What started as a completely ordinary New Year’s Eve moment quickly turned into an unexpected viral flashpoint.
As the clock struck midnight in Times Square, Ricky Locci and his boyfriend DJ Petrosino shared a quick kiss — something they say they do all the time.
This time, though, the moment was caught live on ESPN, where cameras were broadcasting the New Year’s celebrations to a national audience.
From live TV to viral discourse
The kiss itself lasted only a second.
But soon after, clips of the broadcast — including reactions from SportsCenter host Scott Van Pelt — began circulating online.
From there, the internet did what it does best: some people celebrated the moment as joyful visibility, while others turned it into manufactured outrage.
Accounts known for ragebaiting seized on the clip, and suddenly a completely normal expression of affection between two men became a trending topic.
Outsports talks to the couple
After the clip went viral, Outsports spoke directly with Locci and Petrosino to get their reaction.
Their response was refreshingly grounded.
They made it clear that there was no intention to make a statement, no plan to go viral, and no sense that they had done anything unusual.
As they told Outsports, this is simply how they celebrate moments together — publicly, comfortably, and without apology.
Why it struck a nerve
The intensity of the reaction says far more about the culture watching than about the couple themselves.
Heterosexual couples kissing on New Year’s Eve broadcasts is so normal it barely registers.
Seeing two men do the same thing, however, still manages to trigger outsized reactions in some corners — even in 2026.
That contrast is exactly why moments like this matter, even when the people involved didn’t set out to make a point.
Visibility without performance
What makes this moment resonate isn’t that it was dramatic.
It’s that it wasn’t.
There was no speech, no rainbow branding, no attempt to provoke or persuade.
Just two people welcoming a new year together, in front of a camera they didn’t even know was pointed at them.
In a media landscape often dominated by backlash and outrage, the simplicity of that moment feels quietly powerful.
Sometimes queer visibility doesn’t arrive with a slogan.
Sometimes it just shows up, kisses someone it loves, and keeps going.
📷 IG: @ ricky_locci_dpt / espn