Is Duke Hatred Homophobic?

At first glance, America's contempt for Duke basketball seems driven by a liberal, even populist impulse: "To many of its staunchest enemies, Duke is a malevolent Goliath--an elitist, corporate, conservative force out to crush more virtuous, liberal Davids." Yet, scorn for the Blue Devils is often caked in a decidedly anti-liberal homophobic rhetoric. This bigoted, counterintuitive assault on the Blue Devils, The New Republic theorizes, is spawned from the school's reputation for privilege, whiteness and, by extension, a "softness" conjured by the homosexual stereotype.