured to be part of ANY religious group. Some teams are worse than others in this regard, but it seems in recent years the fundie takeover of some locker rooms has become epidemic, especially when there's a quarterback involved. And the homophobia among professional teams is ridiculous. Grow up, guys! I've got a couple of Bible verses for you:

Matthew 6

1 "Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.

5 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.