Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath hopes people who have a “hang up” with gay men and lesbians can get over it.

The 70-year-old Namath, who retired from professional football in 1977 after 13 years in the AFL and NFL, made his remarks during an appearance on HuffPost Live.

When asked whether he ever played alongside gay players, Namath answered no, but added that it wouldn't have bothered him.

“Not to my knowledge,” Namath said. “No, not to my knowledge. But I have friends that are gay. I've worked in theater, I've been in art, you know, for some time. We work shoulder to shoulder. There's a lot of love for me to them, too. That's life, you know. And if you've got a hang up about, I hope you can get over it, because it's real.” (The video is embedded on this page. Visit our video library for more videos.)