Recently there has been a large speculation that it won’t be long before gay male athletes begin to come out in sport. Personally, I think this is a great movement. Players should not feel afraid to be themselves around a “team” environment. So many times we hear great stories of players uniting to support one another, why can’t this happen here? Look at the Kevin Ware incident. The team rallied around him in a tough moment of his life and overcame so many obstacles. If a team is supposedly a cohesive unit, why can’t we overcome this? Jackie Robinson met allies that helped to get him through his situation, and I even believe one was a white male.
In order for this change to occur, I feel that it would have to be a collective team effort, such as fellow teammates rallying around the gay athlete to support them. I think that gay rights activists have done so much to help the issue in sport, along with society as a whole. Sport and society are so intertwined at times; we often see the same vehicles being used to create change. It seems as if homophobic slurs have begun to be linked to a negative connotation and this is helping to spread awareness in the world.
The tough element that exists with this argument is that it is not black and white as it sort of was with skin color. Whether you liked someone with a different skin tone or not, most understood that it was not a choice but just a genetic makeup. The touchy topic with gay interaction is that there is so much more involved in the equation. You have to factor in religion, personal belief, and the fact that it can be hidden. I feel that the Athlete Allies is on the right track and hope that a gay male athlete and his teammates is soon brave enough to weather the storm. However , I also feel that it will be a collective effort of humanity to embrace this new change.
-Hunter Haas
Hunter, I agree with you that this situation will need to be handled by the team as a collective bunch. But for it to completely work, you need the rest of the NFL players and the NFL offices to be on board as well with this to be successful. The players need to come to terms and to accept a gay player as one of their own. The offices need to support the player by trying to curb the backlash that is going to come from this. This can also apply to any other league out there, if they are facing this situation. Not only do we need to have a player with the resolve of Jackie Robinson, but they need a support system that can help them through this difficult time.
ReplyDeleteTyler Kieffer
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI cannot disagree and it most likely will be happening more in the coming years. But I do not think it is as easy, we have to take in consideration these individuals. In class we even discussed how the choice can be career ending. The Kevin Ware situation was a saddening one but cannot be compared. Not only because it was an injury but also due to the fact they are in college and it is expected of them to support. But in the NBA for instance, you are merely expected to play well together and win. Anything else is more so a bonus. It will take a collective effort though. Like I said in class I think for the impact of sports for homosexuals it must be done at lower level of college and then followed up with a great career. It will go undone if a player is merely not a great and will just cause backlash of saying homosexuals are not even good athletes. I do want to see this same change as you though and hope that society will allow it sooner than later!
Greg Gantt
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI disagree only because of a few reasons. First, players who come out publically will not only affect themselves but they’ll affect their team. Teams have enough adversity to overcome like workouts, learning about football, and trying to bring 70 plus players together to become a cohesive team. A decision like this could tear a team apart and make players not want to play with them and break the team apart. If 69 players accept him and 1 doesn’t that could cause the team to fall apart. Once players end their careers are over I believe player would become more accepting because people think I’ve known them this long and they’ve never tried anything with me and they have been a friend so they are cool. Football does not need a coming out party, football just needs to be football. No in-between.
Darion Delaney
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you said in your blog. It is true that to overcome the homophobic barrier in sports, it will take a collective effort. I also think if superstar players are homosexual and in the closet, it will negatively affect their play. Once they can finally be themselves, it will make their life and performance better. I believe that teams are such a tight knit group and something like a player coming out of the closet should do anything to break up the team. It should not make a differnce whether someone is gay or not. If they can play, they can play. Players should be respected for what they are capable of no matter what their sexual orientation is. One thing that has to be taken into consideration is what if a player comes out of the closet and his team shuns him? This may scare other gay players from beig themselves and coming out of the closet. This is why the first athlete to do it is so important. If the player is welcomed with open arms, I feel that many more players will follow suit.
-Tad Margolies
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you have said. I think that the more that the player in all of the sports are welcoming of one of their teammates being gay, it will be a lot easier on not only the player but also everyone else that is gay and is afraid to come out. I think that the more support that they have the more comfortable they will be and the better everything will be. It has to be hard for someone to come out to say that he is gay because he knows that most of the players in the league will like at him differently even if he was one of the best players in the league. I think not only do the players have to support him but also the fans of that team would have to support him. If they made it even harder for him to complete every day then he won't be able to perform at the best that he is able to until they accept him as who he is.
