Why is Gus Kenworthy miffed with 80 for Brady? Tom Brady movie has Olympic skier raising questions
With Tom Brady retiring, there has been a plethora of paeans for him, but Gus Kenworthy is singing a different tune. That has nothing to do with the GOAT's career, though; the Olympic skier is miffed, as he was cut from "80 for Brady."
The movie includes a star cast of Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Sally Field planning a trip to see Tom Brady play in Super Bowl 2017 with the New England Patriots. The film includes many top stars, cameos and guest appearances.
It has now emerged that Gus Kenworthy was also supposed to be in the movie. The Olympian, who is gay, was involved in a passionate kissing scene with actor Brian Jordan Alvarez, which did not make the final cut. Reflecting on why that happened, he told Variety:
“They said they had to cut it for time, but I think they cut it for Middle America.”
While Tom Brady and Paramount Pictures have not commented on the same, production company Fifth Season explained why the scene was cut:
“... for pacing reasons, including key scenes with cast members, along with cameo appearances such as Gus and Brian’s kissing scene. We value and celebrate the contributions of the filmmakers and all of the incredible talent involved with the movie, including those members of the LGBTQ community. We are deeply committed to meeting the needs of each individual film while maintaining our values as an inclusive studio.”
Gus Kenworthy came out at the age of 24 and is among many other Olympians who have declared their sexual identity and orientation. It was two years after his fellow Briton and Olympic diver, Tom Daley, came out as having been in a relationship with a man.
Tom Brady's stance on openly LGBTQ sportspeople like Gus Kenworthy
Is Gus Kenworthy right to be disappointed that Tom Brady has not weighed in on his scene being cut from the film? To understand that, we have to recognize that the quarterback has never publicly expressed an opinion on the issue, for whatever reason.
He played with two gay teammates during his career: Ryan O'Callaghan with the New England Patriots and Carl Nassib with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There's no indication that he has treated them anything but fairly, especially given that Nassib has publicly embraced his sexual orientation as an active footballer. O'Callaghan has gone on record saying that his former teammate was nice to him even after he came out.
Tom Brady has treated gay men well while never talking publicly about LGBT rights or offering any support
Despite playing in two hotbeds for LGBTQ-rights talk, and playing with two gay teammates, Tom Brady has been silent.
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Perhaps that has happened because Brady has played in two different jurisdictions during his time as an NFL quarterback.
The New England Patriots were the only NFL team to join an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States in 2015 to declare same-sex marriage as constitutional. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, lies in Florida, where there have been controversies regarding the acceptance of LGBTQ rights.
Brady's reluctance to speak on the issue is in stark contrast to someone like Peyton Manning, who spoke of his acceptance of Michael Sam, who became the first openly gay player to enter the NFL draft. Aaron Rodgers has also come out and opposed chants targeting racial minorities and LGBTQ people.
NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers says there's no place for homophobic chants in football - Gay Star News scl.io/Ycw-8j9V
Tom Brady, though, seems to be following Michael Jordan's mantra of never weighing in on social issues.
While he will be intimately involved in the film, it will go against the grain to see him commenting on polarized issues such as the aforememtioned one. Hence, Gus Kenworthy might be disappointed if he waits on Brady to weigh in on the issue.