The NFL combine is one of the weirdest interview sessions ever. After all, where can a bunch of old guys make young guys run and jump while wearing t-shirts and shorts and ask the question "Do you like girls?"
Although that question can be deemed inapprorpriate, the NFL and legal experts are looking to see if it can also be illegal.
On Tuesday, Colorado tight end Nick Kasa gave an inside look into the world of the combine, telling ESPN Radio Denver that he was questioned about his marital status and sexual orientation. "They ask you like, 'Do you have a girlfriend?' Are you Married? Do you like girls?' Those kinds of things, and you know, it was kind of weird. But they would ask you with a straight face, and it's a pretty weird experience altogether."
Weird and possibly a violation of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. Athough whether the public and private debates may differ on if an openly gay player would be welcome in the locker room, one thing's for certain, neither the Player's union nor league brass would let such an incident go unnoticed.
NFLPA executive director ensured that the incident would be investigated. "I know that the NFL agrees that these types of questions violate the law, our CBA and players rights." said Smith in a statement to USA today. "I hope that they will seek out information as to what teams have engaged in this type of discrimination and we should focus on appropriate discipline."
To their credit, the NFL was quick to point out that discrimination wouldn't be tolerated. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello sent in an email "Like all employers, our teams are expected to follow applicable federal, state and local employment laws. It is league policy to neither consider nor inquire about sexual orientation in the hiring process."
Players sexual orientation has become a hot-button issue in light of the Manti Te'o scandal. Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio said on "The Dan Patrick Show" that Te'o's sexuality was the "elephant in the room" following revelations that Te'o's reported online girlfriend was in fact a male friend conducting an elaborate hoax on the football player.
So how does the combine interview process work?
Jeff Foster, the NFL Scouting president is in charge of the combine and explains the interview process in two parts. The first being that his staff conducts a 10 minute videotaped interview to be distributed to teams. Afterwards, teams are allowed 60 private interviews with players. Foster says "The questions have all be reviewed gby legal and human resources to make sure they're in compliance" with the law. Foster seemed confident that despite the allegations of wrongdoing that teams are two professional to engage in obvious violations like that. "I think it's probably like a lot of things that come out of the combine," said Foster. "More rumor and innuendo than fact.
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