Packers Daily Links: LeRoy Butler's Support for Jason Collins Costs Him Church Speaking Engagement

LeRoy Butler explains the circumstances that cost him an $8,500 speaking engagement. That and more in today's Daily Links...

Former Green Bay Packers great LeRoy Butler described his version of events that led to the cancellation of one of his speaking engagements with a Wisconsin church after Butler expressed congratulations via social media to NBA player Jason Collins who came out as gay earlier this week. "(The pastor) called back and said, ‘If you ask God for forgiveness and apologize and remove the tweet, we'll let you do the speaking engagement,'" Butler is quoted as saying by Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin. "I told him, ‘No, I can't do that. Someone needs to speak up for them, and you ask me to do something as a man that isn't what I believe in just to make that money.'" The church apparently cancelled Butler's appearance. The former Packers safety said he was to receive $8,500 for his services.

More on LeRoy Butler and Jason Collins comes from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Green Bay Press-Gazette.

The Packers announced on Wednesday that former cornerback Al Harris will retire as a member of the Packers organization. "The 39-year-old Harris is now an assistant defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, whom the Packers will face in the preseason," writes Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com. "He works for Andy Reid, his coach with the Philadelphia Eagles for five seasons. When he left the Packers, he took out full-page ads in local newspapers to thank Packers fans." Wilde informs that Harris will join the ESPN Radio affiliates in Milwaukee and Madison for an interview on Friday. The show begins at 9:00 a.m. CT and can be streamed online at ESPNWisconsin.com.

More on Al Harris comes from Fox Sports Wisconsin, JSOnline, Press-Gazette and Lombardi Ave.

Wide receiver Kevin Dorsey talked about being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in a radio appearance in Baltimore. “You feel a part of a huge family in a sense, where everyone knows them, you know them, and you kind of coexist," Dorsey is quoted as saying in the Washington Post. "It’s a storied franchise, and I got an opportunity to walk down, see their hall of fame, feel the history and everything, and ultimately how football kind of started. It was a wonderful experience. A place a true football player would want to be.” Dorsey was taken by the Packers in the seventh round, along with fellow wide receiver Charles Johnson.

Packers draft features are published by Packer Plus on Datone Jones, Eddie Lacy, David Bakhtiari, J.C. Tretter, Johnathan Franklin, Micah Hyde and the seventh round draft picks. Ty Dunne also writes a column on Lacy and drafting a high-round running back.

A blog post on whether the Packers would have drafted Wisconsin running back Montee Ball comes from Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com.

Former Packers kicker Jan Stanerud is interviewed by Wes Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. "Last Thursday — more than 20 years after his Hall of Fame induction — Stenerud, 70, was honored on the Montana State campus in Bozeman, Mont., as part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Allstate 'Hometown Hall of Famer' program," writes Hodkiewicz.

Articles on seventh round pick Sam Barrington and Packers quarterbacks appear at Packer Report.

Fans are reminded not to sleep on Johnathan Franklin at AllGreenBayPackers.com where a post on recent contract extensions also appear.

The running back position and a post specifically on David Bakhtiari come from Acme Packing Company.

The Packers running game is the focus of a blog post at Lombardi Ave.

Video: Fox 11 in Green Bay reports on the LeRoy Butler cancelled church speaking engagement...

Brian Carriveau is the author of "It's Just a Game: Big League Drama in Small Town America," and editor of Cheesehead TV's "Pro Football Draft Preview." To contact Brian, email [email protected].

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Comments (52)

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Chad Lundberg's picture

May 02, 2013 at 10:00 am

Any sex outside of marriage is a sin in the Christian belief. There's nothing intolerant or discriminant about that. That's just holding to your convictions.

I'm not saying that gay people made the choice to be gay, in fact I don't even believe that they can change if they wanted to. But there ARE ex-gays out there and their testimonies are powerful of how they came out of their homosexual lifestyle.

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June's picture

May 02, 2013 at 10:11 am

Kudo's to LeRoy for taking a stand and sticking to his beliefs!! You can't buy integrity!!

And thanks to Al Harris for putting the dread in dreadlocks - and retiring as a Packer. The man has class!!

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philip's picture

May 02, 2013 at 10:43 am

and kudos to the church for sticking with theirs...

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al's picture

May 02, 2013 at 11:11 am

ty PHILIP :)

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jack in jersey city's picture

May 02, 2013 at 11:44 am

right on june!

