Calgary Stampeders wide receiver Maurice Price is being criticized for a series of "homophobic" tweets he posted Monday about Michael Sam, the first openly-gay player to be drafted into the NFL.
Price tweeted that his faith would not allow him to accept "what took place over the weekend." Sam was drafted 249th overall by the St. Louis Rams and was filmed kissing his boyfriend in celebration on Saturday.
The tweets were later deleted, but CBC Calgary reporter Devin Heroux screengrabbed them and posted them on his own account:
Price also re-tweeted the following message, which remained on his account as of Monday night:
The Stampeders denounced Price's comments from the team's official Twitter:
Yahoo! News columnist Andrew Bucholtz called the comments "homophobic" and said the player could face a fine. The Canadian Football League (CFL) fined and denounced players Arland Bruce III and Bryant Turner after they made offensive remarks about Sam in February. Bruce was later cut by the Montreal Alouettes.
Price told The Calgary Sun that he is not homophobic, saying a homophobe is "someone who can’t associate or be around gays."
But he also said that, as a Christian, "It’s just something I believe in."
"It’s a sin. It’s no worse and no more than robbing or stealing is a sin."
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