{"id":4337,"date":"2011-12-12T23:19:38","date_gmt":"2011-12-13T03:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thehogs.net\/blogs\/?p=4337"},"modified":"2016-12-29T05:35:44","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T09:35:44","slug":"michael-irvins-stand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2011\/12\/12\/michael-irvins-stand\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Irvin's Stand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Irvin has taken a stand in favor of gay rights.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(ESPN:\u00a0 Michael Irvin Champions Equality)<\/a> This is certainly a courageous statement on\u00a0his part.\u00a0 A stand that is likely to be unpopular among many in football, especially among the fanbase in the Dallas area, and those who look for any reason to pile it on.<\/p>\n

If he really believes what he is saying, I have a good place for him to start.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jerry Smith was the prototype of the modern offensive weapon type of Tight End.\u00a0 At the time of his retirement, he was the most productive tight end in history, and was among the most productive of receivers ever.\u00a0 He was a clutch 3rd down weapon,\u00a0 had excellent hands, dangerous top end speed, and a frightening deep threat.\u00a0 His production was easily worthy of quick induction into the Hall of Fame.\u00a0 Most who followed the Redskins, in particular, in the late 60’s, and through the 70’s were certain that he’d be in shortly following Sonny, Bobby (Mitchell), and Charley (Taylor)<\/p>\n

\"\"
Jerry Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But… there was that one problem…<\/p>\n

He was a good friend of David Kopay.\u00a0 For those of you not familiar, Dave Kopay was the first openly gay NFL player.\u00a0 You can connect the dots.\u00a0 I’m among the thousands of fans of Jerry Smith who are convinced that, absent his probable homosexuality (he never came out, during his lifetime), Jerry Smith would likely have died knowing that he was a Hall of Fame Tight End.\u00a0 Sadly, Jerry Smith died of AIDS on October 15, 1986.\u00a0 We still await his induction into the hall.<\/p>\n

Michael… look at Jerry’s career.\u00a0 Look at his stats.\u00a0 Watch the film.\u00a0 Read the game accounts… there can be no doubt.\u00a0 Jerry Smith should be in the Hall.\u00a0 Mr Irvin… make your stand tangible.\u00a0 Do the right thing.\u00a0 Overcome the bigotry.\u00a0 Use your standing to help get Jerry Smith into Canton, where you KNOW he deserves to be.\u00a0 Thank you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michael Irvin has taken a stand in favor of gay rights.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(ESPN:\u00a0 Michael Irvin Champions Equality) This is certainly a courageous statement on\u00a0his part.\u00a0 A stand that is likely to be unpopular among many in football, especially among the fanbase in the Dallas area, and those who look for any reason to pile it on. If … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[12,754,910,1655],"class_list":["post-4337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-redskins","tag-hall-of-fame","tag-jerry-smith","tag-michael-irvin","tag-washington-redskins"],"yoast_head":"\nMichael Irvin's Stand | The-Hogs.net<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/the-hogs.net\/blogs\/2011\/12\/12\/michael-irvins-stand\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Michael Irvin's Stand | The-Hogs.net\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Michael Irvin has taken a stand in favor of gay rights.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0(ESPN:\u00a0 Michael Irvin Champions Equality) This is certainly a courageous statement on\u00a0his part.\u00a0 A stand that is likely to be unpopular among many in football, especially among the fanbase in the Dallas area, and those who look for any reason to pile it on. 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