Ex-College Hoops Star: My Homophobic, Anti-Sam Tweets Were For ‘Psychology’ Research

Mississippi guard Marshall Henderson (22) celebrates after making a three-point basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Missouri in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Thomas Graning)
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Well, this is strange.

Marshall Henderson, a former standout basketball player at the University of Mississippi, expressed disgust on Monday with ESPN’s coverage of Michael Sam.

In a tweet to his more than 67,000 followers, Henderson said that he will boycott “Sportscenter,” ESPN’s flagship highlight show, until “this michael sam nasty ass shit is off.”

The initial tweet quickly racked up more than 1,000 retweets, setting off an avalanche of criticism. Websites like Deadspin and Yahoo provided coverage of the tweets.

But then in a bizarre twist, the brash shooting guard with a checkered past claimed the homophobic sentiment was all just a ruse. Henderson said the tweets were written as part of his gay friend’s psychological research.

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