San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver became a Super Bowl week star for the wrong reasons when his comments about the idea of a gay teammate sparked widespread criticism.
Culliver quickly apologized and pledged to become more knowledgeable on issues of gay and lesbian rights.
Culliver now has begun to back up that promise. The Sacramento Bee reported on Monday that Culliver spent the day at the Los Angeles office of The Trevor Project, an organization that provides crisis and suicide intervention for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youths.
Culliver's public relations representative, Theodore Palmer, said Culliver met with The Trevor Project's executive director on Sunday. He also paid airfare to have the group's national education trainer come in from New York for Monday's proceedings.
"He wants to use his profile as a professional athlete to help," Palmer said. "He wants to become a volunteer for the organization and become more active. He really learned a lot today."
Culliver's troubles began when comedian Artie Lange asked him during a Super Bowl week radio appearance how he felt about the idea of a gay teammate in the locker room.
"No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do," Culliver replied. "Can't be with that sweet stuff."
It would be nice if Culliver, rather than his PR flak, spoke about the experience on Monday. Still, he should be commended for backing up his word to become more educated on the issues of the gay and lesbian community.
Follow Dan Hanzus on Twitter @DanHanzus.
