GOP Senate Candidate Cites Women’s Soccer As An Example Of “Homosexual Activities” Ruining Television

Alabama Sec. of State John Merrill, who is running for the US Senate, yesterday declared that “homosexual activities” have ruined television and that he can no longer find good wholesome shows like Gunsmoke anymore. Today he doubled down:

When sharing an example of what he called Americans’ preoccupation with “homosexuality activities,” Merrill cited media coverage of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s World Cup victory earlier this month.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” he said. “What the national media chose to focus on is the fact that these young ladies’ sexual orientation was more significant than what they accomplished on the field of play,” which Merrill said “was to separate themselves from any other team like them in the history of the World Cup.”

A better kind of national conversation over athletics, Merrill added, took place almost 40 years ago when in 1980 the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviet Union in a game called the “miracle on ice.” “When they won the gold medal, it was a national celebration. Those issues were not introduced at that time.”