Jeremy Shay
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI think that it is a good idea for athletes who happen to be gay to come out. I don't think that they should hide who they are. Also, I believe that their mature teammates will respect them even more for being honest. I also believe that the athlete would be more comfortable in his or her own skin. I can't imagine having to break news like that to a teammate. I believe that it would be a hard thing to do, but I think that it would be the right thing to do. It would take a lot of courage to come out and tell teammates that you are gay. Great post.
-Logan Walker
Hunter--
ReplyDeleteIn your recent blog post you address the possibility of gay male athletes coming out in their sport in the near future. I would agree that this is a positive movement that is long overdue. No athlete or any person in that matter should be judge or discriminated against because of the person they love.
Looking back in recent years, I believe the LGBT movement has taken huge steps in the right direction. When looking at sports specifically and their gay athletes, I believe that the gay athlete’s team plays a crucial piece in making this work, but it takes more than that. Countless allies, the sports association, and even society has to come together to start making this acceptable. When looking at global matters, countries have already legalized gay/lesbian marriage, why should sport even be considered as such a large problem? That being said, it cannot be ignored that fans feel strongly about this issue and religion, family backgrounds, and different cultures all play major roles in their opinions. These types of situations are being argued all the way at the Supreme Court level, I just hope all athletes can compete and be open about their sexual orientation.
-Alex Solis
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI like the points that you bring up in your article in terms of it taking a team to rally behind a guy to come out as gay or not. In my opinion however, I really don't care at this point. I don't really think its my business if a person is gay, straight, bisexual, asexual, whatever it is I don't care. I wish that in sports, a person was based on their personality and their abilities on the court. I really also wish that some people were not put as high up the way they are. For example, Wilt Chamberlain, the man who scored 100 points in a game and one of the best NBA players in history reportedly slept with over 20,000 women in his lifetime (a confirmed 23 in 10 days), yet we as a society would be more up in arms over a gay athlete than a womanizing Wilt. Either way, it doesn't matter to me, but I think that people need to look at what really matters what a person does, judge them on character, not their sexual orientation.
Zane Langdon
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you when you say that overcoming homophobia in sport will be a cohesive effort. If a current athlete came out in the open about their homosexualty, that would be a big step. However, I believe that it may take not only one, but probably multiple big name athletes to come out in order for the issue to begin to cease and desist. You made a great point by saying that there is so much more that goes along with the topic such as religion and personal belief among other factors. All of these factors are exactly the reason why homophobia is so prevalent not only in sport, but also society in general. A player in a team sport would need the ultimate support from teammates and coaches alike before he would feel comfortable enough to become public about his homosexuality. Like you said though, Athlete Allies is on the right track to helping the issue become less of a problem.
-C.J. Gilvens
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI like that you brought up the point that sport and society are intertwined. I completely agree with this statement. I believe that once homophobia is diminished in sports, it will help society diminish homophobia. Sports are a huge part of our society and many people associate it with success and strength. Athletes are looked up to with high esteem. To have a gay athlete come out in a professional sport would show that a gay man can be successful, be "manly", and be someone you look up to. I think that this will help change a lot of people's view on this issue.
Erin
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head with most of this post. What really hit me was the fact that 'gay' can be hidden. I had never really given it much thought, but it's true. If something (such as being homosexual) can be hidden, then why is it an issue? It obviously has nothing to do with their personality, leadership capabilities, or athletic performance, so why is it a big deal? Things such as race and gender are visibly noticeable, and have preconceived notions attached to them. While homosexuality has preconceived notions, since homosexuality is not clearly visible, why is it still an issue? It is like not wanting someone with an "outie" belly button on your team. They may be a great player, fantastic person, and perfect teammate, and you would never know what their belly button looked like until they showed you. If they prove themselves as an athlete and a person before you find out they are gay, why does it matter?
Andrew Hayes
Hunter,
ReplyDeleteI think that everything you said is 100% correct. I think in order for gay male athletes to be able to come out need to have team/group support. I feel that this kind of support is needed for any type of situation such as drinking problems, drug problems as so on. Today it is hard for people to do things on their own without getting backlashed by others. However, I do think that the times are shifting and more and more people are willing to accept homosexuals. With this I agree that a male gay athlete will come out within the next three to five years. I think when this happens it will be a culture shock to society but when more and more athletes come out it will slowly be accepted by many.
John Ruppert