#i dont think hes some nasty homophobe i just think hes a product of his environment and not very aware of what he's saying but ultimately

[usercelestial]

I sort of enjoy that Isaac, seemingly Colins closest friend (at least on the team), was the one to make a casual homophobic comment. I think straight people tend to forget how hurtful those comments can be especially when they don't have any gay friends, and obviously football is a sport rooted in homophobia and toxic masculinity so I think that Isaac's comments and that whole conversation where being gay is sort of "the joke" is realistic in the way its normalized amongst the locker room talk. Even though he's Colin's (best?) friend, he still makes jokes and comments that he doesn't recognize as hurtful or bigoted because they work in a culture of homophobia. I think this also leaves a lot of room for growth for Isaac. When he finds out Colin is gay, he may be hesitant and come around eventually or he could become defensive over Colin, maybe recognizing the way he's made Colin feel uncomfortable and trying to over correct by punching a fan who may have made homophobic remarks to Colin (or in general but more likely to Colin). Isaac doesn't seem overly aggressive about this or anything honestly, and he seemed genuinely worried about Colin this episode by earnestly checking in and saying "You're alright" to Colin's mantra- that honestly could have been made fun of because of its vulnerability but Isaac didn't, he showed support in asking; which is also why I think Isaac isnt actually of the belief that gay=gross, I think the way he talks is just the product of the normalized, casual homophobia in the sports field. Anyways, I think Isaac's character growth is gonna have a lot to do with this and its also important to remember that we genuinely have no idea where this is gonna go or how anyone will react but I have pretty high hopes its gonna be good