Culliver came off sounding like a bigoted tool, unfortunately. The issue (on both sides of the equation) is people's inability to separate the lifestyle from the person. I oppose homosexuality - that doesn't make me a gaybasher or a hater of homosexuals. I have no problem with gay people - I just disagree with their lifestyle choice. That's it.
Unfortunately, a lot of people with those views also express them in a way that makes themselves easy targets. The media gets them talking and they take the bait.
If I was a player, nothing other than a guy's character and playing ability would matter from a teammate standpoint. I'm sure a lot of straight players would be into stuff I'd want nothing to do with (wild unprotected orgies, drug abuse, PEDs, gangs, etc.). You can disagree with a behaviour without hating a person.
And totally agree that the media is what drives this. Often, those who aren't even in the target audience of the comments in question are the ones driving the accusations and frenzy.