Jamie Kuntz, 18-year-old college linebacker for North Dakota College of Sciences, was kicked off the football team for kissing his 65-year-old boyfriend. Kuntz left the school earlier this month, telling the Associated Press "'Football didn't work out, so there was no reason to stay."
The football coach, Chuck Parsons told the Associated Press that Kuntz was not kicked off the team for being gay or for kissing his much older boyfriend, but rather for lying to authorities about the incident.
This Labor Day, in a game against Snow College in Pueblo, Colorado, Kuntz shared a kiss with his boyfriend while sitting in press box watching the game. Kuntz was suffering from a concussion so was unable to play in the game. The kiss was caught on video and when asked about it, Kuntz told his coach that the elderly gentleman was his grandfather.
"I lied... People around here aren't exposed to it (homosexuality)... expect gays to be flamboyant, not football players,'' says Kuntz to Associated Press.
After the incident, Kuntz received a letter from coach Parsons on September 3, which stated that Kuntz's ''conduct deemed detrimental to the team'' without specifically mentioning homosexuality as the cause but rather stating that Kuntz ''lying to coaches, teachers or other school staff,'' was the sole cause for his dismissal.
Kuntz tells the Associated Press that he does not believe Parsons reasoning, "I know if it was a girl in the press box, or even an older woman, nothing would have happened... If it was an older woman, I would have probably been congratulated for it from my teammates,'' as reported to AP.
North Dakota State College of Science denies these allegations.
