InQueeries

April 20, 2006

By Gilles Marchildon, Executive Director of Egale Canada

Pro athletes coming ‘out’: Trendy blip or encouraging trend?

A growing number of professional athletes seem to be revealing their sexual orientation.

Is it a temporary trend, prompted by the upcoming OutGames and Gay Games or the result of extensive media coverage of same-sex marriage and the recent popular film ‘Brokeback Mountain’?

It’s not new for some athletes to be ‘out of the closet’. States-side, tennis champion Martina Navratilova, Olympic diver Greg Louganis come to mind. Here in Canada, Olympians Brian Orser (figure skating) and Mark Tewksbury (swimming) are two examples.

Still, there aren’t an abundance of pro athletes who openly admit to being lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans (LGBT). Some argue sexual orientation doesn’t matter to an athlete’s performance and shouldn’t be a big deal. But if it’s not worthy of great attention, then why aren’t more LGBT athletes open? Instead, they’re under-represented.

The truth is pro sports - and the public who avidly watch them - cling to the idea that gay or bi men don’t have the extreme virility for success. For lesbian women, the stereotype works differently. If they are successful athletes, it’s because they are more similar to men (by liking women and having a strong competitive spirit).

These ideas score high for flawed assumptions. First, it’s incorrect to think virility and competitive spirit are the ingredients for success. What about dedicated training, perseverance, natural abilities, sheer strength and nerves of steel? Secondly, it’s also wrong to think that because someone is attracted to a person of their own sex, they would necessarily be short of the gifts required to be a professional athlete.

Fortunately, we seem to be in a season of more openness with respect to queer athletes.

It might have something to do with the two mega LGBT sports events taking place this July. The 7th official “Gay Games” are taking place in Chicago (www.chicago2006.org) while Montreal is hosting the new “Out Games” (www.montreal2006.org) along with an international human rights conference.

Aside from these huge, Olympic-sized events, LGBT athletes are more visible than ever before. Just in the past couple months, there has been extensive coverage, notably of basketball player Sheryl Swoopes coming out. Gay athletes are also ‘outing’ their books.

Mark Tewksbury has a new autobiography titled “Inside Out: Straight Talk From A Gay Jock.” In this, the Olympic gold medalist shares his experience and insight from being gay in the very heterosexual world of competitive sports.

Esera Tuaolo, a former National Football League player, also recently published an auto-biography, “Alone in the Trenches.” In it, he talks about his fear of being outed.

According to a new survey carried out last month by Sports Illustrated magazine’s online arm, 80% of National Hockey League players would welcome a gay team mate. Support drops to 61% among pro baseball players and then to 57% for football players. It’s encouraging.

Since 2002, the Gay And Lesbian Athletes Association (www.glpaa.org) has provided support services to LGBT athletes at every level. They still need it. And we need more of them to be ‘out’ and proud.

Egale Canada ©2010

Advancing equality and justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans-identified people and their families across Canada