You have stated something I have seen for a long time. The way the Rocker incdinent, and anytime an athlete says anything they deem homophobic, takes on legs and dominates the sports media for what seems like weeks.
The ironic thing is, issues like steroid use and the resistance to any change in tradition in baseball (DH, wild card) are also pet causes for sports media. I've always felt that the liberals push these also just from the overkill these issue gets, even though they would be in their nature "Conservative" viewpoints. Bob Costas comes to mind.
There isn't much repartee between sports reporters and news reporters. Yet, the sports reporters don't like to run afoul of the wildly liberal news reporters and columnists. Reporters of any kind love to get awards, they love to go to parties, they love to be identified with any among the "elite," whether "the elite" be others in the media, those in entertainment (including, of course, sports) or politics, etc. These alliances and invites don't happen for you if your worldview is contrary to the prevalent one in the newsroom. Believe me, I don't get invited to parties much anymore, not after everybody knew my convictions. And, I don't need their parties or approval. So many writers, reporters, etc., write more for their peers than they do for their audience.