Kluwe & Ayanbadejo Support Gay Marriage

Brendon Ayanbadejo

*Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo have written and filed an amicus brief in support of same-sex marriage in California, reports ESPN.com.

The two collaborated on the brief and filed it on the day of the Supreme Court’s deadline in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, which challenges the law against marriage equality known as Proposition 8.

In the brief, Kluwe and Ayanbadejo argue that athletes have a good deal of influence — for better or worse — and they wanted to express their support for the right of gays to marry legally.

“When we advance the idea that some people should be treated differently because of who they are,” they wrote, “demeaned in public as lesser beings, not worthy of the same rights and benefits as others despite their actions as good citizens and neighbors, then we deny them equal protection under the laws. America has walked this path before, and courageous people and the Court brought us to the right result. We urge the Court to repeat those actions here.”

Ayanbadejo, whose mother is white and father is black, sees a similarity in the anti-miscegenation laws that would have prevented his parents’ marriage and the effort to legalize gay marriage.

Read the full story at ESPN.com.