Jon HoeflingUSA TODAY
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USC quarterback Caleb Williams has been the 2024 NFL Draft's consensus No. 1 overall pick for what feels like multiple years at this point. He's been labeled a generational prospect by some even.
That territory comes with a lot of doubt. Although Williams' talent is undeniable, any misstep, poor throw, or bad statement to the media brings Williams' doubters out of the woodwork.
Well, Monday, those people added a ton of fuel to their fire.
Yes, that is Williams with a pink phone and painted nails.
Of course, every Williams cynic emerged from their slumbers to express their worries with Williams' "conduct." How could someone with painted nails be a successful NFL player? Could someone that doesn't exude masculinity all the time actually lead an NFL locker room?
The biggest question though was undoubtedly, "Why does this matter at all?" With a general and ugly reaction from many across social media, it's perhaps time for a reminder.
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Williams has painted his nails for a long time
Although the Williams' skeptics like to point at his painted nails as a means to detract from his talent, Williams has been using his nails as a form of expression for years, including the 2022-23 college football season when he won the Heisman Trophy.
In fact, this isn't the first time that people have pointed to his nails as a means to take away from his production on the field. After Williams painted the words "F**k Utah" on his nails prior to the 2022 Pac-12 Championship game, Williams received lots of backlash after his Trojans were unable to back up that sentiment and lost the game. Williams has since toned down the messages on his nails but keeps decorating his nails as a means to honor his mother who has worked as a nail technician all her life.
However, because the way he's honoring his mother is deemed feminine, clearly he doesn't have the tools to be an NFL quarterback. Get out of here with that.
Other athletes with unique forms of expression
The way a high-profile athlete expresses themselves has no correlation on whether or not they succeed professionally. Sure, that expression is often a talking point when discussing the player, but more often than not, nobody ever blames the player's struggles on how they would color their hair or wear earrings.
The two most prominent examples would be Ricky Williams and Dennis Rodman. Williams was famously photographed in a wedding dress after New Orleans Saints head coach Mike Ditka made a massive trade in order to grab him in the draft.
While the idea was not Williams', his willingness to be photographed in traditionally very feminine attire showed that he was comfortable with himself and didn't care if other people thought it was weird. Williams, of course, went on to have a great NFL career, rushing for 10,000 career yards, even leading the league in rushing in 2002.
Rodman didn't play football, obviously, but his methods of expression have been talked about just as much as his role in the Chicago Bulls' dynasty. One quick Google search of his name and his image hits you like a ton of bricks. Face tattoos, lip piercings, nose piercings, dyed hair, everything that traditional masculinity is not. Yet, somehow, Rodman managed to be one of the most pivotal parts of one of the greatest dynasties in professional sports.
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Those painted nails are meant to honor his mother, and there isn't a single person in the NFL who would dare stand between a man and his family. That bond is sacred, and mocking someone for paying homage to the person who raised them tends to be looked down upon in most NFL circles.
Fashion is always changing. It's considered fashionable now for men to wear jewelry. That wasn't always the case. Now unique forms of expression are ubiquitous through the league.
Just because it may or may not be conventional doesn't mean that Williams has suddenly dropped from "generational talent" to "most obvious bust of all-time."
Using this as a means to justify calling Williams a bust just probably means that you already have your own bias against the quarterback and are looking for anything to hang on to in order to justify said bias.
If you want to make the argument that Williams crumbled against top-tier competition in college, go for it. If you want to say that Williams can't throw a deep ball well, kudos to you. If you want to say that he tends to play hero ball when there's no need, well done.
Using any of these actual football-based arguments to justify why you don't believe the Bears should draft Williams No. 1 overall is fine, but holding something that has nothing to do with football against him is as stupid as someone in 2017 arguing that Mahomes could never be a good quarterback because he likes ketchup too much.
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