Has the word "gay" become a dirty word?

Apparently -- at least if "Gay" happens to be a football player's name.

Spurred by a case of "Gay" pride, Leigh Clemons tried to order a New England Patriots jersey on her computer last month. Clemons, an assistant professor in Louisiana State University's theater department, watched one of her former pupils, Patriots defensive back Randall Gay, play a key role in New England's 24-21 win against Philadelphia in Super Bowl XXXIX and wanted to show her support for the former LSU standout.

But the NFL intercepted her attempts to buy a jersey personalized with Gay's name on the back from NFLshop.com, the league's official online merchandise center.

When Clemons tried to enter the last name of the Patriots cornerback, her request was rejected. The Web site accompanied the rejection with a message that read, "This field should not contain a naughty word."

"I was like, 'You've got to be kidding me,' " Clemons said. "When the message came up, I just sat and stared at it for 30 seconds with my mouth open. I know there are issues with homophobia in the NFL, but it never occurred to me the thing would come to this."

Eventually, Clemons received her jersey. But it took phone conversations with three different NFLshop.com representatives before her request was granted.

Dan Masonson, NFL corporate communications manager, said the NFL was recently made aware of the issue and is working to rectify the problem. He said the league does not consider the name "Gay" objectionable and pointed out that former NFL players William Gay and Ben Gay had personalized jerseys for sale.

I'm surprised to see the NFL bend over for such crass commercialism.

(No puns please.)