ReutersNot a week goes by without an NFL player posting something stupid on Twitter. This week it’s Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes‘ turn.
Spikes took to Twitter on Wednesday and posted what appears to be a joke stolen from British comedian Jack Whitehall, who has said as part of his act, “I’m homophobic in the same sense I’m arachnopobic. I’m not scared of spiders. I’m not scared of gays, but I would scream if I saw one in my bath.”
I’m homophobic just like I’m arachnophobic.I have nothing against homosexuals or spiders but I’d still scream if I found one in my bathtub !
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brandon spikes (@BrandonSpikes55) October 10, 2012For Whitehall, the biggest problem with that line is that it isn’t funny, and he’s supposed to be a comedian. For Spikes to repeat it is stupid both because if you’re going to steal a joke you should steal a funny one, and because “I’m homophobic” is a rather dumb thing for a public figure to say.
Now Spikes has created a bit of a controversy in New England, with media outlets including the Boston Globe and Boston Herald publishing critical stories about his tweet.
Spikes wasn’t in the Patriots’ locker room when media had access on Thursday, but several of his teammates were asked about it, and all of them avoided the topic and therefore avoided stirring up any further controversy. Patriots spokesman Stacey James said only, “The team has no comment.”
It’s easy to see why Spikes’s team and his teammates don’t want to wade into this controversy. But it’s hard to understand why Spikes created the controversy in the first place — or why he’s continuing to engage in Twitter arguments with people who were bothered by what he wrote. Spikes would be wise to knock it off.
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He should just provide us with link to the porn movie he filmed with his Florida girl.
Go Gators
Here’s a joke I’m sure Spikes would love: What do you call a Florida Gator in a business suit?
A defendant!
Seriously though, what a stupid thing for someone in the public eye to say!
Spot on. If youre going to steal a joke that COULD land you in some hot water, at least make it funny
OMG, it was a joke! People need to calm down.
“For Whitehall, the biggest problem with that line is that it isn’t funny”
Wrong, I think it’s hilarious.
Non story. Move along
that weak 1980s punchline isnt even funny
I’m sorry, I just don’t care. There’s bigger problems in the world.
what do you know about funny? you wear glasses
Get a grip. I am an advocate for gay rights and am not offended in the least.
…found it on youtube. It wasn’t Spikes, it was Tebow’s then roommate Tony Joiner.
Stupafobia:
Being afraid of stupid people.
Be careful…they are everywhere!
I’m sure Bill has had a sit down with Brandon to discuss some of Bill’s thoughts.
I think twitter is one of the dumbest things invented as who cares everyone up to the minute thoughts and as great as a LB Spikes is, he’s not the brightest bulb on the tree.
Its a joke, it just wasn’t all that good. If people want to take it personally, that is their call, its Spike’s stupidity for putting it in random folks hands. Yay Twitter.
I file this under “not a big deal.”
The bigot doth protest too much, methinks.
Tom Brady is very upset with this tweet.
Brandon, don’t be surprised when Tommy storms into the locker room with his extra furry Ughs on, and gives you a piece of his mind!
I agree with the guy above…good for him for not giving in to the PC world we live in today.
Good joke, but he might want to leave that topic to the comedians.
So he’s like the British Jeff Foxworthy or something? Not surprised some think its a hilarious observation.
I have to agree with thebiblestudent that is funny.
wow
i swear, nobody is allowed to quote or say anything anymore.
i feel like this is soviet russia.
Maybe he only converted for the jokes….
There is nothing wrong with what he said, whatever happened to America being a “Free Country” can’t say Ish without having to explain yourself now a days.
C’mon. That is kinda funny. Perhaps not in good taste and it is ill-advised, but stop taking it so seriously. It’s always good to see the media and their “outrage”. Give me a break.
Yes it is very funny still stupid to say for a pro athlete but at the same time everyone is offended by everything theses days relax people its a joke
It’s interesting that the guy that gets hair extensions woven into his scalp so he can replicate long hair makes these comments.
Hopefully him and Brady are going to the same weave shop…
Seriously?
I’m all for equal rights and treatment. I’m 100% pro same-sex marriage and stuff, and I have gay friends. I also have girlfriend (3yrs) so don’t go calling me ‘gay’ because I support people’s freedom.
This is not offensive by any means. I relate to the quote. I’m not scared of gay guys, but I don’t use public urinals for what I feel is an obvious reason. Girls wouldn’t want guys or lesbians sharing a stall with them right?
He may be a public figure, but he’s still a human, and still should be allowed to speak his mind. Stop being a media puppet and blowing things out of proportion.
