Former Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy
Butler said Thursday that he would welcome openly gay players in the
NFL.
The 44-year-old Butler, who is credited
with inventing the touchdown celebration Lambeau Leap, made his
comments during an appearance on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss
an incident over Jason Collins' coming out.
Collins, an NBA free agent, came out
gay on Monday in a cover story for Sports Illustrated.
Butler said that after he tweeted,
“Congrats to Jason Collins,” a church in Wisconsin, which he
refused to name, rescinded its invitation for him to speak on
bullying to a group of young people. Butler stated that the church
said that he could speak if he apologizes, deletes the tweet and asks
God for forgiveness. He refused.
“It just bothers me,” Butler told
host Anderson Cooper.
(Related: Church
cancels LeRoy Butler's speech over Jason Collins tweet.)
After saying that he did not know any
gay football players, Butler told Cooper that he would support such
players.
“And I know it's been rumored
Anderson about maybe some guys getting together coming out. I would
let those guys, just say this: They got support from straight guys
like me that won't judge them. So, if you want to come out, take
your time, or come out tomorrow, or whenever, it doesn't matter to
me.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)