These guys need scapegoats. If they pretend the players are the ones who will have problems with it, they don't have to admit it's actually them. I think people are selling players short here. The younger generation really doesn't care about this stuff.
Yeah, last season worked out so well for Incognito. I'm sure others are really excited about the prospect of following that path.
He's far from the only meathead homophobe in the NFL. I just don't see the locker room culture changing so rapidly. Too many guys are going to be uncomfortable with changing and showering with a gay teammate.
Not so uncomfortable they'll risk being shown the door. Your elite players aren't dumb enough to say or do anything that hurts their marketability. The other guys are simply expendable. They'll realize their check is more important than comfort.
I don't know, I think accepting homosexuality and being tolerant of it, and forcing straight and gay men to share a locker room are two very separate issues.
I've got news for the NFL players. There are plenty of gay guys in their locker rooms and showers now.
Nobody is forced to do anything. If it makes them that uncomfortable, they can go home and get another job.
Football locker rooms are about as homoerotic as it gets. Yes, I know I'm going to catch an ungodly amount of flak for that statement,but it's true.
I am past this being news, but a gay knockout artist boxer would be a hoot. In my area the black community is very homophobic, perhaps just more openly than whites or Spanish, a puncher would make them stutter
It explains Mizzou's weakness in their only regular season loss. Just kidding. This guy is braver than I ever even thought about being. It is amazing how much things have changed in the last 20 years.
It is amazing how much folks under 35 or 30 do not care about race, orientation, gender, etc. A watershed generation.
I'm 36 and it seemed to start in earnest with my generation in the 90s, which was much more socially liberal than the kids of the 80s.
Which is why it won't be an issue. Every lockeroom already has players that everyone have assumed was gay. I suspect it will only be a matter of days before Jerry Rice comes out along with a handful of others that will raise eyebrows of the public but will shock nobody that shared a lockeroom with them.
This is the biggest part of the story to me. I'm amazed that 100+ people were able to keep this quiet for 6+ months.
I agree, Card. That and the fact the team went on to an excellent season after he came out to them. The way Mizzou handled the whole thing seems to fly in the face of the concerns espoused in that SI article. That really is the big takeaway in this whole situation - the way Mizzou apparently made this a non-issue with no evident negative impacts.
