When San Francisco cornerback Chris Culliver said he would not welcome a gay teammate on Tuesday -- remarks he later apologized for -- the 49ers were quick to distance themselves from Culliver's comments.
The 49ers had reason to act quickly because in August, San Francisco became the first NFL team to openly support a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender anti-bullying campaign known as the "It Gets Better Project."
Four 49ers players -- including Donte Whitner, Ahmad Brooks, Isaac Sopoaga and Ricky Jean Francois -- made a video supporting the campaign and itgetsbetter.org.
On the heels of Culliver's comments, both Brooks and Sopoaga were asked about the video and both told USA TODAY Sports that they didn't remember making it. Then when shown the video, both men acknowledged that they didn't realize the purpose of the video was to fight the bullying of LGBT teens. They thought it was to fight bullying in general.
"I didn't make any video," Brooks said when initially asked about it. "This is America and if somebody wants to be gay, they can be gay, but I didn't make any video. I think if I made a video, I'd remember it."
When Brooks was shown the video, he remembered making it, but not for the exact purpose it was intended, "Oh, that. It was an anti-bullying video, not a gay (rights) video," Brooks said.
Brooks wasn't the only 49er that forgot about making the video, so did Sopoaga. "I never went and now someone is using my name," Sopoaga said when asked about the video.
Although Sopoaga didn't remember making the video, teammate Will Tukuafu remembered him making it and tried to refresh Sopoaga's memory, "Yea, you made that video, remember?" Tukuafu said.
Culliver's comments haven't just made Culliver's life more hectic, they've made Super Bowl week more hectic for almost everyone. Things should calm down going forward though, as Thursday was the final day players from either team were available to the media.
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