As a Heisman Trophy winner and the future number one NFL draft pick, University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams is poised to become one of the biggest stars in the NFL.
But all conservative football fans care about is that he has a pink phone case and had his nails done.
Williams has long been known for flaunting an outsized personality, often riling up his opponents with his flamboyance.
Now, homophobes out in football land are falling for it after his recent appearance at his alma mater's Women's NCAA basketball tournament left them furious.
When cameras panned over to Williams at USC's match-up with Kansas, he was seen vibing in the crowd like any other sports fan—but with pink nails, a pink phone case, pink wallet and even pink lipstick.
Williams is not alone. Fellow Gen Z athletes Jared McCain of Duke University's basketball team and Boston Red Sox first baseman Tristan Casas are also known for rocking manicures.
For Williams, it goes a bit deeper. As he explained in an interview last year, mani-pedis are part of how he bonds with his mom, who he calls his "inspiration."
He told CBS:
“My mom does nails. Let’s just start it off there. She’s done it my whole life."
"It’s just kind of always been around me. Nobody else does it. I just kinda like to do new things.”
And he's used his nails for everything from chest-beating messages to his opponents—like nails painted to spell out "F**K UTAH" when USC played them in the 2022 Pac-12 championship—to shouting out a suicide hotline.
But, of course, homophobes were having none of this, and threw a fit online, hurling all kinds of thinly veiled, often inane, frequently childish insults at Williams on Twitter.
Williams did not take the mockery sitting down. He showed up in the replies to spar with one Barstool Sports writer who lightly teased him about his color choices.
Which did win him a few new fans.
We wish all the homophobes the best of luck coping with the harrowing slings and arrows of *checks notes* a football player wearing nail polish.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter