Jamie Kuntz, Gay College Football Player, On Being Kicked Off Team For Kissing Boyfriend

Football Player Kicked Off Team For Kissing Boyfriend: 'I'm Not Going To Apologize'

"If I could hear one thing, I would love to hear the school say they were wrong."

That's how former North Dakota State College of Science student Jamie Kuntz describes his feelings on the media firestorm he's endured since getting booted off his school's football team after being spotted kissing his boyfriend in the press box during a game in a poignant new interview with SB Nation. Amy K. Nelson spoke not just with Kuntz, but also with his family, former teammates and school officials who stood by the decision to kick the 18-year-old off the team.

"I feel like there's so much pressure riding on me," Kuntz says. "I feel like I'm standing up for all the gays that play sports. I'm not going to apologize for bringing him up there, I'm not going to apologize for what I did."

The considerable age gap between Kuntz and his 65-year-old boyfriend remains an issue for both Kuntz's mother Rita as well as ex-classmates. "I think even if it was an 18-year-old girl and a 60-year-old man...it has nothing to do that it's a gay relationship, but the age difference bothers me," Rita says.

One North Dakota College of Science student was considerably less delicate, noting, "C'mon -- if I had some sugar mama who was older, I wouldn't be bringing her to my football games to make out with me in the booth."

Kuntz, who told HuffPost Gay Voices last week that he was hoping to transfer to a new school in time for the spring semester, says he's grateful for the outpouring of support he's received from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates, but is concerned about what role football will play in his future. "I know in my mind I am good enough to be a Division I athlete," he states. "There's has to be one school that's willing to take a shot."

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