It doesn’t take long for everyday homophobia to bubble up, a case in point being the reaction to the Cincinnati Bengals, who are off to an 0-3 start after losing to the Washington Commanders on Monday night.
The target was Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who before the season had dyed his hair blonde and was seen on television walking into the stadium wearing a white vest over a pink shirt, with a bracelet and necklace (which looked stylish to me).
After the defeat, his expression was like this Tweet It was discussed:
“Joe #Barrow As a lesbian, I’m 0-3.”
Get off the sidelines and get in the game
Our weekly newsletter is packed with information on everything from locker room chatter to pressing LGBTQ sports issues.
Related
The video has 20,600 likes and is rife with homophobic comments from people who find it funny, such as:
“He’s still in a transitional period.”
“I think she’ll be elite in the WNBA.”
“You care more about looking good in GQ than you do about winning football games.”
“The football gods met and unanimously agreed… homosexuality will not be tolerated.”
Many Twitter users commented that Barrow’s new look resembles lesbian TV star Ellen DeGeneres.
Some may have thought this post was meant to be funny by saying “take it easy” and “have a sense of humor”. I do like crude humor in context, but this isn’t it. This is mocking someone using traditional stereotypes with homophobic overtones.
The paper argues that the non-traditional, non-masculine, “gay” way many athletes dress is the reason they fail, but ignores the fact that times have changed: Younger athletes are much more interested in style and fashion, and sports are better for it.
Incidentally, Burrow also appeared like this in Week 2’s loss to the Bengals, proving that fashion has nothing to do with performance.
Only 16 openly gay or bisexual players have been identified in NFL history, and only one was active during their playing days, so the tradition of machismo still permeates the sport, and mocking Burrow’s attire only serves to highlight that.
Burrow, by the way, had a great game on Monday, throwing for 324 yards and three touchdowns while completing 76 percent of his passes. The Bengals scored 33 points, more than enough to win any NFL game. The blame here lies with the defense, not some blonde with a cool sense of style.
Subscribe Outdoor Sports Newsletter Follow your favorite coming out athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories, and more.
Source: Outsports – www.outsports.com
