The Chris Culliver interrogation is ongoing as we type, with a throng of reporters surrounding the previously unknown 49ers corner after his homophobic remarks made him the hottest property at the Super Bowl since deer antler spray.
Culliver apologized profusely for his remarks to comedian Artie Lange, in which he said he would not want a gay teammate in the 49ers locker room.
Culliver said repeatedly “that’s not what’s in my heart,” and “I’m sorry if I offended anyone,” and invoked a number of conversations with people close to him, from his mother to unnamed gay relatives.
But he denied that he meant harm to any current or future gay players, or to the city he works in which has a significant homosexual population.
Asked if he was concerned that he’d be forever labeled as a homophobe, Culliver shook his head quietly and said: “No . . . I mean, hopefully not, that’s why I’m doing this today.”
What he was doing was effectively the act of contrition, saying the same things over and over, and looking like a man who’d rather be anywhere else in the world.
The 49ers stationed him at a table near the edge of the hotel ballroom where interviews are being held, the same table he sat at Wednesday when no one wanted to talk to him. They did move teammate Tarell Brown, so he wouldn’t be crushed by the horde of cameras and reporters.
Other players, the 49ers’ actual stars, were at podiums nearby, with team and league logos slathered across the backdrops.
Culliver, wearing his jersey and a 49ers ski cap, was left to go it alone, repeatedly apologizing and saying he didn’t mean the thing he said, and hoping it all goes away.