SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - There are four days until Super Bowl XLVII; but after media day, the 49ers were doing damage control after a controversial comment made by cornerback Chris Culliver.
The 24-year-old made an anti-gay slur in a radio interview on The Artie Lange Show.
Come Sunday, the bars will be packed with 49ers fans, but it's what Culliver said about sexual orientation that has people talking.
"I don't do the gay guys man. I don't do that. They don't got no gay people on the team, you know, they got to get up out of here if they do," Culliver said in the interview.
His answer is now making waves across the airways and the world.
"It's just unfortunate that he doesn't realize his comments are really disrespectful," said Shara Murphy of the Gay and Lesbian Center of Sacramento.
The Gay and Lesbian Center of Sacramento says comments like Culliver's don't score him any points.
"It's just really unfortunate that this particular player has chosen to be so flippant about really important personal relationships," said Murphy.
Wednesday, Culliver released a statement saying, "The derogatory comments I made yesterday were a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel. It has taken me seeing them in print to realize that they are hurtful and ugly. Those discriminating feelings are not in my heart. Further, I apologize to those who I have hurt and offended, and I pledge to learn and grow from this experience."
It's an experience this cornerback wishes he could take back to change the play on the big Super Bowl stage.
"It's important that he watches what he says, because other people look up to him," 49ers fan John Faniani said.
The 49ers organization also released a statement, saying it rejects the comments Culliver made, and that they support the LGBT community. Of course, this is not what the team wants to be taking about just days before the Super Bowl.
49ers Scramble After Player's Homophobic Comments
/ CBS Sacramento
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - There are four days until Super Bowl XLVII; but after media day, the 49ers were doing damage control after a controversial comment made by cornerback Chris Culliver.
The 24-year-old made an anti-gay slur in a radio interview on The Artie Lange Show.
Come Sunday, the bars will be packed with 49ers fans, but it's what Culliver said about sexual orientation that has people talking.
"I don't do the gay guys man. I don't do that. They don't got no gay people on the team, you know, they got to get up out of here if they do," Culliver said in the interview.
His answer is now making waves across the airways and the world.
"It's just unfortunate that he doesn't realize his comments are really disrespectful," said Shara Murphy of the Gay and Lesbian Center of Sacramento.
The Gay and Lesbian Center of Sacramento says comments like Culliver's don't score him any points.
"It's just really unfortunate that this particular player has chosen to be so flippant about really important personal relationships," said Murphy.
Wednesday, Culliver released a statement saying, "The derogatory comments I made yesterday were a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel. It has taken me seeing them in print to realize that they are hurtful and ugly. Those discriminating feelings are not in my heart. Further, I apologize to those who I have hurt and offended, and I pledge to learn and grow from this experience."
It's an experience this cornerback wishes he could take back to change the play on the big Super Bowl stage.
"It's important that he watches what he says, because other people look up to him," 49ers fan John Faniani said.
The 49ers organization also released a statement, saying it rejects the comments Culliver made, and that they support the LGBT community. Of course, this is not what the team wants to be taking about just days before the Super Bowl.
In:- San Francisco 49ers
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