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lebowski's picture

May 02, 2013 at 11:03 am

I can't imagine Christians being intolerant and discriminatory.

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PackersRS's picture

May 02, 2013 at 05:08 pm

Congratulations!

What do we have for him Johnny?

We got for the Dude a brand new Internet!

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ohenry78's picture

May 02, 2013 at 11:14 am

Yeah, except that the Church won't let them get married to make it OK.

It's like telling someone "No dessert until you eat your supper!"

"When is supper?"

"NEVER!"

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primetime's picture

May 02, 2013 at 12:28 pm

well said Chad

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EJ's picture

May 02, 2013 at 10:45 am

I think it's dumb that the church wanted Butler to speak at their church anyway. What does his life story have to do with Christianity? Isn't it supposed to be about Christ? The church doesn't seem too sure of their convictions either by not wanting to be named.

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Philip's picture

May 02, 2013 at 10:50 am

Butler didn't identify the church. That was his choice.

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ohenry78's picture

May 02, 2013 at 11:17 am

I am not a religious person, but my point-oh-two dollars is this:

The church isn't about christ. Mass and worship are about christ, but not the church. The church is about community, and socializing with others who share in that belief. It provides a place for worship, to be sure, but I think anyone who's belonged to a church has had outdoor masses at some point.

Bringing Butler in is part of that social aspect.

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EJ's picture

May 02, 2013 at 12:34 pm

Well I sure wouldn't wake up early on a Sunday morning to see a Leroy Butler infomercial, I don't need that. I do have lots of sins that need to be forgiven, however.
Also, according to Butler the church thanked him for not naming the church. They sound ashamed of the stand they took if Butlers account is accurate. Chris Broussard wasn't scared of speaking what Christianity teaches.

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Point Packer's picture

May 02, 2013 at 03:20 pm

I don't want to dive into this, but I can't help myself. If what you mean by "Christianity teaches" you mean "the Bible" - than I could find a million examples of where "Christianity teaches" tolerance, compassion and equal justice for all.

The reason the Church didn't want to be named, is that they didn't want a mass protest outside of its doors helping to expose the leadership for the bigots that they are.

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mudduckcheesehead's picture

May 02, 2013 at 04:23 pm

Amen.

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ohenry78's picture

May 03, 2013 at 11:44 am

Well said sir.

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Ken's picture

May 02, 2013 at 03:34 pm

Kudos to the Church for sticking to its convictions. Would the Packers invite a Vikings fan to speak at a Packers banquet? Of course not. No different here. i think Butler stepped past the line by making this a story, like he is a matrtyr. And to be paid $8,500 for speaking at a Church? Sorry, Butler, you get no sympathy from me.

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Point Packer's picture

May 02, 2013 at 03:51 pm

"Kudos to the church for sticking to their convictions"?

Actually, it was Butler who stuck to the convictions. He was given a choice to speak based on if he did X and Y. He didn't agree with X and Y and said, "no thank you".

"Would the Packers invite a Vikings fan to speak at a Packers banquet? "

Absolutely awful and irrelevant analogy. You must have put lots of shallow thought into that one.

"And to be paid $8,500 for speaking at a Church?"

Take a look at the salary for evangelical megachurch pastors and then go tell me that an $8,500 speaking fee is exorbitant. The church was willing to pay it. What do you think Rick Warren's speaking fee is?

As side, Butler does plenty for charity in the community and always has.

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Philip's picture

May 02, 2013 at 05:04 pm

It's amazing that anyone besides Christians are allowed to speak their minds and stand up for their beliefs. If a Christian stands up for his or her beliefs he or she is labeled a bigot. If anyone bashes Christians for their beliefs, they are labeled courageous. For a society concerned about tolerance, we sure don't tolerate Christians.

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Jamie's picture

May 02, 2013 at 05:28 pm

So you're suggesting we tolerate the intolerant?

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Point Packer's picture

May 02, 2013 at 06:46 pm

Exactly. Well put.

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Flikery's picture

May 03, 2013 at 02:10 pm

If you do not, that makes you intolerant by definition. Your line is just different.

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primetime's picture

May 02, 2013 at 09:25 pm

agree here, Phil

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ohenry78's picture

May 03, 2013 at 11:48 am

What? No. This is the problem with Christians. They think everyone is out to get them, like it's them vs the world and there's some conspiracy to hold them down or something.

