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Ritualized Contact describes the idea that as guys we ritualize certain situations in which everyone understands that it's OK to touch and be touched by one another. Athletics establish this ritualized contact: there's contact during play, but also when entering/exiting the field -- especially after a victory; All of a sudden it's not big deal to slap guys on the ass...
The term "ritualized contact" doesn't claim that all guys are gay and they use sports as an excuse to touch each other. It demonstrates that male friends are not free to be close to one another non-sexually just because we're friends and it might on an internal level feel natural. We ritualize those moments within specific athletic contexts that justify why we're touching each other at all. If guys touching each other might look [weak, womanly, gay]... what better context than the athletic one - the most masculine of them all - to justify that contact within.
It's safe in that context, and part of the contract means that contact outside of those moments (unless you're drunk) is suspicious, awkward, uncomfortable, and weird.
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