Dez Bryant was a beloved wide receiver during his time with the Dallas Cowboys. Overall, he had some huge plays, and some controversial ones at that as well. Since his playing days, Bryant has been vocal about a variety of topics on social media.
In today's social media age, being vocal about certain topics can certainly lead to criticism and virality. However, Bryant has never really cared about any of that. Instead, he says what he wants, when he wants. Even if what he has to say offends people, he is going to say it anyway.
That was the case on Monday as the NFL released a Pride Month video. The video itself used slogans like "football is gay" and "football is lesbian." These were statements used to show that anyone can enjoy or play football. Think the NHL's Hockey is for Everyone campaign.
Subsequently, there was a lot of backlash towards the NFL online, and Dez Bryant was one of the people that spoke out.
Dez Bryant Pride Month Comments
"Football is gay. Football is queer. Football is transgender," Bryant began. "These are wild statements to make, excuse my silliness. I'm going to proudly tell my boys football is none of these things. I have nothing against Gays but this is far from right."
Bryant went on to claim that there are, indeed, gay players in the NFL, however, this messaging is the wrong way to go about things. He also compared the LGBTQ+ community to the football community. While his analogy is a false equivalence, you're probably going to have a hard time convincing the former wide receiver that he's wrong.
Pride Month messaging has certainly seen a bit of a decline since the Trump Administration took over. Brands have gotten a bit more timid about posting this kind of stuff. Consequently, it is surprising the NFL posted a video at all. Only time will tell if they continue their Pride Month campaigns.
