A gay man was "badly beaten" by men who called him "stupid faggot" early Sunday on the Chicago "L" train, according to the Sun Times, after he tried to help a stranger they had targeted.
The Chicago Tribune adds: 
"Daniel Hauff, 33, said he tried to quell a dispute between two men on the train when one of them, joined by two other riders, began yelling gay slurs and other taunts at him.
Hauff said he pressed the emergency intercom, and the conductor came. But the conductor soon left, Hauff said, and the train started moving again.
Hauff said the men beat him while the train was between the Wilson and Argyle stops. 'And I never once threw a punch,' Hauff said. 'It's just not in my nature.' Hauff said he got away by wiping some of his blood on the attackers and telling them he was HIV-positive, which was not true.
Police said three men were arrested in the 1100 block of West Argyle Street for misdemeanor battery and 'making disparaging comments,' though the report had nothing specific about anti-gay comments. Police said the suspects were released Sunday on bail.
Hauff said he was released from a hospital around 6 a.m. He said his face, chest, back, knee and foot were in pain, but nothing was broken."
A witness reportedly photographed the beating on his phone. Hauff faults the conductor for leaving the scene too quickly.
(image of hauff via facebook)
