UPDATED - Tell ESPN: Christian doesn't equal anti-gay

NBA Basketball Player Jason Collins inspired so many with his courage in coming out as a gay man and citing his Christian faith as a core reason for being public about his sexuality.

But hours after the news broke, ESPN sportscaster Chris Broussard’s said to millions of viewers: "I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don't think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian."

Since that moment, ESPN has done nothing to ensure that this sort of hate mongering against gay sports players doesn't happen again on their network.

More than 3600 people of faith have already spoken out on Groundswell demanding that ESPN not allow anti-gay speech to go unchallenged – signing a petition started by the Religious Institute. Will you join this campaign?

Sign the petition here.

UPDATE: ESPN has agreed to meet with us!

On May 22nd, the Religious Institute will be meeting with ESPN executives to discuss how they can better respond on religious issues, offer training, and ask for coverage of diverse points of view on religion. Want to be sure that you are represented? Then be sure to sign the petition, and tell the people you know to add their names as well. We want ESPN to get the message: being religious does not mean being antigay!