A gay writer for SB Nation took a swipe at the Peach Bowl for allowing fast-food giant Chick-fil-A to sponsor the game, because the company is famously operated by devoutly Christian owners.
In his December 27 article, writer Cyd Zeigler of Outsports wrote that choosing the chicken franchise as a game sponsor was a “big ‘f-you’ to LGBTQ people.”
“Years after Chick-fil-A family man and CEO Dan Cathy tried to distance his company from the anti-gay positions he and the Chick-fil-A brand had taken, promising to make changes,” Zeigler foamed, “Chick-fil-A has doubled down on the support of anti-LGBTQ causes, one of which takes direct aim at gay, lesbian, bisexual and queer athletes.”
Zeigler did claim to appreciate one recent move the company made: “To be sure, Chick-fil-A has recently made at least one positive step. By offering support for Covenant House, the organization will indirectly help LGBTQ youth,” he wrote.
But Zeigler’s attack geared up despite the donation:
Yet here’s the fact that I just can’t seem to get past: Chick-fil-A gives millions of dollars to an organization that actively demeans LGBTQ people, invalidates our relationships and brings untold mental harm to gay, lesbian, bi and queer athletes.
Just what is that organization? Zeigler continues:
Fellowship of Christian Athletes is an anti-gay organization. The group’s nine-point “statement of faith” makes it very clear that gay people are to remain celibate, they are not allowed to marry, and they are not welcome.
The writer then pointed to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (FCA) webpage where it explains its stance:
We believe God’s design for sexual intimacy is to be expressed only within the context of marriage. God instituted marriage between one man and one woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one man and one woman.
Zeigler claims what the FCA is really doing, is telling “gay people they are not worthy, their self-expression in sex is not OK, their relationships are not valid… and they should stay far away.”
Of course, the group does no such thing. Indeed, on that same web page FCA also says, “We believe that God created all human beings in His image. Therefore, we believe that human life is sacred from conception to its natural end; that we must honor the physical and spiritual needs of all people; following Christ’s example, we believe that every person should be treated with love, dignity, and respect.”
The sports writer then said that he would boycott the game until the owners of Chick-fil-A abandon their support of the FCA.
“Until Chick-fil-A abandons its financial support of anti-LGBTQ groups like Fellow of Christian Athletes, and instead state the Foundation’s support of equality, I simply will not watch that bowl game,” Zeigler said. “It’s a shame that the Peach Bowl, and the powers in college football who have elevated the profile of the anti-LGBTQ bowl game, would subject an entire community to this prejudice.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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