Writer Mocks Romney's Black Adopted Child, Says NCAA Disrespectful by Partnering with Chick-fil-A

A writer and comedian who mocked Mitt Romney’s adopted black grandchild over the weekend believes the NCAA should disassociate itself from Chick-fil-A when the college football adopts a playoff system next year because the partnership does not promote “an atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person.”

On Sunday, Dean Obeidallah mocked the Romney family and Republicans while appearing on Melissa Harris-Perry’s MSNBC show. Obeidallah, who appears on CNN in addition to writing for outlets like the Daily Beast, said a family photo in which Romney was holding his black grandchild “really sums up the diversity of the Republican Party.”

Writing in the Daily Beast, though, Obeidallah blasts the NCAA for supporting Chick-fil-A just because its CEO is a supporter of the traditional definition or marriage. 

“But let’s be brutally honest. Chick-fil-A is the corporate poster child for opposition to same-sex marriage,” he writes before noting that Chick-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy said his company supports “the biblical definition of the family unit” and has donated to organizations trying to uphold the traditional definition of marriage of a union between one man and one woman. 

Obeidallah then claims that the NCAA, by partnering with Chick-fil-A, is violating its bylaws by not promoting “an atmosphere of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person.” Even though the NCAA does not discriminate against gay athletes, he then writes that NCAA’s association with Chick-fil-A would be in violation of another bylaw that prohibits the NCAA from “discrimination with respect to its governance policies, educational programs, activities and employment policies including on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, creed or sexual orientation.”

After falsely comparing gay marriage to interracial marriage, Obeidallah asks, “How can the NCAA promote an ‘atmosphere of respect’  and the ‘dignity of every person’ when it allows an NCAA sporting event to be named for a company that publicly opposes equality for all Americans solely based on sexual orientation?

All this sanctimony and “social consciousness” from a man who mocked the Romney family for adopting a black child. 

UPDATE: Obeidallah apologized to the Romney family and the the baby in a statement to CNN:

“Occasionally my jokes have been known to ‘cross the line’ and I can assure you that in the future some of my jokes will do that again,” he said. “My joke on MHP was not intended in any way to mock the Romney family or the baby they adopted. Rather it was a joke about the lack of racial diversity that we see at the Republican National Convention. I apologize to the Romney family and especially the baby if any of them were offended by that joke.”