Man, I've heard some weird rumors in my time, but this one is pretty out there. As you probably remember, it looked like the New York Giants were going to trade for Braylon Edwards on Draft Day, but instead, they drafted Hakeem Nicks. I didn't think much of it at the time, other than that even though Edwards has basically burned all bridges in Cleveland, he's still a pretty good player when he's actually catching the football and too valuable to give up for pennies on the dollar.

But there's a rumor out there circling around - which Deadspin picked up on - that Edwards wasn't brought to New York for another reason: Apparently a lot of Giants players think he might be gay. You know, because having recievers who shoot themselves in the leg is way better than possibly having a gay teammate.

This all stems from the fact that Edwards is a neat, fashionable dresser who apparently spoke with male model and fellow football player Will Demps (formerly of the Texans) about getting into the business - during a game, no less. Edwards has also made it clear in the past that'd he very much like to eventually wind up acting in movies, which comes from this article from ESPN the Magazine.

While I might have questions about Edwards' commitment on the football field, just because he's interested in modeling and movies and takes care of himself doesn't mean he's gay. But as I said, those are the rumors.

First of all, let me start out with the fact that I think this is ridiculous. I have a friend who is inside the NY Giants and this morning I talked to him about the draft and the subject of Edwards came up.

No lie, he said that there was a big concern how he would fit in the locker room because a lot of people thought he was gay. He said that for some reason a good deal of the players believe that Braylon is gay and that is why he wants to go to New York (because it is a better atmosphere for homosexuals) and this has actually come up as a concern within the Giants in trading for him.

Demps, meanwhile, has said that being a male model on the side isn't exactly the greatest. He gets teased mercilessly by teammates, but at least he does well with the ladies.

No one really knows how much truth there is in all of this, and frankly it's none of our business, but it does show yet again how unforgivingly masculine pro sports are, and how even the thought that you might be gay can potentially impact your career in ways you'd never suspect.

It also gives us yet another reason as to why no gay athlete would EVER come out in the middle of his career, primarily because doing so would likely end his career.

The reactions to John Amaechi, the NBA player who came out a few years back, also made that more than clear. Like this one from Chavlik Randolph:


Which reminds of me of a funny joke I heard a gay woman comedian tell at a comedy show I was at last weekend.


But it's clear though that while more and more of the world is becoming more accepting of peoples sexual orientations, that sure as hell isn't changing in sports. And it likely won't for a long, long time. If ever.

The war on Braylon Edwards' Manhood [Deadspin]