Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Recently, we explained that NFL teams are curious as to whether Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o is gay. Somehow, this reality was misinterpreted by some as being an official PFT position that this is a legitimate question, for Te’o or anyone else.

It isn’t.

But the NFL is a unique industry, both in good ways and in bad. When it comes to outdated, intolerant views regarding the sexuality of its players, the NFL’s difference is that it doesn’t embrace diversity.

Case in point: Colorado tight end Nick Kasa was asked a stream of questions that touched on sexual preference at the Scouting Combine.

“They ask you like, ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’ Are you married?’ Do you like girls?’” Kasa told ESPN Radio Denver on Tuesday. “Those kinds of things, and you know it was just kind of weird. But they would ask you with a straight face, and it’s a pretty weird experience altogether.”

It’s more than weird. It’s troubling. While on one hand teams try to throw players off the prepared answers that make them seem as complex as a cardboard cutout, on the other hand that effort should be undertaken without touching on inappropriate subject matter.

The league should be troubled, too. And the league should contact Kasa immediately, with a very specific follow-up question: “Which team(s) asked you that?”

Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?” | ProFootballTalk

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Doesn't matter if he is gay or not, it's just the whole Manti Te’o situation is a RED FLAG for most teams.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Terrible behaviour. Surprises me greatly that it occurred in the USA.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Its been reported that male athletes are "uncomfortable" with gay teammates. Whats odd to me is that a higher majority of Black athletes are more uncomfortable with it more than Whites/Hispanics.

Disclaimer: That was a report I read in the late 90's so things may have changed quite a bit since then.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

IDK, if you're considering paying a guy millions of dollars to play for your team, I don't see why you can't ask him if he's gay considering the environment he will be working in. He's not applying to be the night clerk at 7-11 where it doesn't matter, he'll be in direct physical contact with his peers and if attitudes in NFL locker rooms are such that it would make his teammates uncomfortable, you have the right to be able to consider this before drafting him, IMO. Someone will draft him regardless, but judging by the Combine, being gay might be the least of Teo's red flags.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I don't really see why the question is relevant but at the same time people needs to stop being so butthurt and get offended by everything.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Understand... but that prospect might get interesting nicknames like "stiffy" or something...

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

On that basis Clo' every who has work collegaues should be asked which is down right silly. The "direct physical contact" thing is hardly sexual - or iit wasn't the last time I saw a triple clipping penalty.
Woah! "Stiffy" That would be hilarious especially if there was really no evidence of such.
And like no one else has ever had nicknames for countless other (and sometimes never understood) reasons.

I think where we are going with all this is that some sensitives are wishing a world of exactly their requirements whilst other sensitives are preceiving a problem for groups of prople they do not understand.

Sometimes it is better to just get on with the job without knowing absolutely everything about every one of your collegaues.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

And here I was thinking it was 2013 ... sheesh ...

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I'm not a homophobe but gay men make me uncomfortable. I would think that most athletes in a locker room don't want to have a gay man in the next locker checking them out. I know some gay men that I run into occasionally and they always give me "the once over" and it creeps me out!

I play against a gay rugby team out of Atlanta and the party afterward is always extremely awkward. Is that the kind of uneasiness that you want in your locker room?

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I chuckled at this. Probably because I'm too often childish but that sounded funny. Sounds like the beginning of a joke.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

No, I specifically said 'considering the environment he would be working in' and made the point he was not going to be hired in a normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill job, in which case, I would totally agree with you that you're better off not knowing everything about your colleagues. As he's being considered to play in the uber-macho world of professional football, some players may feel uncomfortable being around that and I feel an owner, who is going to invest millions of dollars in this guy, has the right to be able to make an informed decision as to whether they want to risk possibly disrupting their locker room or not. Some owners are probably willing to make that social statement, some may not, but they have the right to know. Political correctness is all well & good, but the bottom line/reality is that it stops being applicable on the field or in the locker room where everyone may not accept it and may not necessarily feel they have to. It may not be right in today's politically correct society, but it is reality.

I don't care what they do with the guy, I just hate talking about the draft and this was the only offseason thread I felt like commenting in at the moment. His sexual orientation doesn't concern me other than the fact if he's expecting to be paid at the NFL level, it shouldn't be a problem answering any question your future employer may have for you one way or the other.

