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Are Gay Rumors Why Kerry Rhodes Hasn't Been Signed To NFL Team?

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The NFL's training camp started this week, and one player without a place to hang his padding is Kerry Rhodes, who's been the target of gay rumors ever since.

Earlier this month Rhodes said he was in contract negotiations and would sign soon—but that hasn't come to pass. "Maybe it's a negotiating ploy," ponders NY Times sports writer Viv Bernstein. "Maybe Rhodes thinks he can wait until teams evaluate their rosters and possibly get a better deal later. Maybe at 30 he is hoping to skip the rigors of training camp and sign later in preseason."

It was Rhodes supposed former boyfriend, Russell “Hollywood” Simpson, who tagged the free agent as a Friend of Dorothy:

I had an engagement ring he gave me. Look at some of the pics and I am wearing a promise ring he gave me. We were in love and it was real. But now look at him! He’s lying and looking like a real dumbazz.

Almost more than any other professional league, the NFL has made numerous public overtures to and declarations on behalf of the LGBT community. Hell, they even produced rainbow-colored NFL shirts. But in the high-stakes world of sports, even the whiff of scandal or team friction can be enough to make owners second-guess their better natures. And with all the variables, including Rhodes hitting the big 3-0, it's not exactly easy to point to a smoking gun.

h/t: Queerty

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