UConn welcomes gay players

[Felix]

ESPN Chicago
Associated Press
http://espn.go.com/chicago/story/_/id/7968996/uconn-gay-hockey-players-welcome-play-connecticut-huskies

STORRS, Conn. -- Gay and play hockey?

You're welcome at the University of Connecticut.

That is the message the school's men's hockey team is sending out in two videos for a program called You Can Play.

...

In the videos, the UConn players are pledging not only to support gay athletes, but transgender ones as well. The NCAA recently released a policy that will allow a female to male transgender person who has received a medical exception for treatment with testosterone to compete on any men's team.

Goalie Garrett Bartus said dealing with a transgender athlete might be "a little shocking" at first, but he believes that person would be welcome at Connecticut. He said players don't have to agree with everything about a player's life to be their teammate.

"If they can play and help us win, I'm sure we'd get behind him," he said. "Nobody should be discriminated against. That's really the whole point of this -- if you can play, you can play."

[Felix]

I just want to kvetch a little about this:

Peter Wolfgang, president of the conservative Family Institute of Connecticut Action, said he has no problem with the team participating in an anti-bullying campaign, but he is concerned about the references to "homophobia" in the video.

"It's a very loaded political term," he said. "If we're going to be against bullying, then we ought to be against all forms of bullying and not just the kind that get us a pat on the back from politically correct elites. "

The word "elite" seems really weird in this context. When I read that I glanced down at what I'm wearing, looked around at my house, thought about my friends, and lol I'm pretty sure I'm not elite anything. Pretty sure not all gay people speak politically correctly either, and I thought the stereotype went more in the other direction - homosexuals being kinda raunchy and silly.

[Jamie D]

"Political correctness" and "speech codes" have been used as wedge issues.  It's not a matter of simple politeness.  I see these as chilling the right to free political expression.

The "elites" in the article text refer, in my reading, to the politically powerful.