:lol:, me too ... my first thought was, "Of course Atlanta would have a gay rugby team, :rolleyes::lol:".

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I see no problem with a question about one's sexuality if it's not used as a deciding factor, since it is a part of what makes a person - not what embodies a person, but a key part nonetheless.

I have a close friend who is gay and couple of gay acquaintances, but I'm not someone who should be considered an expert on the subject... still I do think there are some fundamental differences in the way - I as a heterosexual and they as homosexuals - look at and react to various things and situations.

I mean it would be equally wrong if a player was picked with him being gay having been the deciding factor during the process, but it still wouldn't make the original question any more wrong. And in any case, the players have the right not to answer a question if they so desire, even though it probably does hurt their interview grades.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks came out of combine week with plenty to say about Margus Hunt, the 6-foot-8, 277-pound SMU defensive end who excelled in drills and generated plenty of buzz.


On the heels of his head-turning 4.60-second 40-yard dash and outstanding drill work, Hunt sat down with "NFL AM" on Friday to talk about his experiences in Indy, specifically his one-on-one team interviews.

Mark Kriegel asked Hunt if he was questioned about whether or not he liked girls, an interrogation Colorado tight end Nick Kasa claims he endured from at least one NFL team.

"Well, they always ask if you have a girlfriend or not, so, that didn't make me uncomfortable whatsoever," Hunt said. "Any other question besides that was simple, straightforward, questionnaire thing we had to fill out for ourselves and we just had to talk about football, so I didn't feel uncomfortable at all."

Teams want to find out if Hunt fits the bill as a five-technique end, but we've also learned this week that at least some front-office types are just as interested in a player's sexual orientation. The question itself is as awkward as it embarrassing for any prospect. It's also in violation of league guidelines, and the NFL is looking into Kasa's account. Hunt doesn't appear bothered by the questioning, but that won't soften the league's investigation.

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If we had a second rounder if move up to get him,or if we can move down to the back end of the first I'd snap him up.15th is too big a reach IMO.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

It may be just me, but I think one has to be very insecure in his manhood to feel threaten or uneasy around happies, even if in a shower in a locker room.

Maybe they need to start asking prospects about penis size as well. Why, that could also be VERY disruptive in the locker room. Imagine what would happen in a locker room when a new player who just signed the $10 mil a year guaranteed contract goes into the showers sporting a 2 incher, with half the team in there...

That combine would certainly get interesting.. I can hear Mayock now:
"There's John Do'e, ILB, from Tinnywinny State. Great football instincts, ran a 4.25 40, a 6.2 cone drill, 47" vertical jump... but he only measures 4 1/5 inches erected. That could be very disruptive in the locker room, and no owner is going to want to commit 1st round money to a potential locker room disruption".

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I feel you Rugby. Not literally. lol.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Cripes!
I had to scan the internet to get the definition of happies :dunce:

I think you are right. There is no need for an individual to feel insecure. For me, if I am in the same room or sports team as a homosexual so be it. Nowt is gonna happen, fact.

Maybe one day we will extend job interviews to assess if individuals are flirts (male or female), or into pornographic material etc. To minimise what little potential there is of an uncomfortable occurence in the workplace.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I think "threatened" is the wrong term.

I wouldn't feel "threatened" if someone shot poop out of their ass into a cup and ate it. Doesn't mean I should want to be around it.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Classic.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Well, my Mother in Law (rest in peace) who I adored, her name was Gay. It just doesn't feel right to me to use "gay" to describe homosexuality or lesbianism... the original meaning of the word gay is happy, merry, so ... :)

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

So what's the word? Disgusted? By what? By the presence of another human being next to you? I don't think the scat reference applies here :)

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Not sure what the word would be, but its not threatened.

Uncomfortable? Its similar to how a female would feel standing next to a naked male?

Some may not be uncomfortable, some might. I can see both sides of that one.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

We should probably acknowledge the fact that teams could just be testing how a player reacts to a question like the one about his sexuality rather than actually caring whether or not they in fact are gay.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I like girls.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I like women, if this is an all-out admission posting. Not all of them but ones who have decent characters etc

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I use the word gay to mean happy merry etc too.
I use heterosexual, homosexual, asexual, bisexual for discussions on sexual persuasions.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I don't think most gay men are interested in a foul-mouthed, beer-swilling, nut-scratching, chick-oogling Saints & Bama fan. So, I'm alright! :)

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

They need to be more discreet about it. Ask them how would they refer to a hole in the US Flag? Just a hole or, a glory hole?

