In 2002, Shockey said in a radio interview that he hoped there were no gay players in the NFL. "If I knew there was a gay guy on my college football team, I probably wouldn't, you know, stand for it," he told Howard Stern, adding, "I think, you know, they're going to be in the shower with us and stuff, so I don't think that's gonna work. That's not gonna work, you know?" He later told the "New York Daily News", "I guess I do regret saying it. I didn't think anyone was going to make a big deal out of it. I'm not prejudiced against anybody's beliefs or what they do in their off time. I do regret saying something like that. Whatever I did to offend people, I apologize. I'm not prejudiced in any way."