Craig James, a former New England Patriots running back, said Satan inspired his former team to urge the Supreme Court to legalize same-sex marriage.
"If I were a current player in that locker room and my livelihood depended on me being quiet or losing it because of my belief system, I worry, I wonder. So, that's Satan working on us," James said during an interview on Friday on Family Research Council President Tony Perkins' radio show.
The Patriots are among hundreds of U.S. businesses, including San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays, that submitted a brief with the high court in support of allowing same-sex marriage nationwide. The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the case April 28 with a decision expected this summer.
James said in the interview Patriots and other teams risk sparking an "implosion" in the locker room if they continue to voice support for gay rights.
"A locker room is a cohesive deal," James, who now works for the Family Research Council, a conservative Christian group and lobbying organization, told Perkins. "A locker room is a place where everybody has different belief systems but you just get along. In my opinion, I look forward to seeing now, if management tells you and the coaching staff tells you that you better not say anything about the other side, you talk about implosion in the locker room."
Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to legalize gay marriage.
James has expressed his anti-gay viewpoint in the past. During his failed bid for U.S. Senate in 2012, he said homosexuality is a choice and that he “will never ride in a gay parade.”
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He was fired as an analyst by Fox Sports in 2013 for the anti-gay comments he made during the campaign.
Click here to listen to James' interview from Right Wing Watch.