Absolutely ridiculous. Yet another example of the media blowing things WAY out of proportion. He obviously didn’t mean any offense by it, and if people did take offense to it, then they need to harden up.
In the words of Spikes, “I guess I could walk on egg shells but I’d rather throw them at people with no sense of humor.”
Funny joke because it has some truth to it. Good for him.
Did I miss something? How is that not funny…….
The media would suffer a coronary covering one of our mens league post games or poker nights.
This is extremely taken out if context.
Man, what a sensitive world we live in. I, for one, think it’s a funny joke. Its not like he used a derogatory word toward gays, so everyone relax and get back to work.
i agree with most of you – can’t say anything anymore, and hey i’m a pretty liberal guy. i was talking to my dad about this last week – he said he caught an episode of all in the family and we were talking about how a show like that could never happen today, even though it was satire.
Where is it in the Constitution again that declares people have the right to not be offended?
If you didn’t like the joke then don’t follow him on Twitter. At least he’s not spouting his views to paying ticket holders at Gillette the way Madonna does.
prince5000,
All in the Family one of the best shows ever, especially the early ones which led to Maude & The Jefferson’s
Twitter is the best bait since they discovered you could catch fish with worms and a hook.
@honeybadger14
Right on brother.
I thought the joke was funny, at least you’re not perpetuating the gay stereotype of making everything overly dramatic…
So now you can’t even joke about gay people? Soon we won’t even be able to make jokes about Packer fans because someone might be offended.
be careful Brandon or you will be sent to “re education” camp. I mean sensitivity training! can’t have anybody thinking or saying anything someone might find offensive now can we?
It may not be funny, but it’s way funnier than Frank Caliendo.
I think the joke was funny in it’s original metric system, but converted to imperial…less so.
ampats says:
Oct 12, 2012 11:32 AM
prince5000,
All in the Family one of the best shows ever, especially the early ones which led to Maude & The Jefferson’s
___________________________________
Absolutely
Screw political correctness. He’s expressing his right to an opinion. Lighten up people and have a sense of humor.
That is pretty funny.
EVERY JOKE EVER has something or someone it’s taking a poke at. Should we ban all humor (or attempts at humor) for good because some hand wringing PC obsessed people are offended?? Why have words come to supersede deeds these days?
Some of you complaining about Free Speech don’t understand what Free Speech is and how your rights can be violated. No one is prosecuting or accusing Spikes of any crimes. In Europe, the so-called bastion of human rights and winners of Nobel Peace Prizes, Spikes would have been thrown in jail and/or fined heavily by the government for that Tweet.
He created a distraction to the team by causing an off field controversy. Belichick is a control freak and hates that. There’s no free speech when it comes to the New England Patriots.
Depends who you ask. I think you need to have a sense of humor to get it. People are too uptight. It was funny.
Stealing the joke w/o giving credit wasn’t cool, but the joke itself is pretty funny, and anyone who’s offended by that needs to take a chill-pill or go get a life.
Lets just say for the sake of argument that it wasn’t a joke, even though we all know it was.
Would you find it offensive?
If so, is it still OK for people to simply state that they don’t agree with the gay lifestyle?
Not that I really care, I’m just curious.
First of all, it was a joke that he heard somewhere and repeated because he probably thought it was funny…Secondly, if he really doesn’t like gay people, why should anyone be angry about that? It’s his right not to like gay people and if that’s how he feels about it, then he shouldn’t have to apologize for the way he looks at things…I personally have no problem with gay people but I don’t criticize people who think differently about it
It’s a great line, I loved it. People need to get a grip.
Really funny Tweet! Although I find it difficult to believe he would scream if a spider was in his bathtub.
I told that joke to a couple of gay friends and they thought it was funny.
Sometimes I think there are people out there that are just looking for a reason to get offended by something. I mean, come on, if I got offended every time somebody told a joke about mexicans…
Good for him voicing his opinion. What ever happened to freedom of speech? I thought it was a pretty funny joke. Gay is wrong and people dont have to accept it!
Please. It wasn’t the brightest thing to say, but he is an NFL player, not a politician, CEO, military leader, educator, etc.
first of all, that is a funny joke, and why its offensive is beyond me, people need to lighten up, good god!! im sure most spiders found it hilarious!!!
Funny I feel the same way about blacks, nothing personal against them.
Hilarious huh?
Whether this is humorous or not, what is the upside of tweeting it? It doesn’t make common sense to attach your name to this, regardless how you mean it to be taken.
The U of Florida is just happy he can spell arachnophobia.
Today’s society is entirely too sensitive. It was absolutely funny.