MORE THAN AN ATHLETE: PROTECTING QUEER ATHLETES IN A HYPERMASCULINE SPORT
Happy Pride Month, TRXDE!
This month, it’s important that we highlight and celebrate queer identities and experiences. This June, allyship means more than ever, with LGBTQIA+ rights at risk following new legislation passed after the 2024 election. While support has grown over time, homophobia persists in different forms today, including censorship in schools, non-gender-affirming care, and restrictions on sports participation. This month I want to shed light on hidden prejudices within sports culture, specifically the NFL and collegiate football. While sports are meant to be unifying, there are often subtle biases that hamper inclusivity on and off the field.
The creation of leagues like the National Gay Flag Football League (NGFFL), founded in 2002 in response to these disparities, highlights how much work remains in making mainstream football truly inclusive. The NGFFL was established to provide a safe and welcoming space for athletes of all sexual orientations, genders, and identities to participate comfortably within the sport (Coffey-Behrens). While some question the need for such leagues, the lack of representation and the fact that many athletes still don’t feel safe coming out highlights the necessity.
Recently, the NFL reposted their 2021 commercial “The NFL is Gay.” It was in support of LGBTQIA,+ mental health and organizations like the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention resource for LGBTQIA+ youth. The ad declared various quotes pertaining to football, like “Football is gay,” “Football is lesbian,” “Football is beautiful,” “Football is queer,” “Football is accepting” … concluding with “Football is power.” The aim was to raise awareness about high suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth who feel rejected; however, that message was quickly drowned out by homophobic commentary and discomfort from sports fans.
Dez Bryant, for example, Wide Receiver for the Baltimore Ravens, tweeted in response on June 2, 2025, “These are wild statements to make… I’m going to proudly tell my boys football is none of these things. I have nothing against gays, but this is far from right.” Comments circulated online agreeing with Dez, sharing opinions like, “I will not watch football if they’re pushing this agenda,” and “They keep trying to force this on everybody.” Such discourse surrounding simple inclusivity reinforced my belief that the professional sports world is not safe for queer athletes to comfortably express themselves.
As progressive as society likes to be viewed, there is work to be done in ensuring that all people can be represented within various fields, including professional sports. Football has long served as a common ground between political parties with 44% of Democrats and 45% of Republicans identifying as NFL fans (Chinni). Despite this, the hypermasculine and hegemonic culture surrounding the sport creates an environment where athletes are viewed as assets to a team, rather than people with lives beyond the game.
The overtly macho atmosphere fuels homophobia within football, with the sport’s identity being deeply tied to toughness and physicality—qualities stereotypically viewed as incompatible with being gay. Such an environment leads to a lot of gay athletes remaining closeted in fear of the reaction from teammates as well as the public.
Only 16 NFL players have come out as gay or bisexual, with Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib being the first. Carl became the only player to come out while actively being in the National Football League playing in regular-season games. He took to Instagram in 2021 stating that “Representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary” (Gordon).
The reaction surrounding Nassib was generally positive with his teammates and fellow sports channels supporting him and his courage. He paved the way for many gay athletes who were not comfortable expressing their truth, while also donating $100,000 to the Trevor Foundation. Before coming out, Carl Nassib was seen as a respectable, disciplined player which I believe aided in the positive reaction following his announcement.
Despite these reactions, inconsistencies remain regarding the NFL and their support of the LGBTQIA+ community. For example, Michael Sam came out in 2013 during his collegiate football career, where anti-gay rhetoric was running rampant. At the time the league had no publicly out players, which raised concerns about how Sam would be received. Michael Sam was an anticipated early round draft pick after his amazing season, gaining titles like SEC Defensive Player of the Year which usually leads to a first or second round pick. However, after coming out he ended up being a 7th round pick. Some may say that his poor performance at the combine aided in this; however, the rhetoric surrounding him clearly shows that his sexuality played a significant part.
In fact, during the scouting process several scouts asked Sam’s agent, Joe Barkett, whether Sam had a girlfriend or if [he had been] seen with women (Branch)—a question that heterosexual recruits seldom hear. Jack Bechta of The National Football Post stated that front office executives had to consider how Michael Sam’s sexuality would affect their teams. Ryan Clark of the Steelers questioned Sam’s locker room environment asking, “What are the things you can do and say around him that won’t make him uncomfortable?” (Bechta).
As many of us know, toxic masculinity often fuels the narrow assumption that gay men are attracted to every straight man they see. This phenomenon led to players being uncomfortable, and coaches not wanting to deal with making the decisions to advocate for Michael, thus choosing to avoid drafting him. The discomfort among players, combined with coaches' reluctance to navigate the challenges surrounding Michael and the media, contributed to many teams’ decisions not to select him.
While Sam became a 7th round pick by the St. Louis Rams, he was cut from the team before the regular season started (Johnson). Eventually, Sam signed with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, being their first openly gay player. Unfortunately, after 3 months he ended up stepping away from the team due to mental health issues (Geffre). I’m sure that the discourse surrounding Sam contributed to his decision to leave.
As a society, we must commit to creating inclusive and safe spaces across all areas of life, where queer individuals can fully be themselves and enjoy what brings them happiness. There is still significant work to be done in fostering genuinely accepting spaces free from biases towards different sexual orientations or identities. If you ever find yourself uncomfortable with who someone else loves, it might be time to reflect inward.
Sincerely,
Zaliyah Emmanuel
Documentary Filmmaking, BA
Works Cited
Bechta, Jack. “THE REALITY OF MICHAEL SAM'S SITUATION.” National Football Post, 12 February 2014, https://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008-2018-nfp-archive/the-agents-journal/the-reality-of-michael-sams-situation/. Accessed 14 June 2025.
Branch, John. “N.F.L. Prospect Michael Sam Proudly Says What Teammates Knew: He's Gay (Published 2014).” The New York Times, 9 February 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/michael-sam-college-football-star-says-he-is-gay-ahead-of-nfl-draft.html?login=email&auth=login-email. Accessed 14 June 2025.
Chinni, Dante. “Super Bowl, NFL defy partisan trends in U.S.” NBC News, 12 February 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/data-download/super-bowl-nfl-defy-partisan-trends-us-rcna70272. Accessed 17 June 2025.
Coffey-Behrens, Kelly. “New National Gay Flag Football League Sparks Controversy In The NFL World.” Yahoo Sports, https://sports.yahoo.com/national-gay-flag-football-league-154555874.html. Accessed 14 June 2025.
“Dez Bryant on X: "Football is gay Football is queer Football is transgender.. these are wild statements to make..excuse my silliness. I’m going to proudly tell my boys football is none of these things. I have nothing against Gays but this is far from right.” X, 2 June 2025, https://x.com/DezBryant/status/1929578485757947985. Accessed 17 June 2025.
Geffre, Daniel. “Coming out before the draft pushed Michael Sam to early retirement.” The Daily Wildcat, 11 September 2015, https://wildcat.arizona.edu/114865/uncategorized/column-coming-out-before-the-draft-pushed-michael-sam-to-early-retirement/.
Gordon, Grant. “Raiders DL Carl Nassib becomes first active NFL player to come out as gay.” NFL.com, 21 June 2021, https://www.nfl.com/news/raiders-dl-carl-nassib-becomes-first-active-nfl-player-to-come-out-as-gay. Accessed 10 June 2025.
Johnson, Eric M. “Openly gay NFL draft pick Michael Sam to 'step away' from football.” Reuters, 14 August 2015, https://www.reuters.com/article/sports/openly-gay-nfl-draft-pick-michael-sam-to-step-away-from-football-idUSKCN0QK00C/.