Baltimore Ravens Locker Room Divided Over Biblical Stance on Same-Sex Marriage
Maryland voters approved same sex-marriage by popular vote Tuesday, a move that has been a cause for debate for Christian Baltimore Ravens safety Bernard Pollard and some of his teammates.
Pollard, 27-year-old NFL safety, said many of his teammates agree with his biblical standpoint on the subject of same-sex marriage.
"When it's all said and done, there are a lot of guys on this team that stand firmly behind what the Bible says -- that a man marries a woman and a woman marries a man," Pollard said in a Mercury News report.
Pollard said he felt that people in power were reshaping important societal principles.
"It shows you that people in high power are changing what was set for a very long time," Pollard said in the Mercury News piece. "These are the principles, man, this is what life is about. But when it's all said and done, they came in and changed it."
However, some of the safety's teammates have spoken out against Pollard's views. Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo has been vocal about voting in favor of same-sex marriage and said he considered the vote a forward movement despite the opposition he felt in the locker room.
"Who cares what they think in the locker room? Who cares what they think anywhere? The people decided," Ayanbadejo said in the Mercury News report. "It took too long. It shouldn't have been up to other people to decide other people's fate as far as who they can marry. But we're progressing, so I'm happy about that."
However, Pollard insisted that things are okay between his roommates and said he will not treat anybody differently now that same-sex marriage was voted legal in the state.
"I'm not going to treat anybody any different. I think anybody who knows me knows that," he said. "I'm going to love you just like I did. Whatever lifestyle you want to live, you're entitled to that. It's just that, for us, we've got to continue to live life and continue to pray."
