The New Orleans Saints' bounty scandal, which has rocked the National Football League ( NFL ) in recent days, apparently also has an anti-gay side.
Former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams is revealed to have "used gay slurs with the best of them," according to a player quoted by Washington Post columnist Mike Wise.
Williams was the defensive coordinator for the Washington Redskins 2004-2007, when Wise covered the team.
Wise wrote on Twitter in an exchange with fellow Post writer Dan Steinberg: "Gregg Williams = great coach. But you miss bad on 'great human being' when you pay for body counts and use ugly gay slurs to motivate."
Examples of Williams' use of gay slurs were used twice in Wise's stories that he submitted to his editors; however, they were edited out for "taste reasons," it has been reported, because "some things don't make it into the family newspaper. You know that."
Still, here is one example Wise offered on Twitter of Williams' use of a gay slur:
"When guy misses a run-read and GW's response is, 'You dumb, stupid [ MF ] , you went in the wrong hole. You went in the wrong, [ expletive ] hole. We're not running an AIDS convention here."
There were other Williams' anecdotes that Wise says were "worse," though he said he could not even use on Twitter. The Twitter exchange was first reported by the Washington City Paper.
"For all of the positive baby steps that professional sports are making right now, this just confirms how much work is left to go," said openly gay Chicago resident Brian Walker, a former college football player. "Getting rid of prejudice, ignorance, and in this case, stupidity, is going to be a long-term and ongoing process for the NFL, NBA, MLB, etc."
Williams is now with the St. Louis Rams as the team's defensive coordinator. Williams is entering his 23rd season as an NFL coach in 2012, including three as a head coach of the Buffalo Bills.
The Rams' head coach is Jeff Fisher, who played for the Chicago Bears 1981-85 and then was the Bears' defensive assistant coach in 1985. Fisher was the Tennessee Titans' head coach from 1994-2010.
"As an active member of the LGBT sporting community, to hear of these actions, it truly saddens me that people still live in their world and feel they can say anything with no repercussions," said Jack Neilsen of Chicago. "This is a perfect example of why LGBT sporting communities were formed, and need to maintain themselves as a safe haven for our LGBT athletes.
"An individual who identifies with the LGBT community, or is infected with HIV, should have the opportunity to play sports without being discriminated against. I look to the day when our community [ is ] allowed to participate in every major sporting event without fear."
Cyd Zeigler, the co-founder of Outsports.com, added, "What's unfortunate about a guy like Gregg Williams is that his hateful attitude has spread throughout the team. You don't pay people to hurt other people without having a lot of hate in your heart, and that hate apparently translates into homophobia on a regular basis. You find the same thing from Jonathan Vilma, who has displayed a knack for being a homophobic jerk in the last few months, and who personally put up a $10,000 bounty on Brett Favre's head. These are disgusting people, and their vile nature comes through in their desire to hurt people physically and mentally. The NFL would do well to suspend them both for an entire season."
Wise is writing a profile for the Post about Dave Kopay, who came out in 1975, according to Outsports.com . Kopay was the first of three former NFL players to have come out.
The NFL added the words "sexual orientation" to its anti-discrimination policy in 2011, a change to the league's collective-bargaining agreement.
