The “Coming Out” Spectacle in Post-Nothing America

24 year old American freeskier Gus Kenworthy won Silver at the 2014 Russian Olympics, covering the latest issue of ESPN after announcing his “coming out” to the sports network. ESPN Senior Writer Alyssa Roenigk describes the article profiling Kenworthy as “part of ESPN’s ongoing series exploring what it means to be an openly gay athlete in the post-acceptance world.”

Post-Acceptance? In what world? Post-Michael Sam? A gentle reminder that only three months ago Sam announced his retirement from the football industry because of how deeply entrenched homophobia is:

America is post-nothing. The simple proof is that if America were “post-acceptance,” then athletes wouldn’t become front page news when they talked about their personal lives. This is probably the most flagrant lack of awareness since Bush’s “Mission Accomplished” speech.