In my mind, there's no logical conclusion that can be drawn, other than that I was fired for my activism. Chris Kluwe More Quotes by Chris Kluwe More Quotes From Chris Kluwe Never be afraid to do what's right. If no one ever says anything, nothing ever changes. Chris Kluwe nothing-ever-changes ifs say-anything I can assure you that gay people getting married will have zero effect on your life. They won't come into your house and steal your children. They won't magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster. They won't even overthrow the government in an orgy of hedonistic debauchery because all of a sudden they have the same legal rights as the other 90 percent of our population ... you know what having these rights will make gays? Full-fledged American citizens just like everyone else, with the freedom to pursue happiness and all that entails. Chris Kluwe gay zero children Football is an absolutely idiotic pastime by any rational standards. You're running into other people as hard as you can, you get frequent muscle strains and ligament tears, and the protective padding really doesn't do all that much to absorb the blunt trauma. Chris Kluwe nfl running football If you're not willing to speak out for the rights of other people, then who do you expect to speak out for you when it's your turn? Chris Kluwe speaks-out rights people People, please remember that I choose my words very carefully. Assumptions are your enemy. Chris Kluwe assumption people enemy This is more a personal quibble of mine, but why do you hate freedom? Why do you hate the fact that other people want a chance to live their lives and be happy, even though they may believe in something different than you, or act different than you? How does gay marriage, in any way shape or form, affect your life? Chris Kluwe gay hate believe When people - everyday people who watch the coverage on CNN of Anita Sarkeesian having to cancel a speaking engagement due to death threats - think of “gamers,” they are going to think of you, and that irritates me. It enrages me. I want to punch down a wall, and I like my walls. They're nicely painted. Chris Kluwe cnn wall thinking Think of a single word. We'll use soul as our example. How do you define soul? Is it the same definition I use? Can it ever be it? My soul is not your soul. Our souls, our definitions, are shaped by the singular and cumulative experiences in our lives, the emotional weight we attach to a concept forever locked in the space behind our own eyes. Chris Kluwe emotional eye thinking One of the main coaching points I've heard throughout my entire life is, 'How you respond to difficult situations defines your character,' and I think it's a good saying. I also think it applies to more than just the players. Chris Kluwe player character thinking I Was An NFL Player Until I was Fired By Two Cowards and a Bigot. Chris Kluwe nfl player two Every single human civilization has failed over time, and my belief is that it's due to a lack of rational empathy, of understanding that if you don't have equality in your society, the conflicts you breed (whether internally or externally) will eventually cause its collapse. Chris Kluwe empathy understanding civilization To deny an entire group of people the ability to be legal couples is anti-American and anti-freedom. As a devoted husband and father of two, I can't imagine the state of Minnesota not recognizing my love for my wife Isabelle. We would welcome and respect the equal rights for gays to experience the same joy and privileges of marriage that we do. Chris Kluwe husband couple father I would like people to pay attention to the idea of rational empathy, and that as a society, we are walking down a path that's well-trodden throughout history. Chris Kluwe empathy people ideas My numbers and my stats were exactly the same. I was doing what the coaches wanted me to do. And what I had been doing up to that point was enough to get me a very well-paying contract with the Vikings. ... In my mind there was only one thing that had changed from the year before and the year I got cut: And that was I started speaking out in support of same-sex rights. Chris Kluwe cutting rights sex I won't feel that I failed. I'll be a little disappointed in the NFL. Chris Kluwe nfl feels littles As a business you should probably be examining, hey, is this the type of message we want to send? Chris Kluwe hey messages want I was playing video games LONG before I ever thought about playing football. If it wasn't for my parents making sure that I got outside every now and then as a child, I probably would've pursued some sort of tech path. Chris Kluwe games football children Well, if you count my phone as an access point (which I do), I'm pretty much constantly online unless I'm at an event or practice or something. Chris Kluwe events phones practice I normally don't initiate conversations with guys unless they want to talk about certain things - when I'm at the facility, I'm there to play football. If you want to talk about the meaning of life, games, whatever, I'm more than happy to, but when I'm in that building, I'm being paid to play football. Conversely, when I'm not at the facility, that's my life to live. Chris Kluwe games play football In an ideal world, entertainment would be regarded as what it is - entertainment - and wouldn't be valued more heavily than education, than science, than environmental awareness. Chris Kluwe environmental would-be world
