Lobbyist Jack Burkham has launched a
boycott against the St. Louis Rams for drafting Michael Sam and making
him the first openly gay player to be drafted by the NFL.
The boycott would also extend to Visa,
which recently signed Sam to an endorsement deal.
“Visa and the Rams will learn that
when you trample the Christian community and Christian values, there
will be a terrible price to pay,” Burkman is quoted as saying by
the UK's The
Independent.
The protest aims to hit the companies
in their pocketbooks. Rams fans are being urged to stop attending
games and buying the team's merchandise, while Visa card holders are
being asked to stop using their credit cards.
“Openly gay football players send a
terrible message to our youth about morality,” Burkman said.
“Somebody needs to step up because the moral fiber of the nation is
eroding.”
Burkman, who runs the Washington-based
lobbying firm JM Burkman & Assoc., made headlines in February
when he announced that his firm was pushing for federal legislation
that would ban gay players in the NFL. The proposal came just weeks
after Sam publicly announced that he is gay.