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

As long as they allow the prospects to respond with the classic knuckles to the mouth and a "what the **** ?" or "ask your wife", sure.


As a general comment, frankly, this business of the NFL "testing" players like this or like that has gotten out of hand. Football is not rocket science, it is not a Senate term... it is a sport. All of this "testing" means really little when it comes to an activity in which the first and foremost requirement is freakish natural ability. How a player reacts when asked about his sexuality has nothing to do with football.

"Oh, the locker room blah blah blah"... the "sanctity" of a locker room, another concept that has gotten out of hand. Locker rooms aren't these utopias where everyone is in harmony with the world around.

"They are going to pay this man millions". Well, yes, they are going to pay that player millions because they make billions, not out of the goodness of their hearts.

"They need to know how the player reacts to pressure". Like a Bama player has never been called names or booed, or feel any pressure going into Auburn, or a Bruin into USC, etc...

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

The psychological "probing" is very important when it comes to 1st round picks, because although the game is about "freakish natural ability" like Tobias put it; if recent years have taught us anything, it's that if those players can't stay out of trouble both on the field and even more importantly off the field - it doesn't matter if they are great athletes and players.

Franchises invest a lot of money and time in their draft picks, and it's only good business sense to try and limit one's risks when it comes to those picks, especially the high ones.

Ill acknowledge that possibility when they ask someone named "Mingo" the same question.

It was not a coincidence that they asked Te'o.

It's not about being gay, having a gay brother, being in a locker room with someone that could be attracted to you. It's not about intelligence or mental defects..... It's ALL about identifying a weakness of any type.

Think about it, there are some stupid defective personalities in they NFL.


This and all the questioning during the combine are about finding a mental weakness. Te'o sexual preference is not a concern of the team, his pretending to have a girlfriend for a long period of time is..... The coaches know that Te'o plays the position that is typically the leader of the defense and he has to be trusted 100%, and his team mates can not perceive any weakness.

The coaches asked Te'o that because they knew the players would ask him that directly and how he would answer is what would define his place on a team full of Alfa males.

If asked Abe he replays with "I sure am and don't turn around or ill team you" he will be fine. If he looks scared or starts to crawfish when asked he is weak and won't last.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I don't buy that.

A suit asking you questions and a dude calling you names in the locker room are 2 different things. The suit, he's a prospective employer and you are going to BS him whether he asks you if you are a peanut popper or if you smoke crack. The dude in the locker room you punch in the mouth, even if the question doesn't bother you, just to show you are alpha.

I am pretty sure the great majority of players interviewed during the combine (if any at all) have never been in that setting, i.e., being interviewed to that degree by a suit in an office, but all of them have been in locker rooms, played in front of large crowds, been called names by opposing fans, etc...

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I wonder what they asked ths player?
BBC Sport - Lauren Silberman: Female kicker's NFL trial cut short by injury

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Probably nothing. It was just a gimmick. The chances of her actually suiting up for an NFL team were slim-to-zero ... and 'slim' had left town, :mrgreen:.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

I can assure you that whether gay or lesbian no one is checking out every thing that moves. If you are uncomfortable that is on you not the gay guy next to you. This issue is about equality.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

What? Are you trying to insinuate she's fat? Sexist chauvinist pig! :)

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Just a hypothetical...

If the vast majority of your team's players have a problem with it (and polls have shown most do), do you...

A- Tell them tough crap, get over it, and risk them leaving for another team without that type of player

B- Try to protect your zillion dollar investment by avoiding what your players refuse to be a part of.

Its not about equality at all. Its a business decision and a very gray area.

Just as it is when companies try to attract Muslim owned companies. If you send a woman in to negotiate, you will NOT get the bid and companies know this. And the women that work for these companies know it too. They know when to pick their battles. I've witnerssed this 1st hand. Its not fair, but its reality.

BTW: once the bid was awarded the demographics of the project team went back to normal. Its just how the game is played.

Re: Team asks prospect, “Do you like girls?”
 

Not 'fat', just big-boned, :lol: ... and fair enough, I am a bit of a scp, :mrgreen:.