Philtaz
Of course I realise it is in the same vein, which is why I used the word 'akin' to liken the two (I assume you missed the akin?).
I likened the two because both remarks are supposed to be humorous (which they are not) - both remarks are crass.
But these crass, unfunny remarks are not necessarilly homophobic, although granted it does depends on context of course.
In the context of the tweet, it is my opinion that Steele's comments were not homophobic, and the tweet most certainly does not imply, as you seem to think, that if he was sleeping next to Gareth Thomas he would be raped.