Kyler Murray – Photo: University of Oklahoma Football, via Facebook.
Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, the starting quarterback for the University of Oklahoma, has apologized for homophobic tweets he made as a teenager, reports CBS.
Murray, a junior, won the prestigious award, given annually to college football’s most valuable player, over Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins on Saturday night.
But on the night he was being honored, USA Today reported that when he was 15 the Sooners quarterback had tweeted at some friends using homophobic slurs to insult them. At the time, Murray made at least four tweets using the offensive language.
Shortly after the news broke, 21-year-old Murray deleted the tweets and apologized for their content.
“I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from when I was 14 and 15,” he tweeted on Sunday. “I used a poor choice of word that doesn’t reflect who I am or what I believe. I did not intend to single out any individual or group.”
I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from when I was 14 and 15. I used a poor choice of word that doesn’t reflect who I am or what I believe. I did not intend to single out any individual or group.
Murray also addressed the tweet in an appearance on CBS’ The NFL Today.
“You know, I was young, I own every part of it. I used a poor choice of words. At the same time, me being at this stage, having this platform, I learned from it,” he said. “It’s critical for me, crucial to me that I move on from it, but at the same time, own up to what I said and move on and learn from it.”
Murray, who excels at baseball as well as football, has signed a $4.66 million contract with the Oakland Athletics after being selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft in June. While some sports fans have speculated that he might be enticed to play in the National Football League if he’s drafted high, his agent, Scott Boras, put the kibosh on those rumors, telling NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport that Murray would stick with baseball.
Murray is also the latest athlete to find themselves in the middle of a controversy based on their past statements on Twitter. Earlier this year, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen saw racist tweets from his teenage years resurface ahead of the NFL draft, when some sports pundits had predicted he would be the number-one overall pick.
Villanova Final Four Most Outstanding Player Donte DiVincenzo came under fire for a tweet quoting racist rap lyrics after helping his team win a national title.
The Texas House of Representatives voted narrowly to repeal a state law criminalizing "deviate sexual intercourse with another individual of the same sex" despite the fact that it's been technically unenforceable for over two decades.
On May 16, lawmakers voted 59-56 to repeal the state's 1973 infamous anti-sodomy law, which was rendered unenforceable, along with all other state-level-sodomy bans, in a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas.
Four members voted present, while 31 others had excused absences.
The bill passed on a preliminary vote on the day prior by a much larger 72-55 margin, reports the Texas Tribune.
Police in the Australian state of Victoria have arrested 35 individuals -- primarily males aged 13 to 20 -- for allegedly targeting victims using gay dating apps.
According to police, over the past eight months, the alleged perpetrators deployed fake profiles on dating apps to lure gay men to locations where they were then assaulted, robbed, and subjected to homophobic abuse.
In some cases, the attacks were filmed and shared on social media, reports the Star Observer.
"These incidents have occurred in various suburbs across Melbourne, including Manningham, Casey, Hume, Moorabbin, and Knox," Victoria Police said in a statement.
A young woman was severely beaten and robbed at a suburban Chicago McDonald's after being confronted about her sexual orientation by two men.
The incident occurred on May 13 at a McDonald's restaurant in Carpentersville, Illinois. According to a news release from the village's chief of police, the incident began when two males -- one adult, one juvenile -- made derogatory comments to the victim about her sexuality.
The verbal confrontation escalated into a fight, with the men beating the victim, later identified as Kady Grass.
The altercation left the 19-year-old badly beaten and bruised, suffering from severe injuries. She was transported to a local hospital, where she was treated for leg bruises, facial injuries, a hemorrhage to her eye, and a fractured nose, reported Chicago ABC affiliate WLS.
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Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray, the starting quarterback for the University of Oklahoma, has apologized for homophobic tweets he made as a teenager, reports CBS.
Murray, a junior, won the prestigious award, given annually to college football’s most valuable player, over Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa and Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins on Saturday night.
But on the night he was being honored, USA Today reported that when he was 15 the Sooners quarterback had tweeted at some friends using homophobic slurs to insult them. At the time, Murray made at least four tweets using the offensive language.
Shortly after the news broke, 21-year-old Murray deleted the tweets and apologized for their content.
“I apologize for the tweets that have come to light tonight from when I was 14 and 15,” he tweeted on Sunday. “I used a poor choice of word that doesn’t reflect who I am or what I believe. I did not intend to single out any individual or group.”
Murray also addressed the tweet in an appearance on CBS’ The NFL Today.
“You know, I was young, I own every part of it. I used a poor choice of words. At the same time, me being at this stage, having this platform, I learned from it,” he said. “It’s critical for me, crucial to me that I move on from it, but at the same time, own up to what I said and move on and learn from it.”
Murray, who excels at baseball as well as football, has signed a $4.66 million contract with the Oakland Athletics after being selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft in June. While some sports fans have speculated that he might be enticed to play in the National Football League if he’s drafted high, his agent, Scott Boras, put the kibosh on those rumors, telling NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport that Murray would stick with baseball.
Murray is also the latest athlete to find themselves in the middle of a controversy based on their past statements on Twitter. Earlier this year, Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen saw racist tweets from his teenage years resurface ahead of the NFL draft, when some sports pundits had predicted he would be the number-one overall pick.
Villanova Final Four Most Outstanding Player Donte DiVincenzo came under fire for a tweet quoting racist rap lyrics after helping his team win a national title.
And in July, the Milwaukee Brewers’ Josh Hader was forced to apologize and undergo sensitivity training after homophobic and misogynistic tweets were dredged up while he was playing in the MLB All-Star Game.
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