WATCH: NFL Drops Pro-LGBTQ+ Ad; Conservatives Lose It
The NFL is gay — and transgender, and lesbian, and queer, and accepting, beautiful, and American. The organization says so itself. What is football not? Well, it’s not being worshipped quite so much by conservatives, it seems.
The NFL dropped a 30-second ad Monday, almost missing their opportunity to get in before the end of Pride Month. However, the timing hits for a different reason.
So first, here’s Carl Nassib. He plays for the Las Vegas Raiders and according to OutSports, he’s the 16th NFL player to come out publicly as either gay or bisexual in the organization’s hundred-year history — but he’s the first to come out while on an active roster.
He dropped a video and a short message announcing his partnership with The Trevor Project — an organization that works hard to provide resources to protect LGBTQ kids from suicide, which happens at higher rates than among cishet kids.
The NFL responded with this:
Football is gay. football is lesbian. Football is beautiful. Football is queer. Football is life. Football is exciting. Football is culture. Football is transgender.
Football is also heart, power, tough, bisexual, strong, freedom, American, accepting, everything, and for everyone, according to the ad — which then transitions to an NFL logo in Pride flag colors, followed by an expression of support for The Trevor Project, and the statistic that a single accepting adult in an LGBTQ kid’s life can reduce the risk of suicide by 40%, and of course, a link for fans to also support The Trevor Project.
(You can do that here!)
Well, it seems like inclusivity hurt a lot of feelings.
Far-right political commentator Dinesh D’Souza posted on Rumble to declare “The NFL has gone full political. It’s time to turn it off.”
DeAnna Lorraine — a former Republican political candidate, who moved to Texas to host on InfoWars with Alex Jones, declares that football is actually dead.
Then on Twitter, there are takes like these:
Thinking it should say Football is broke. 100M fans gone in one season. 70% reduction on ticket sales. Wondering when they will realize they made a HUGE mistake supporting those who disrespect American culture 🤔
— Michael Mitchell (@m_mitchll73) June 29, 2021
Did you see the new NFL ad?
"Football is gay. Football is lesbian. Football is queer. Football is transgender. Football is bisexual. Football is for everyone."
Americans watched sports to get away from politics, not be waterboarded with it.
Sounds like Football is for no one.
— 🇺🇸 Matthew Holliday 🇺🇸 (@Matthew_4_Trump) June 29, 2021
I am so glad I stopped watching these spoiled, woke, ungrateful brats. https://t.co/Kenbw33M6v
— Rick Green (@RickGreenTX) June 29, 2021
Football is not heterosexual or gay.
Football is football.
Vince Lombardi welcomed gay players decades ago.
NFL is going into contortions to prove it is Woke.
I'll stick with PGA and NHL.
— Mark the Skeptical (@mkos66) June 28, 2021
Is anyone still watching?
VIDEO: NFL Proudly Declares That ‘Football is Gay,’ ‘Queer,’ and ‘Transgender’ via @nationalfile https://t.co/C3LCfSXbAP
— Bouillonaire❌ 🥛😏 (@VonPilsner) June 28, 2021
There are kind of a lot of people who are super offended that the NFL would dare say football is for everyone — not just for one demographic of viewers. Of course, this follows the stream of conservatives who said they’d stop watching because a player (and then a lot of players) knelt through the National Anthem in a peaceful protest against police brutality.