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NFL hopeful Michael Sam has received heaps of praise from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community after he came out as gay last month, but not everyone is pleased by the former Missouri defensive lineman's historic move.
"Dr. Chaps" Gordon Klingenschmitt, a former Navy chaplain whose opposition to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community is well-established, denounced Sam in a recent installment of his "Pray In Jesus Name" program, Right Wing Watch is reporting.
"It's a tragedy every time somebody comes out of the closet," Klingenschmitt said. "It's not something we should be celebrating."
Klingenschmitt's guest, Michel Brown, offered similar sentiments, criticizing the fact that Sam's announcement "makes him the new Jackie Robinson ... an overnight celebrity," and implying that the football player's public coming out was ultimately a selfish act.
In recent weeks, Klingenschmitt has argued in defense of Russia's "gay propaganda" laws, claiming, "If you're recruiting children into sin, Jesus says you should have the death penalty."
He's also slammed both same-sex marriage and gay parenting.
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