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Sports

Toxic Masculinity Won't Let Two Baseball Players Hug Each Other

Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies hugged and comforted his friend/ teammate Ronald Acuna Jr.—and homophobes went wild.

Ariel Sobel

Ariel is a slam poet turned screenwriter. Born with her heart bleeding down her sleeve, she makes the personal professional, especially in her TED Talk, “Losing My Artistic License.” See more on arielsobel.com.

Read Full Bio

Ariel Sobel

arielsobelle

August 02 2018 3:16 PM EST

December 09 2022 9:12 AM EST

When a video of Atlanta Braves players Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr. hugging during a game against the LA Dogers went viral, homophobes had to sound off with their discomfort that two men could be affectionate towards each other.

In the video, Acuna presses his head against Albies' chest in the dugout and Albies affectionately rubs his teammate's scalp. Because the world can't have nice things, social media exploded in a firestorm of toxic masculinity.

\u201cUmmm, this is a first. Acuna Jr have a headache or something?\u201d
— Bonta Hill (@Bonta Hill) 1532892918

\u201c@pedromoura I\u2019m sorry, but that was weird and awkward. I don\u2019t want to gay bash, but those two need to get a room...#mlb #dontaskdonttell\u201d
— Pedro Moura (@Pedro Moura) 1532892884

\u201c@BontaHill MLB #CuddlePuddle not the move\u201d
— Bonta Hill (@Bonta Hill) 1532892918

\u201c@BontaHill Dude wtf is going on there? \ud83d\ude02\u201d
— Bonta Hill (@Bonta Hill) 1532892918

None
— Bonta Hill (@Bonta Hill) 1532892918

However, others have fired back, noticing the homophobic undertones of people's discomfort with something as simple as two guys hugging.

— (@)

None
— Pedro Moura (@Pedro Moura) 1532892884

— (@)

\u201c@pedromoura This is what "man up" should mean. Don't be afraid to be kind.\u201d
— Pedro Moura (@Pedro Moura) 1532892884

\u201c@pedromoura Yesssss! Showing your brother love n tenderness in the time of need is so necessary for cis gender men. Hyper masculinity has poisoned our community for far too long.\u201d
— Pedro Moura (@Pedro Moura) 1532892884

Why do you think people were so freaked out by two guys being kind to each other?