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Eli Apple asked if he is gay by Falcons coach during NFL interview – Metro US
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Eli Apple asked if he is gay by Falcons coach during NFL interview

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Not only do potential NFL draft picks participate in an athletic combine which tests their on-field skills, college stars also have to do formal job interviews with teams this time of year.

Some of the questioning has gotten out of hand in recent years. In 2010, then-Miami Dolphins GM Jeff Ireland asked wide receiver Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. Ireland later apologized for the question.

The newest “OMG – he really asked that?!” question came from an Atlanta Falcons coach. Ohio State cornerback Eli Apple was asked if he is gay during an interview last week.

“The Falcons coach, one of the coaches, was like, ‘So do you like men?'” Apple told Comcast SportsNet. “It was like the first thing he asked me. It was weird. I was just like, ‘No.’ He was like, ‘If you’re going to come to Atlanta, sometimes that’s how it is around here. You’re going to have to get used to it … I guess [the coach] was joking, but they just ask most of these questions to see how you’re going to react.”

The Falcons released a statement Friday, apologizing for the questioning.

“I am really disappointed in the question that was asked by one of our coaches,” Quinn said. “I have spoken to the coach that interviewed Eli Apple and explained to him how inappropriate and unprofessional this was. I have reiterated this to the entire coaching staff and I want to apologize to Eli for this even coming up. This is not what the Atlanta Falcons are about and it is not how we are going to conduct ourselves.”

In Metro’s most recent NFL Mock Draft, Apple is a first round pick and goes to the Green Bay Packers at No. 27. The Falcons pick at No. 17 in the first round.