There is a quote in here to the homosexual kid that reverberates thought. "There are four types of people in this world: 1) those who like you for the wrong reasons; 2) those who dislike you for the wrong reasons; 3) those who like you for the right reasons, and the only ones you need to concern yourself with are those who dislike you for the right reason."
When Coach Reeves isn't sure what to do with the player who's possibly gay, his sister asks him, "Where have you been the last five years?" Underlining how early in the early stages of Gay Rights this episode is. Also, she caustically compares him to Anita Bryant, who was one of the first famous opponents against homosexuals in the 1970's.
Later on, Salami (Timothy Van Patten) would become one of the most popular characters, but until this episode, he mostly stood in the background, with very few lines.
The moment when James Hayward shows the coach (who's off-screen) a boxing move is used in the opening of this season (although only Ken Howard is given credit). And in the second season, when the team gets credit in the opening, Hayward's same boxing-move moment is used during actor Thomas Carter's name being credited.
Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek Next Generation (Will Riker)makes an appearance in this episode.