REDSKINS' ROBERT GRIFFIN III COVERS SEPTEMBER 2013 ISSUE OF GQ, SAYS "NOW IS THE WINDOW" FOR GAY NFL PLAYERS TO COME OUT

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The Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III has said that "now is the window" for any gay NFL players to come out.

Speaking to GQ magazine, Griffin III – who is known to fans as RG3 – said:

"Yeah, man. I think there are [gay players] right now, and if they're looking for a window to just come out, I mean, now is the window. My view on it is, yes, I am a Christian, but to each his own. You do what you want to do. If some Christians want to look at being gay as a sin, then thinking about other women, committing adultery – or any of those other sins that are in the Bible – those are sins, too. And God looks at all of us the same way."

The quote was included in an "outtakes" post on GQ's website, rather than in the cover story itself.

The issue of whether gay professional sportsmen or women can or should come out has been keenly discussed since April, when Jason Collins, an NBA center who has most recently played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards, became the first openly gay athlete still playing in the four major US professional sports leagues – the NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL.

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In early April, almost a month before Collins' announcement, the former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, an advocate of LGBT rights, said four NFL players were close to coming out. "I think it will happen sooner than you think," Ayanbadejo said, in an interview with the Baltimore Sun. "We're in talks with a handful of players who are considering it. There are up to four players being talked to right now and they're trying to be organized so they can come out on the same day together. It would make a major splash and take the pressure off one guy. It would be a monumental day if a handful or a few guys come out."

No current NFL players have yet come out, although Ayanbadejo and the Oakland Raiders punter Chris Kluwe have continued to press the issue. In September 2012, Kluwe made headlines when he issued a stinging public rebuke to Emmett C Burns Jr, a Maryland state politician who had objected to Ayanbadejo's support for gay marriage. Kluwe's open letter to Burns Jr – which used colourful language, including an assurance to the politician that gay people getting married would not "magically turn you into a lustful cockmonster" – went viral.

In the NFL season that followed, controversy was stirred up by remarks made by players in response to questions about the likelihood of players coming out. In January, in the build-up to Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans, the San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver said: "I don't do the gay guys man. I don't do that. No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff. Nah … can't be … in the locker room man. Nah."

After the 49ers organisation disowned his remarks, Culliver issued a statement of apology: "The derogatory comments I made yesterday were a reflection of thoughts in my head, but they are not how I feel. It has taken me seeing them in print to realize that they are hurtful and ugly. Those discriminating feelings are truly not in my heart. Further, I apologize to those who I have hurt and offended, and I pledge to learn and grow from this experience."

In March, Christopher Clemons, a Seattle Seahawks defensive end, called coming out "a selfish act" that would "separate a lockerrom and divide a team".

The approach of the 2014 Winter Olympics, which will be held in the Russian resort of Sochi, has also focused attention on gay rights in American sports. Given Russia's recent passing of discriminatory laws, calls have grown for the Games to be boycotted on human rights grounds. President Obama last week rejected the idea, saying: "One of the things I'm really looking forward to is maybe some gay and lesbian athletes bringing home the gold or silver or bronze, which I think would go a long way in rejecting the kind of attitudes that we're seeing there."

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