NFL a Bastion for Homophobia

The legal brief that a pair of NFL players filed with the Supreme Court in support of gay marriage shouldn't be remarkable—lots of people, including many prominent Republicans have done the same—but it is remarkable, because "in the sweaty, macho world of professional sports, the NFL sets the standard for homophobia," Jonathan Mahler argues at Bloomberg. Just how bad is it? So bad that last month reports surfaced that NFL teams were grilling prospects at the combine about their sexual preference.

Those questions speak "not only to the NFL’s homophobia but also to a deeper desire to control players’ lives on and off the field." The players who filed that amicus brief—Chris Kluwe and Brendon Ayanbadejo—are products of Roger Goodell's NFL, in which the commissioner is the enemy of the players. "Foment enough mistrust among your people, and they will start to fight back. … Teams have been asking intrusive questions at the combine for years," but players aren't taking it quietly anymore. Click for the full column. (More NFL stories.)