sycasey said:
I do take the overall muted public response as a sign of progress (if this had happened 15 years ago I think there would have been much more hoopla). It's still an important story, by virtue of the fact that no one had done this before in this sport.
If you chat with BearForce2 long enough on the OT board, you'll find that his basic orientation is "conservatives good, liberals bad" and he sees everything through that lens. His take here is not surprising.
I don't see the muted response as a sign of progress...I would argue that 2021 is a lot different from 2014 when Michael Sam came out. But the "who cares?" and "what you do in your bedroom" line of thought reaction to Nassib's coming out perpetuates the homophobia. Because the people who say those things *do* care. They think being gay is something you do in the privacy of your home. They are trying to argue that homophobia is no longer existent.
A Sports Illustrated writer noted that only 2 famous NFL players publicly reacted to the news on the day he announced: JJ Watt and Nassib's fellow Penn State alum Saquon Barkley. I think that is significant. (Derek Carr expressed his support the next day.)
Also, Nassib's coming out is historic because he's the first active player. But the thing that he is breaking ground on its hasn't yet been done: As I noted on the other forum, an openly gay player has never played in the NFL in the regular season. Until that happens, I would hold your horses in regard to progress being made.
