America’s athletes are often a vocal contingent on all kinds of social causes. But so far, there’s been little response from sports players to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill. Known to its opponents as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, it would ban any classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through grade three. Only one prominent athlete, tennis player Coco Gauff, has voiced opposition to the bill, saying last week that she “couldn’t imagine not being able to support your identity. I think it’s important that they have those conversations in school, because that is supposed to be a safe space to talk about everything.” LZ and Will talk about why it is that no other athletes have said anything about “Don’t Say Gay,” despite a measure of mainstreamed support for the LGBTQIA community. The answer? A lingering transphobia and homophobia — and relative absence of openly queer athletes — in the sports world, as well as a more straightforward cause: activism fatigue.