When someone questions your religion, the proper response is to explain why they are wrong in their thoughts or assumptions, not to resort to conspiracy theory and opining about how you don't get to stand up for your beliefs.

When people question your beliefs, THAT IS THE PERFECT TIME TO STAND UP FOR THEM. You are being given the exact opportunity to do so. So stop whining and take the opportunity, because all you're doing right now is giving the impression that you don't hold on to your beliefs strong enough to defend them.

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ArodMoney's picture

May 02, 2013 at 03:53 pm

i lold

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MarkinMadison's picture

May 02, 2013 at 04:39 pm

"I don’t even believe that they can change if they wanted to. But there ARE ex-gays out there and their testimonies are powerful of how they came out of their homosexual lifestyle."

I'm going to ignore 99% of this topic except to say this - conversion therapy is the worst kind of sham snake-oil. One of my duaghter's best friends is gay. His parents are evangelicals, and told him before he came out that he could be disowned and thrown out of his home if he were gay (he's 16). After he came out anyway, even THEY could not bring themselves to send him to conversion therapy. Please folks, do NOT subject anyone you love to conversion therapy. It has ZERO scientific credibility, and has been thoroughly disowned all recognized mental health professional groups. Whatever else you want to think, it's your life. Back to football please.

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007's picture

May 02, 2013 at 05:29 pm

Butler was not PC to the church. Is that status quo for all churches or christians? Good for him for sticking to his guns, and same goes for the church.

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PackersRS's picture

May 02, 2013 at 05:33 pm

Have to give my 2 cents.

As many have said before, it's the church's prerogative to choose whoever they like to speak on it's behalf.

But don't you dare say it's not bigotry.

It might be based on their religion, but this is not the 10th century.

You cannot discriminate citizens by creed, you cannot discriminate citizends by color or by sex, you certainly cannot discriminate by sexuality. It's hypocrisy to do so.

The Hindu religion separates people in casts. The Islamic traditions preeches the use of burqas covering women. How is that different from what christianity considers regarding homosexualism?

Quite frankly, there's no room in modern society for cruel treatment, regardless of what is customary in one's religion.

Personal belief? Fine, think whatever you'd like, live however you'd like. The moment your beliefs affect how a fellow citizen lives his own life, it's outside of what's acceptable in a humane and developed society.

I personally turn away when I see a public display of affection between homosexuals. I'm uncomfortable by it. But it's their right to do so.

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lebowski's picture

May 02, 2013 at 06:18 pm

you can share my brand new internet

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jeremy's picture

May 02, 2013 at 08:54 pm

Thank you. I was starting to get pretty depressed reading some of the comments here.

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ohenry78's picture

May 03, 2013 at 11:51 am

This!! Thank you for the sanity. Well said.

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FITZCORE 1252'S EVO's picture

May 02, 2013 at 06:24 pm

Alright, so we're all in agreement, organized religion is a joke.

As MarkinMadison so eloquently stated... Back to football.

If we wanted to talk homosexuality, religion, or politics... We'd tune into GREEN and GOLD TODAY! Zing!! I'm pretty proud of that one!!!!

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Point Packer's picture

May 02, 2013 at 06:49 pm

But the opinions expressed when sports and politics/religion weave is so interesting. I'm serious.

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PackersRS's picture

May 02, 2013 at 07:12 pm

It was a good one.

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EJ's picture

May 02, 2013 at 06:41 pm

Christianity doesn't teach intolerance towards gays, it teaches love and forgiveness. Everyone is sexually broken and needs forgiveness for their sins. Jesus said "it is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick". Of course if you aren't a sinner, then you have no need for Jesus. If you tell people that homosexuality isn't a sin, you are cutting them off from the forgiveness of sins, which would be the hateful thing to do.

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DGB454's picture

May 03, 2013 at 02:41 pm

Good post EJ

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perrin's picture

May 02, 2013 at 07:12 pm

Uh, for starters, try reading the bible metaphorically, not literally. It states in the bible that Jesus "spoke in parables" so that the true meaning could not be misused and GROSSLY misinterpreted. Yet here we are... The bible doesn't teach tolerance, it teaches acceptance through understanding. HUGE DIFFERENCE. But I digress; hey @JackInJerseyCity, I live by Journal Square, u in the area?

