Some men are apparently struggling with the fact that a naked man is one of the cover stars of ESPN’s Body Issue.
This year’s installment of the popular magazine and photo series features a large range of the country’s top athletes, including the likes of tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy and Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel ‘Zeke’ Elliott.
But some men on social media weren’t quite so happy to see the latter star, 21-year-old Zeke, showing off his muscular form on the famous magazine’s cover.
The image sees the athlete appearing to run through a waterfall, and ready to leap right off the magazine cover, football in hand.
Zeke even turns on his intense gameday stare for the photo, allowing the public to see why defenders have so much trouble covering the young gun, who managed to lead the NFL in rushing yards during his rookie year.
However, despite his obvious talent being worthy of featuring in the prestigious magazine, some weren’t impressed by his inclusion.
In fact, one user bizarrely branded the football star a homosexual simply for baring his body for the issue.
‘Nobody wants to see that!’ wrote one offended twitter user, while another added: ‘The S stands for sports not strippers.’
Several pledged to unfollow the sports network’s Twitter page over the image, and one even suggested it spoiled his breakfast.
But of course when it came to the cover featuring Caroline Wozniacki, the tennis ace, taking a swing in the buff, the comments were littered with sexist comments complaining about how her rear end wasn’t large enough or that her thighs were Photoshopped to look smaller.
‘Man! Yesterday y’all were lightweight offended by zeke’s nudity,’ one user pointed out. ‘But you sure as hell are here for female nudity!’
In his segment shooting for the magazine, Zeke opened up about how he builds up his body, saying that workouts have never been an enjoyably experience for him – especially during the season.
‘You’re going into football games and you’re just beating your body up. And the next day or the day after, or two days later, you find yourself back in the weight room, and you feel beat up and sore,’ explained Elliott.
‘And it seems like every step you take is just hell.’
He later admitted however that the weights and the running and the ball carrying were all second nature to him after all these years.
Elliott also some time to speak about his love of hurdling people and crop tops, which he can often be seen wearing on the field and in practice, giving fans a chance to star in awe at his abdomen.
