Former LSU running back Derrius Guice said he was asked if he is gay during an interview at this week’s NFL Combine.
Guice made the disclosure during an interview with SiriusXM’s NFL show Late Hits, according to USA Today:
‘’It was pretty crazy,” Guice said in an interview on the SiriusXM NFL show Late Hits. “Some people are really trying to get in your head and test your reaction. … I go in one room, and a team will ask me do I like men, just to see my reaction. I go in another room, they’ll try to bring up one of my family members or something and tell me, ‘Hey, I heard your mom sells herself. How do you feel about that?’ “
Guice said he was told “to come in prepared” for the combine and everything that comes with it.
“It went exactly how everyone told me it would be,” Guice said. “It’s exhausting. … It was a great experience. You’re being watched and tested the whole time.”
The NFL is looking into Guice’s claim, according to spokesperson Brian McCarthy.
Last year, a coach for the Atlanta Falcons asked NFL prospect Eli Apple if he is gay while scouting him as a potential addition to the team.
After news of Apple’s interview broke, Falcons head coach Dan Quinn released the following statement:
“I am really disappointed in the question that was asked by one of our coaches. I have spoken to the coach that interviewed Eli Apple and explained to him how inappropriate and unprofessional this was. I have reiterated this to the entire coaching staff and I want to apologize to Eli for this even coming up. This is not what the Atlanta Falcons are about and it is not how we are going to conduct ourselves.”
McCarthy, also spoke out about the apparent questioning having to do with Apple’s sexuality, saying, “This is disappointing and clearly inappropriate as the Falcons acknowledged. We will look into it.”
The Human Rights Campaign is responding to the report:
“The fact that Derrius Guice was asked by an NFL team — and a prospective employer — about his sexual orientation is absurd and inappropriate,” said HRC Director of Public Education and Research, Ashland Johnson. “With similar incidents already reported, it’s clear that the NFL did not do enough to prevent it from happening again. Guice’s experience illustrates the risks faced by millions of LGBTQ people today in employment, athletics, housing and other areas of their lives. It’s why we need swift action to condemn these kinds of practices and to fight for passage of the Equality Act to ensure comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ people. The NFL should take serious actions that address these unacceptable incidents and the perpetuation of an unwelcoming anti-LGBTQ environment, including publicly supporting the Equality Act.”
This would be a good time for the @NFL to not only condemn this incident, but to back the #EqualityAct. It’s time LGBTQ people had the same rights & protections as everyone else. https://t.co/BMN0h5hfgf
— Chad Griffin (@ChadHGriffin) March 8, 2018
