‘Gotta keep your hands fresh’: why male athletes are wearing nail polish

YOUSC quarterback Caleb Williams appears to have enough of a handle on the football to be projected as the top pick in this year’s NFL draft. But there’s something about the Heisman Trophy winner that upsets fans and talent evaluators alike, and it’s within reach.

Williams, you see, is one of those guys who decorates his nails, unveiling a new color scheme every time he takes the field and is criticized for using his fingers to say dirty messages to opponents. His gameday tradition goes back four seasons, to Williams’ senior year of high school, and is inspired by his mother, who is a nail technician. “You have to keep your hands fresh,” Williams said. “This is where all the gold comes from.”

But in the hyper-masculine world of men’s sports, Williams’ style seems to irritate some. “What is up with all these dudes painting their nails these days,” wrote former NFL wide receiver Cole Beasley, who is not known for his progressive views.

“It’s color on the nails,” wrote Kenny Stills, a former teammate of Beasley. “That’s like someone asking what’s up with all these guys getting tattoos.” Self-expression.”

“Tattoos tell a story based on the image you get,” Beasley responded. “Painted nails have no image. What exactly are you spending? Because I can only think of one thing. LOL.”

Stills posted a video of himself throwing up the Vulcan salute with the Tropical Skittles-themed manicure he scored for Burning Man and shooting back at Beasley. “I honestly had no idea that men painting their nails stirred people up,” he wrote. “I need to paint mine more often.”

It’s not just athletes who are embracing nail polish. Comedian Pete Davidson joked on Saturday Night Live that he paints his nails because, “I like making my uncles uncomfortable.” Machine Gun Kelly founded a cruelty-free, vegan nail polish line endorsed by Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green. Harry Styles and rapper Lil’ Yachty also have their own lines. According to 2021 research According to industry guide Fashionista, the number of manicure kits on wishlists for shopping app Klarna had increased by 251% since October 2020 – and 10% of those were from men.

Ever since Brad Pitt wore rainbow fingernails at the 2015 Palm Springs Film Festival, it may seem like “masculine nail polish” has been taken from a goth expression and an LGBTQ+ trend into the male mainstream — but the concept isn’t entirely new. According to a 2018 document at the University of Rochester Medical Center, men were coloring their nails as early as 3500 B.C. According to researcher Jeanette Zambito, male warriors in Babylon “decorated their nails with crushed minerals as part of a pre-battle ritual designed to intimidate their enemies.”

Nevertheless, some see nail painting as a path to destruction the young boys and men of today – and not all opponents are necessarily conservative. In 2022, rapper Soulja Boy went viral for calling out peers who paint their nails. “Stop playing,” he raged. “You don’t understand all that, do you?”

On his popular YouTube sports talk show It Is What It Is, rapper Ma$e said seeing Dwyane Wade wearing nail polish while being honored at a recent Miami Heat game was like catching “Jordan in lingerie.” It just crushes me.”

“I’m not mad about that version,” said co-host Cam’ron. “In recent years, Dwyane Wade has become very bad eclectic. Its blouses or shirts or whatever you want to call it.

Their views on Wade’s fashion choices may be old-fashioned, but the rappers are raising a point. Male athletes aren’t just ball players anymore – not since David Beckham first shaken up in a sarong. They are catwalk models who can launch a fashion show by simply walking to work. That the same trendsetters are slowly but surely embracing nail polish is just the latest sign that a bygone trend is making a comeback. Over the centuries, caste differences were distinguished by the color of nail polish, with darker colors indicating a higher class. There is evidence that the ancient Egyptians and Chinese covered their nails with nail polish made from henna, flowers and beeswax – and did not discriminate by gender. This only became self-evident when Victorian women in the 19th century began painting their nails to “indicate purity and cleanliness.” It took another hundred years before male nail polish made a comeback with Iggy Pop, Kurt Cobain and other gritty male icons. But it’s only recently that the trend has caught on in sports.

When it comes to bold manicures, that’s the case Florence Griffith Joyner And other tough women from the track who have historically flashed their claws. The testosterone-driven world of men’s sports is sometimes slow to give in to what some would consider a softer side. It will take athletes like Beckham and Dennis Rodman to help lead that team to victory. (“Painting your nails doesn’t make you gay,” Rodman tweeted in 2013. “I love painting my nails. There’s nothing wrong with that. Be yourself. Always.”). In the 1970s, Pittsburgh Steelers star Lynn Swann trained as a ballet dancer. In the naughty years, Cris Carter was the freak Minnesota Viking who went for routine manicures. Seven years ago, the New Orleans Saints were the outlier among NFL franchise personnel a dedicated yoga instructor; Tom Brady was caught posing on the sidelines. Nowadays it’s nothing for two guys to shoot the wind about mani-pedis. When NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders isn’t fishing or coaching football, he wonders whether his surgically altered foot should entitle him to compensation. eight-toe discount at nail salons. And baseball catchers use nail polish often to communicate hand signals more clearly to their throwers.

Even when Beasley was mocking his football colleagues for cleaning their nails, one X user wondered if he was the same player who tied his golden locks in a man bun – once the universal symbol of the alpha male in touch with his softer side. Even as Cam’ron & Co made fun of Wade’s nails, it’s worth noting that the rapper also once recorded a show while getting a manicure on set. All this is to say: think about the sources.

The space between yesterday’s fashion trend and tomorrow’s pre-game routine is only a matter of time. It just takes pioneers like Williams to take on opponents like Beasley.