Former Ohio St. cornerback Eli Apple, considered a first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, said Friday that a coach on the Falcons' staff asked him if he liked men during last month's combine.
Falcons head coach Dan Quinn subsequently expressed his disappointment in a statement, and said he had spoken with the assistant to explain "how inappropriate and unprofessional" the question was. But was the question also illegal?
As SI.com legal analyst Michael McCann explains, "The NFL clearly prohibits teams from asking players about their sexual orientation, among other topics that implicate privacy interests and that are irrelevant to someone's ability to play football.