Abstract
Abstract: In June of 2021, National Football League (NFL) defensive lineman Carl Nassib made history as the first openly gay, active professional football player to come out. Advancing research about news coverage of LGBT athletes, this paper employs content analysis to analyze the frames used in newspaper articles ( n = 195) and on social media ( n = 5,588 tweets) to report the story of Nassib's coming out. This study examines the media frames that were used most frequently in covering Nassib's coming out and discusses the significant differences between traditional media and those used most widely on social media. Findings indicate overall support for Nassib's coming out, as both newspapers and Twitter posts framed the story as a watershed moment and focused on celebrity support; however, personal attacks were more common on social media. Implications for how media cover gay-athlete stories are discussed.
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