Nick Kasa, a tight end from Colorado hoping to be drafted by the NFL this spring, went to the scouting combine the other day to get timed in the 40, jump vertically and horizontally, get in as many bench press reps as possible and be asked if he's gay.
"They ask you like, 'Do you have a girlfriend? Are you married? Do you like girls?' Those kinds of things, and you know, it was just kind of weird," Kasa told ESPN Radio Denver, via ProFootballTalk, on Tuesday. "But they would ask you with a straight face, and it's a pretty weird experience altogether."
Pretty weird, indeed. Invasive and unacceptable also are adjectives that would apply. And there's one more word that works even better: Illegal.
What Kasa says happened at the NFL combine is not legal.
The NFL and the NFL Players Association don't always agree on issues big or small, but this time, they sure do, responding quickly Wednesday with statements saying this is not the way the league should be doing business.
As the story escalated Wednesday evening, Kasa and I spoke over the phone. "Every team asked, 'Do you have a girlfriend?' 'Do you have a wife?' 'Do you have children?' " he said. "Maybe a couple guys kinda joked at the fact of, like, 'What's your situation with girls?' But it was kind of a joke. I did not feel uncomfortable."
Kasa said he wasn't certain which teams' representatives asked those questions. He said he was most concerned that his remarks were being "blown way out of proportion," adding, "I really just kind of want to squash it and move on."
But you can be sure that the NFL and the NFLPA will try to get the names of those teams from Kasa, and once they do, they should significantly fine any team that engaged in that kind of questioning. If it ends up being all 32 teams, so be it.
"Like all employers, our teams are expected to follow applicable federal, state and local employment laws," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello e-mailed in a statement. "It is league policy to neither consider nor inquire about sexual orientation in the hiring process. In addition, there are specific protections in our collective bargaining agreement with the players that prohibit discrimination against any player, including on the basis of sexual orientation.
"We will look into the report on the questioning of Nick Kasa at the Scouting Combine," Aiello continued. "Any team or employee that inquires about impermissible subjects or makes an employment decision based on such factors is subject to league discipline."
DeMaurice Smith, the NFLPA executive director, couldn't have said it better himself.
"I know that the NFL agrees that these types of questions violate the law, our CBA (collective bargaining agreement) and player rights," Smith said in an e-mailed statement. "I hope that they will seek out information as to what teams have engaged in this type of discrimination and we should then discuss appropriate discipline."
The league and the players association also should keep a close eye on what happens to Kasa, 22, in the draft. He shouldn't be punished for talking about the questions he was asked. He should be praised for revealing ?? probably unwittingly, but revealing nonetheless ?? how backward and out of touch some NFL personnel apparently are at a time when nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage, and when a majority of Americans are in favor of it, according to public opinion polls.
It appears that NFL teams are ultra-concerned about the sexuality of their prospective draft choices this year in the wake of the Manti Te'o fake dead girlfriend hoax. It's no secret that observers have wondered if he is gay; Katie Couric asked exactly that on her TV show last month. He said he is not. For Couric to ask is fine; she isn't a prospective employer of Te'o's. NFL teams are another story entirely.
This isn't the first time an NFL team has done something ridiculous at the combine. In 2010, Miami Dolphins general manager Jeff Ireland asked Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. When that got out, it didn't go over very well either. (Bryant was selected 24th overall by the Dallas Cowboys.)
It should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone that some NFL coaches are unaware of what the rest of the nation is up to. Years ago, as the Iran-Contra scandal led newcasts and dominated front pages for weeks, I was among a group of news reporters surrounding Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs when he was asked what he thought of Oliver North.
"Who's Oliver North?" Gibbs replied.
We laughed as we shook our heads in disbelief.
That was humorous. The Kasa story is nothing of the sort. It opens a window into a league that looks to be outdated, close-minded and intolerant -- just as the nation that adores it is becoming less so by the day.
These are football coaches, of course, not college professors. All the more reason they should be asking the players who they are tackling, not who they are dating.
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: Brennan: NFL teams out of bounds on questions to players
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