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jack in jersey city's picture

May 02, 2013 at 07:25 pm

yep! i'm in jersey city heights (right off of JFK)

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perrin's picture

May 02, 2013 at 08:40 pm

That's nuts dude, I'm off of JFK right by St. Peters. Shoot me an email when u get a chance ([email protected]), I just moved to the area. I feel like I have to say "No Homo" so that no one on here turns against me considering the blog topic haha but hopefully people will understand haha

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EJ's picture

May 02, 2013 at 07:48 pm

Yes Jesus spoke in metaphors and parables, but the parables represented truths about reality. How is the metaphor that I quoted to be interpreted then? Jesus is the physician. Humanity is the sick. The sickness is our sinful nature. Pretty basic stuff. Also, I think you're working with a different definition of tolerance than I am. In order to tolerate someone, you need to disagree with them and still show respect and kindness towards them. Tolerance isn't I'm right, your wrong, accept my view or ill call you a bigot.

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DGB454's picture

May 03, 2013 at 02:40 pm

Thanks.

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perrin's picture

May 02, 2013 at 08:31 pm

Well, Ej, while tolerance takes a neutral stance on any particular thing you don't like, acceptance asks you to go a bit deeper within the understanding of that thing. After doing this with an open, unbiased, and Christ-like heart, you will undoubtedly come to understand compassion for your fellow brethren. It is your ego that has you believing that, because of his sexuality, Jason Collins wants something different out of life on the grandest scale than you do. However, this is not the case. Atop "Maslows "Heirarchy of Needs" sits acceptance. This is no coincidence. You have facebook, join clubs, enjoy friends and family everyday because of your need for, and their extension of, acceptance.The human "sickness" spoken of in the bible was particularly "unclean thought". It has NOTHING to do with sexuality, but rather cleansing yourself e of the separatist thinking that the 5 senses affords to you. Thusly, Christ asks you to "Go higher" within your being; simply consider the golden rule.

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PackersRS's picture

May 03, 2013 at 11:52 am

It's actualy self-actualization, a broader notion than acceptance, but you can make that fit.

I'm an atheist, let's put it clearly, but I'm from a very catholic family, my grandmother in particular never went to sleep without praying the full rosary.

Your line of view is very similar to hers.

It's a shame that too many people can't get your comprehension of the Bible and take it literally, and that the power involved end up corrupting the religion (power corrupts, not only religion, but everything).

I personally believe that religion has proven it's not the answer to a better human society, but that doesn't mean that what religion trully preaches, it's values, isn't the answer for society.

Fact is every single constitution has religious principles at it's core.

If your line of thinking prevailed (at least on this subject), we would all live a better world IMO.

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perrin's picture

May 02, 2013 at 08:35 pm

If you TRULY would like to know about the Bible's intended teachings, its metaphors, the books that were purposely left out of the bible, the fact that Jesus studied buddhism, etc. you can email me personally and Ill provide you with as much info on this subject as I can. Understand that I am not against you, we all seek clarity in a world that would seem to be without reasoned meaning.

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perrin's picture

May 02, 2013 at 08:44 pm

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cow42's picture

May 02, 2013 at 09:28 pm

it's been 20 years since Stenarud got inducted?
damn!
where's the time gone?!

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Point Packer's picture

May 03, 2013 at 12:17 am

You usually drive me crazy, but that made me laugh hard out loud.

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BrianD's picture

May 03, 2013 at 12:18 am

Social media is incredibly childish.

If Butler wanted to support Collins, he could have written him an email, invited him over for dinner, given him a phone call, etc. Why make your support public when it's a private matter?

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perrin's picture

May 03, 2013 at 02:13 am

Why make your lack of support public if its a private matter?? (Now you're getting it.)

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Chad Toporski's picture

May 03, 2013 at 06:48 am

I do not tolerate those people who aim to prevent others from receiving the same rights and benefits as the rest.

The Collins thing is also not about being gay, it's about not being judged or persecuted because you are different.

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markinmontana's picture

May 03, 2013 at 04:45 pm

Kudos to Al Harris for retiring as a Packer. I think it's great that the organization allows this to happen (except when they did it for Bill Schroeder, who was a whiny putz).

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Point Packer's picture

May 03, 2013 at 06:32 pm

Bill Schroeder may be one of the more over-rated Packers of all time.

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