It’s no news that male sports stars get faux-flirty every now and again. European athletes are especially known to get into it, from kissing each other in celebration to uploading teasing Insta stories from the locker room.
So why is a recent Instagram post from a pair of French tennis players convincing folks on social media that it’s an actual factual coming out?
In a no-longer-up IG story, Slade Toulousain Tennis Club member Fabien Reboul posted a picture of him kissing fellow player Max Brovillé. Not the first player-to-player kiss ever, but the caption lays it on pretty thick!
“I did not fall in love with you,” Fabien wrote. “Your love pushed me to it.”
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Diversity win?:
Looks like we (finally) have LGBTQ+ representation from an active ATP player 🏳️🌈
Fabien Reboul, the doubles World No. 54, posts this IG story with fellow French player, Max Broville.
Note: nothing’s been confirmed from either, but this could be a big step for men’s tennis. pic.twitter.com/YMEoYH4Mqh
— Joey Dillon (@joeydillon) December 5, 2022
Brovillé reposted it to his own story, adding a hand-heart emoji. He also posted a photo dump of his team with the second picture being from the same moment, with the pair pulled in close and gazing into each other’s eyes.
Swipe over for the “two best friends in a room, they might kiss”-esque pic:
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Fingers are crossed for the copious well-intentioned “love is love” commenters.
If the posts are genuinely, this is a great step forward for LGBTQ+ representation in athletics. They would both be the first active out Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players in history, as trailblazing players Brian Vahaley and Francisco Rodriguez both came out in retirement.
And how cute would it be to have a couple on the same team as doubles players? Icon status isn’t out of reach.
Lord knows they’re both pretty cute on their own:
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Related: Russia’s top tennis star Daria Kasatkina came out with an Olympic gf reveal, consequences be damned
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Are they hot? Absolutely. Are the actually in love? The jury is out. Is the habit of playful gay banter between straight guys kind of making fun of homosexuality? Open to interpretation, but it can be fun to watch sometimes.
Even if it’s all a bant, one can always root for the playful-homoeroticism-to-genuine-homoeroticism pipeline to work its magic.
ShiningSex
so someone is questioning whether they’re a couple or not? LOL
The middle pic explain it….duh.
Not bros but lovers
CatholicXXX
Their lips aren’t lined up. One dude is kissing the other one’s chin.
RyanMBecker
It’s the way of the French…
Walter21
Last name is Bro-ville! Ha Ha!
RyanMBecker
No, it’s Bro-ville … Yeah!
Donston
Some folks think they may be trolling/baiting, which would be fairly corny of them. I’ve decided not to care either way.
RyanMBecker
Love the prep school look. And their khakis were literally bursting at the seams!