Entertainment :: Culture
Homophobia in sports :: the search for a gay quarterback by Joseph Erbentraut
EDGE ContributorSunday Oct 18, 2009
"I think we will look back in 10, 20, 30 years and be amazed that gays and lesbians did not have the same rights as every one else. How did this ever happen in the land of the free and the home of the brave? Are we really free?"
No, the words above, taken from a recent Huffington Post blog post, are not particularly provocative in and of themselves. In fact, they border on cliche in a time marked by public figures increasingly addressing gay rights in the media. But considering their source - Brendon Ayanbadejo, an active player for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens - and the fact that fellow pro baller Scott Fujita (defensive captain for the New Orleans Saints) has also stepped forward in support of LGBT equality - their newsworthiness is undeniable.
Ayanbadejo’s words, coupled with the visibility of out athletes like Olympic champion diver Matthew Mitcham, the WNBA’s Sheryl Swoopes and former NBA player John Amaechi, could perhaps even be interpreted as evidence of progress toward acceptance in the world of high-profile sports, a world historically notorious for its homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality.
But the fact remains that while inroads are being made in less ubiquitous sports, when it comes to the big four Western team sports - football, baseball, basketball and hockey, we have still yet to see a player come out while still active on the field or in the rink.
In an effort to address the source of the pangs of homophobia and invisibility of openly queer athletes in the sporting world, EDGE interviewed a number of leading voices in the field.
The final domain of masculinity
All sources interviewed for the story agreed sports have played a critical role in both defining and enforcing societal gender norms. Those norms have not traditionally been conducive to being openly gay or even openly gay-friendly.
So-called "masculine" sports have been woven into the fabric of defining the ideal American man since the late 19th Century, as reported by Dave Zirin in a recent article for The Nation. They were seen as a way to "toughen up the youth" in the midst of building the ever-expanding American empire. Theodore Roosevelt trumpeted "virile virtues" that "make up a race of statesmen and soldiers, of pioneers and explorers ... qualities which are fostered by vigorous manly out-of-door sports."
Through the years, homophobic taunts have been used to put down a team’s opponents, and there are numerous examples of prominent athletes and coaches going on record with downright nasty remarks toward the LGBT community. In 2007, former Miami Heat basketball player Tim Hardaway said he "hate[d] gay people" on a radio show. Earlier this year, Hawaii football coach Greg McMackin referred to an opposing team [Notre Dame]’s "little faggot dance" at a media day. Though both apologized profusely following the resulting PR blitz, the message had been sent.
"Sports is really still an arena where it is still somehow OK to say things that are blatantly homophobic," explained Marie Hardin, an associate professor at Penn State’s College of Communications who studies sports media. "Sports in our culture are a powerful mechanism by which gender norms are reinforced, and those gender norms in our culture are always wrapped up in heterosexuality. Because of that, homophobia is more accepted."
Jim Buzinski, CEO and publisher of OutSports.com, a website dedicated to showcasing the contributions of out gay athletes, agreed.
"Sports is perceived as representing the final domain of masculinity," Buzinski told EDGE. "Gay people have long been stereotyped as not being masculine, so there is a disconnect there. A lot of people feel having openly gay people in sports would destroy that masculine dynamic. But I think it is changing."
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