As allegations of certain teams asking Colorado tight end Nick Casa about his sexual orientation have warranted an NFL investigation, Manti Te'o has found himself in the spotlight again regarding reports that teams are curious to know if the famed defensive college football player is gay.
Multiple reports surfaced Wednesday that Kasa was asked several personal questions relating to his preference to women or men during interviews with team officials at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, Ind.
Kasa confirmed on ESPN Radio in Denver that he was asked such questions, though he did not confirm who asked him.
"(Teams) ask you, like, 'Do you have a girlfriend?' 'Are you married?' 'Do you like girls?'" Kasa said, while adding that he didn't think it "was really a serious question."
The NFL is taking the questions very seriously, telling the Associated Press that the league will be looking into Kasa's comments, and that ""any team or employee that inquires about impermissible subjects or makes an employment decision based on such factors is subject to league discipline."
"I know that the NFL agrees that these types of questions violate the law, our CBA and player rights," DeMaurice Smith, the head of the NFL players association, said in a statement. "I hope that they will seek out information as to what teams have engaged in this type of discrimination and we should then discuss appropriate discipline."
However, Kasa's case apparently isn't the only instance of team officials allegedly wanting to find out more about the sexual orientation of players.
As the New York Daily News reports, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported earlier this week that NFL coaches and general managers at the combine wanted to find out if highly-touted college football prospect and Heisman Trophy runner-up Manti Te'o was gay.
"Here's the elephant in the room for the teams and it shouldn't matter, but we have to step aside from the rest of reality and walk into the unique industry that is the NFL," Florio said on the Dan Patrick Show. "Teams want to know whether Manti Te'o is gay. They just want to know. They want to know because in an NFL locker room, it's a different world."
Questions about Te'o, a Hawaiian-born linebacker who played at the University of Notre Dame, regarding his sexual orientation have been following him since the December 2012 scandal revealed that the highly-publicized existence and death of his girlfriend were fake.
Several NFL executives told Yahoo! Sports that they did not ask Te'o him about his sexuality during interviews.
"No, we stayed away," one NFL executive, who was not identified, said. "We didn't care, really. We just wanted to get the story straight."
However, the NFL confirmed that the league does not have a direct policy on the line of questioning that teams and their officials can ask; the only limit, according to the league, is that team officials must follow employment laws.
"Teams are expected to comply with the law in terms of any employment interview," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told Yahoo! Sports Tuesday.
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