Anyone who has been to a sporting event has probably seen the popular “kiss cam” scanning the crowd, hoping to catch a couple sharing an intimate moment on the massive jumbotron. But it’s also a popular practice to feature two people of the same sex – and on fans of opposing teams – on the big screen.
The joke has raised the ire of many fans, especially those who see the “joke” as offensive to the LGBT community. In fact, Brandon McCarthy, a pitcher with the Oakland A’s, called it “cheap shitty comedy that’s offensive to gay males” last year.
In March, an openly gay fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars expressed his displeasure with the kiss cam, and asked Jaguars owner Shahid Khan to cease the practice.
“The message is clear,” Dave Uible wrote in the letter. “Jaguars are heterosexual and approved. The opponent is ‘gay,’ disapproved and the butt of a crude joke. Really, why is this even at an NFL game?”
Uible is a ‘proud’ season ticket holder and also shares his sexuality with Khan in the letter. Since the NFL is working with equality groups to end bullying and homophobia, Uible believes the Jaguars should do the same.
“It’s disheartening to be reminded, by the NFL, that you really aren’t quite as equal as the other season ticket holders,” Uible said. “If this were a ‘Muslim Cam’ or a ‘Black Cam’, I’m sure the franchise would have gotten rid of it long ago. It’s time for this not-too-subtle homophobic joke to go too.”
Jacksonville has a reputation for not being very gay friendly, at least on a governmental level. There is no domestic partner registration and the city’s human rights ordinance does not protect the LGBT community in employment, housing or accommodations.
“Maybe our backwards city leaders will…follow your lead,” Uible says in the closing of the letter.
So far, there is no hint that Khan will respond to the letter, but through the attention the letter has received through mainstream media, it’s possible the franchise could respond, one way or another.
