Colton Underwood wouldn’t shower in NFL locker rooms: ‘I was afraid of getting turned on’
"Slapping a***s, commenting on each other’s d**ks": Colton describes "extremely homophobic but very homoerotic" locker room culture in a new interview
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Netflix/Pexels (posed by models)
Colton Underwood has reflected on his days as an NFL player, saying the locker rooms were an “extremely homophobic but very homoerotic” place.
The star of Netflix reality show Coming Out Colton used to play the defensive end at Illinois State and was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2014.
He came out publicly as gay earlier this year.
“It’s super confusing”
In a new interview on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast, the former star of The Bachelor said: “At the time, there was no other gay football players.
“The coaches and other players in the locker room weren’t very friendly. The locker room is extremely homophobic, but it’s also very homoerotic.”
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The 29-year-old continued: “It’s like (they’re) slapping a***s, commenting on each other’s d**ks, and then all of a sudden being called a f*g or queer.
“I would be sitting in my locker room and a guy would walk by to go to the shower and comment on another guy’s penis size, like, ‘Dang, that’s big!’ Stuff like that. Or comment on a nice a*s.
“And then, within seconds, if you stare at the d**k too long, it’s like, ‘What are you doing f*g?’ All of a sudden a flip switches.
“It’s super confusing because I’m sitting there like, ‘Wait, maybe other men, especially in this locker room, are questioning or struggling with their sexuality too.’
“Then as soon as that flicker of hope for me, it flipped to slurs and homophobia. And I’d be like, ‘OK, never mind. It’s just me.’”