PROGRESS?

86% of NFL OK With Gay Teammate

But nearly a quarter wouldn’t shower in front of him.

If Michael Sam becomes the first openly gay active NFL player this year, his teammates may be tolerant, but he still will likely face locker-room homophobia, at least according to a new survey from ESPN. Some 86 percent of the 51 players surveyed said a teammate’s sexual orientation doesn’t matter. However, about 63 percent said their coaches or teammates used homophobic slurs in the past season, and 12 out of the 51 said they wouldn’t shower around a gay teammate. Perhaps most importantly, less than half said a gay teammate would feel comfortable in the locker room, 21 said he wouldn’t, and five refused to respond.