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NFL Is (Somewhat) Less Homophobic
Than You Think

Remember that scene in Brokeback
Mountain, when Jack Twist is having
Thanksgiving dinner with his wife’s
family and they get in a big fight about
being manly enough to watch football?
(What? You haven’t seen Brokeback?
Well, it’s like the Colts’ season, except
shorter and with 13 percent fewer
audibles.) When we watched that
scene, we actually, swear to God,
thought, “Why are they watching a
CFL game on Thanksgiving?” This is
what we do sometimes.

Well, it turns out, there’s a story
behind that; the producers of the film
asked the NFL for game footage, and
the league turned them down. One of
the producers claimed that the refusal
was because of the movie’s theme
(you see, some dudes do each other
in it), but the NFL says it’s not true.

“Our decision to decline licensing NFL
footage for this project has absolutely
nothing to do with the fact that it is ‘a
positive and moving gay-themed love
story,’” [a league spokesperson said].
“It is based primarily on the manner in
which you seek to use NFL footage —
a manner that is detrimental to the
very image with which the NFL
chooses to associate.”
The issue at hand: The notion that not
watching football makes one “girly,” an
odd hair for the NFL to split, we think.
Of course, it’s also strange to hear a
league spokesperson say, “We believe
that the view that a boy who does not
watch football will somehow grow up to
be less than a man is narrow-minded
and derogatory; we presume it is in the
script for that very reason. We choose
not to license our footage to be used
as a vehicle to illustrate such a point.”
The whole thing has our head kind of
spinning, actually; the NFL is basically
saying, “If your son doesn’t consume
our product, he’s not a sissy. So stop
calling him that.”

The NFL, at least at an executive level,
is traditionally one of the less
homophobic leagues, due in part
(presumably) to the fact that Paul
Tagliabue’s son is gay. And this seems
to be along the same lines. So
remember: The NFL Says: Your Kid Is
Not A Wuss.

Why NFL Said No to Brokeback [Out
Sports]
Paul Tagliabue: Friend To The Gays
[Deadspin]

More:Gay AthletesNFL

I wish i could quit you Southeast
Jerome!

by Unsilent Majority on 03/02/06 04:30
PM
I know that the popular notion is that
NFL is a well oiled machine but I
sometimes think that they are a little
too concerned about their image - I've
thought so every since they got
Playmakers thrown off the air. What
kind of contortions does your mind
have to go through to deny use of
football footage because the specific
scene has a "if you don't like football
there's something wrong with you"
vibe... isn't the whole film a celebration
of how love sometimes transcends
gender.

by drt0ys on 03/02/06 04:33 PM
I could see them watching CFL. Isn't
the Grey Cup around Thanksgiving?
Aren't they in Wyoming, which is pretty
much Canada? Maybe they're
Saskatchewan fans.

by Guy Incognito on 03/02/06 05:43 PM
OK, I just remembered that the
Thanksgiving scene is in Texas, not
Wyoming. But still...

by Guy Incognito on 03/02/06 05:46 PM
As someone who works in PR and tries
to make his clients look as positive as
possible on a daily basis, I look at the
NFL as the best run sports league in
the world.

They are a little too concerned with
their image because it is the best thing
they can do. Look at what happened to
baseball in the past 15 years. When I
was a kid, baseball was the big kid on
the block, no questions asked. But
they got lazy, and didn't give a
response when someone dragged
their name through the mud. And what
happened? They ended up with a
terrible reputation as a league that will
go to great lengths to harbor cheaters.
It took congress to get them to test for
drugs.

This is exactly the right move by the
NFL's PR machine. You can't let one
movie take a popshot at you,
especially if it isn't true. That's how
images get tarnished.

As for Playmakers being taken off the
air, wouldn't you want a show that
portrayed every negative player,
situation and controversy in your
league's history taken off the air?
Especially if the show made it appear
that those sorts of things were still
happening and they were a broadcast
partner?

by Nick Kramer on 03/02/06 05:48 PM
So you're calling them Rough Riders?

Sorry, that was an obvious joke. But
this does further the line of thinking
that the NFL is almost a police state
when it comes to maintaining its image.

by Juancho on 03/02/06 05:53 PM
Grey Cup is Thanksgiving weekend,
though not actually on Thanksgiving.

by The Cheat on 03/02/06 05:54 PM
Personally, if that's really the reason
they did it I think it's a pretty good one.
Football's association with masculinity
is all well and good--and one you'd be
a fool to deny. But I also have to say
as a female football fan, it gets tough
when people assume *I* am masculine
because I enjoy the sport--or that not
understanding the difference between
a touchdown and a field goal makes
someone more "feminine"--whether
that person is male or female.

by Beth on 03/02/06 05:55 PM
I think the NFL is merely trying to
distance itself from the Lions...or
maybe gay men watching the Lions will
make the Lions a bad team...
...actually I think watching Canadian
Football is a little queer, but that's just
because I don't know anything about it
and have never known anyone who
has done it or liked it...**light bulb**
Canadian Football is an allagory
designed to exploit American males'
feelings about homosexuals!

by BigTDog on 03/02/06 06:30 PM
Dude. You just gave away the ending
to Brokeback Mountain. Kind of.

by CliffX on 03/03/06 12:53 AM
No, I'm calling them Roughriders

by slowernet on 03/03/06 09:32 AM
its a good thing the nfl doesnt support
gays

by Special K on 03/03/06 09:55 AM
I don't see what the big deal is. I mean,
the Steelers are gay.

Hi-yo!

(Put the torches away, Pittsburgh; I'm
just a bitter Seahawks fan.)

by Captain Caveman on 03/03/06 10:
38 AM

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