With
the national spotlight shining on the Super Bowl-bound Ravens this
week, linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo is apparently hoping to divert some
attention off the gridiron.

According to New York Times columnist Frank Bruni,
just hours after Baltimore’s AFC championship win, Ayanbadejo directed
an e-mail to marriage equality advocates asking how he could utilize the
increased Super Bowl media to help support same-sex marriage.

It was almost 4 A.M. Monday morning Eastern time when he wrote the
email. He’d just arrived back home in the Baltimore area from the Boston
area, where the Ravens-Patriots contest had taken place. He was pumped
up, heart bursting with excitement over the Ravens’ good fortune,
thoughts racing about the two weeks leading up to the Bowl. And those
thoughts turned not just to a possible victory, but also to same-sex
marriage and his continued efforts to promote it.  WHAT?   What other football player would do this.  This is so huge, to have an outspoken straight ally, looking to use his spotlight, FOR US!

He tapped out an email to Brian Ellner, a leading marriage-equality
advocate with whom he had worked before, and Michael Skolnik, the
political director for Russell Simmons, a hip-hop mogul who has become
involved in many issues, including same-sex marriage.

Ayanbadejo wrote: “Is there anything I can do for marriage equality or
anti- bullying over the next couple of weeks to harness this Super Bowl
media?” The time stamp on the email was 3:40:35 A.M.