Through all that time he continued to champion the fight against the disease that killed his father. Turns out that Howard isn’t reserved to just that fight though. When given the opportunity, he wasn’t afraid to show his mind was open to other progressive ideas. Jeremy Brener, a writer for Outsports which covers LGBT athletes, was at the Pro Bowl recently. He asked several players their thoughts about having a gay teammate.
Howard was among those players. His answered was fairly succinct.
“I’m pretty sure we would be supportive. We’ve been bonding together and that wouldn’t change anything too much.”
This is remarkable open-mindedness for Howard considering where Howard comes from. Remember he grew up in Alabama. The Deep South has always been an area rife with tension in regards to race and sexual orientation. Much the same goes for large parts of Indiana. So for him to emerge from that with such accepting views is pretty remarkable. It also reinforces how great it is he’s wearing a Bears uniform. It’s exactly the kind of player who should represent Chicago.
Especially in these turbulent times. There really isn’t a lot of welcoming news of late. More than ever Bears fans will be looking for a retreat to some sort of safe haven. One can expect NFL Sundays to play a huge part in that. As the team continues striving to pull itself out of a large hole, they finally have a man who can lead the way. It seems so fitting that it’s another running back from the south who seems to transcend where he came from.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Jordan Howard has a long way to go before he can be mentioned in the same breath as Walter Payton, but it’s nice to know he embodies that same spirit.
