It's Cool to be a Gay Footballer

With thanks to Ohio State law school student Pete Olsen, who writes a blog called Wide Rights about gay rights and sports, I recently discovered that the NFL has added protection for sexual orientation discrimination in its most recent collective bargaining agreement.

The language from the 2006 CBA Article VII, Player Security, reads :

Section 1. No Discrimination: There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA because of race, religion, national origin or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA.

The new language in the 2011 CBA, now moved to Article 49, reads:

Section 1. No Discrimination: There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA.

This is a significant development. Homophobia has long found a haven in the testosterone filled environments of professional sports, but lately, high profile names in football, soccer, rugby and other sports have made "It Gets Better" videos and made commitments to advocate for marriage equality and an end to anti-gay bullying in schools. We cannot overstate the gravity of the role of these stars. It's one thing to be told by your teacher or by strangers on the "It Gets Better" YouTube page, but when the 300-pound lineman you cheer for every Sunday tells you that homophobia is "just not cool" and "not the NFL way," heterosexual youths are more likely to listen.