Can someone with painted nails be a successful NFL player? Initially, Caleb Williams grabbed the headlines for being the 2024 NFL Draft’s consensus No. 1 overall pick. But his fashion choices have brought in criticism. A big chunk of NFL fans cannot see how or why the player would want to paint his nails or use a pink phone case. But the bigger question is: Does it matter?

While Williams has shared his clarification on the issue, he found support from Shannon Sharpe. In the YouTube show ‘Nightcap’ along with Chad ‘Ochocinco’ Johnson, Sharpe stated, “In order to emasculate you or insinuate or even flat-out call you, they know referring to straight man is a derogatory term. I don’t care how accepted it is being gay, queer, LBGTQ, trans, it does not matter.”

“A straight man will never ever accept being called gay, queer, zesty, fruity, whatever as a compliment. So this notion that mean, you’ve made it that mean, you’ve ascended to the highest, a straight man is not gonna accept that.”

Johnson shared how he would color his hair blond and paint his nails black in the early 2000s. While no one complained about it back then, social media is a lot more accessible today, and thus, the criticism flows freely. Sharpe was quick to share how fashion used to be a tool to express yourself. However, he was unhappy that people are being expected to conform to norms. “How do you get to determine what’s acceptable for someone else?”

Now, coming to Williams, he recently talked about his pink nails at March Madness. “Nails are clear, lips are pink, your girl love em,” he said. This reaction that came on Thursday has been a brilliant response to the critics. 

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Interestingly, not everyone knows why the athlete wears pink nail paint. The real reason is rather personal. In an interview in 2023, he shared, “It started, I would say, three years ago. It was my last year of high school. 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.”

Having understood Sharpe and Williams’ stances, what does history know about nail varnish for men?

Would masculine warriors paint their nails? No? Think again…

According to a 2018 paper from the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York State, Babylonian warriors painted their nails back in 3500 BC. “Warriors adorned their nails with ground minerals as part of a pre-battle ritual designed to intimidate their enemies.”

Further, a 2022 article by ‘The Guardian’ shared that ancient Egyptian and Chinese men also engaged in some form of nail painting. But coming to the current era, painting nails is seen as a feminine activity. However, we cannot ignore that some very famous men have done so too. Israel Adesanya is one such example- a modern-day warrior and UFC fighter. He loves painting his nails and wearing pearl necklaces. While his fashion choices have attracted criticism, the former UFC middleweight champion continues with his eccentric taste.

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This long list includes Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, David Bowie, and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain. In fact, Cobain specifically pushed the boundaries. Remember his dresses and silk tops? Moving further, rapper Machine Gun Kelly even started his own nail polish brand: UN/DN LAQR. What inspired him to go this nontraditional route?

“Many of the men in Greek mythology were warriors or soldiers or gods who had used their strength, and then there was Cupid, who was poetic and beautiful… I wonder what a world of Cupids would look like instead of just people falling into what they think we have to be as ‘men’. Strength comes in how you honor your word, not what you literally can do with your hands. That’s an art,” the rapper told ‘Allure’.

From the hyper-masculine world of football, Deion Sanders too likes to get his nails done. In fact, he once wondered if he would get a discount from the salon, considering he has eight toes.

What are your thoughts on men painting their nails? Let us know in the comments below.

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