Ex-CU football coach Bill McCartney was picked to lead the homecoming parade but sat out after a group threatened to protest. ( Karl Gehring, Denver Post file )
The University of Colorado homecoming parade marched down the Pearl Street mall Friday night minus a grand marshal.
Former CU football coach Bill McCartney, chosen to lead the parade by the 25-member homecoming committee, stepped down after a local group threatened to picket the parade.
"I'm not interested in offending anybody," McCartney said. "Homecoming is supposed to be a celebration, when you welcome back the alums. A guy like me shouldn't be a distraction.
"The university has really been good to me, and I regret offending others who are opposed to some of the things I said."
On Thursday, CU group Gender Justice Commission called for a protest of McCartney's selection as the parade's grand marshal.
McCartney, 71, has drawn criticism from some groups for comments he made in the past about women and the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.
"We're pleased he has elected to not participate in the homecoming parade as a grand marshal," said Erika Munter, chairwoman of the Gender Justice Commission. "I think it helps foster a CU-Boulder campus that is supportive and inclusive to all different identities."
The homecoming committee was made up of CU students, staff and community members.
"It was an honor, but it would have become a dishonor if I distracted from the bigger picture," said McCartney, who founded the Christian organization for men Promise Keepers in 1990. "It's still an honor that they asked me."
McCartney coached the Buffs from 1982 to 1994, winning three consecutive Big Eight Conference titles. His 1990 team was crowned national champions by The Associated Press.
But McCartney courted controversy as a coach, something that brought out opposition from CU faculty members last year when he lobbied to replace Dan Hawkins at the helm of the Buffs.
From a CU podium in 1992, McCartney referred to homosexuality as "an abomination against almighty God" in support of Amendment 2, which prohibited laws protecting gays from discrimination.
Source: http://feeds.denverpost.com/~r/dp-news-local/~3/sF6fGWVuWfY/ci_19168984
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