Roddy White apologizes for bizarre tweet about sexual preference

On Thursday, an enthusiastic fan on Twitter asked Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White about his statistical goals for the 2012 season. Roddy said that his goals were to lead all wide receivers in all applicable statistical categories. A perfectly reasonable response, even if his goals lean toward the unattainable.

Another fan, piggybacking off the first one, then asked Roddy if he'd rather lead the league in statistical categories or win a Super Bowl. That's when things got weird. Here was Roddy's response.

Well, to answer his question, obviously, I would — wait, what's the question? Would I rather be gay or straight? I'm not sure I follow, Roddy. I'd rather be — well, I'd rather not be the thing that I'm not. If, for example, I had a clear sexual preference for one gender, then I really don't want to be the thing that would have me sleeping with the other gender. That, I don't think I would enjoy. So I guess, in summary, I'm just going to be what I'm going to be, and hope that no one forces me to do the other thing.

How any of this helps us understand Roddy White's goals for the 2012 season, I don't know.

Roddy's apology — I'm sorry, "apology" — came shortly thereafter.

No, no, Roddy! You're allowed to say the word "gay." It's a perfectly acceptable word for an athlete of your stature, or an athlete of any stature, really. Or even a non-athlete. Gay is not a bad word. See, watch: Gay Gay Gay Gay Gay Gay Gay. And everyone is fine.

In fact, you didn't even technically say anything bad about gay people. All you did was ask @Mack_Vaughn if he'd rather be gay or straight. Now, maybe you meant that you think it should be clear to anyone that being straight is the right way to be, and that being gay is a terrible thing to be, and if that's the case, what you said is kind of homophobic. If that's the case, you should probably apologize, but apologize for being homophobic, not for saying the word "gay."

Or don't. Do what you think is right.

And on the other hand, maybe you weren't homophobic at all. Maybe you were just really curious about @Mack_Vaughn's sexual preference. I don't know. I can't guess at your motives here.

At any rate, thanks for making yourself available on Twitter and interacting directly with your fans. I still don't know your goal for the 2012 season, but it's nice that you've made yourself available for people to ask.

Gracias, Black Sports Online.