Acceptance Versus Resistance: Carl Nassib's Coming Out and Instagram Reactions
Author URLs
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-10-2025
Subject: LCSH
Mass media—Social aspects, Gay athletes, Masculinity, Social media, Football
Disciplines
Sports Management
Abstract
The coming out of Carl Nassib, the first active National Football League player to identify as “gay” openly, has garnered significant public discourse. Despite extant research on Carl Nassib’s announcement, there exists a lacuna in exploring the broader cultural implications and the portrayal of LGBTQ+ athletes on youth-centric social media platforms (e.g., Instagram). This study employed thematic and linguistic analysis of Instagram (N = 6,308) posts to examine public reactions to Carl Nassib’s announcement. The study findings unveiled a dichotomy between supportive expressions and oppositional tropes. The analysis underscored a gradual shift toward acceptance yet emphasized persistent cultural tensions in the American football culture. This study adds to the limited research about how masculinity in American football is continuously contested and redefined.
DOI
10.1123/ssj.2024-0291
Repository Citation
Hussain, U., Darvin, L., & Mumcu, C. (2025). Acceptance Versus Resistance: Carl Nassib’s Coming Out and Instagram Reactions. Sociology of Sport Journal, 43(1), 80-90.
Publisher Citation
Hussain, U., Darvin, L., & Mumcu, C. (2025). Acceptance Versus Resistance: Carl Nassib’s Coming Out and Instagram Reactions. Sociology of Sport Journal, 43(1), 80-90.