Homophobia and Transphobia in Sports

by Michael Jones · 2009-09-23 04:41:00 UTC
Topics:

Soccer Field

From the mistreatment of South African runner Caster Semenya to college football coaches calling their rivals "faggots," homophobia and transphobia are alive and well in the world of sports. For years, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has had a sports project working on equalizing the treatment of LGBT athletes in the world of sports. And now a second organization, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), is getting into the mix with an open call for survey respondents to tell their stories of homophobia and transphobia in the wide world of sports.

The goal is to explore even deeper the ways in which anti-gay and anti-transgender attitudes shape the sports culture. To gather that information, GLAD is asking for athletes, coaches and allies to share their stories of homophobia and transphobia, whether it's on the court, on the field, on the rink, or in the locker room.You can do so on the record, or anonymously, too.

Is it a coach that berates his or her players with anti-gay language? Teams who heckle and harass LGBT teammates (or those perceived to be LGBT)? Gay coaches who have to deal with a homophobic administration at their school or university? It certainly could be. So if you have a story that fits, GLAD is looking for it.

The timing of this couldn't be better, either. Earlier this year, a study came out surveying sports reporters, who said that there was rampant and overwhelming homophobia in sports -- particularly in men's sports. The study, conducted by the Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State University, found that 65 percent of sports reporters observed homophobic and transphobic behaviors in covering various sports. And those behaviors keep LGBT athletes living in the closet, according to researchers.

And that's something to remember. In male professional sports, there has never been an openly gay player in the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB, although several have come out after retirement. Is that a coincidence, or a sign that there's a whole heck of a lot of entrenched homophobia in sports -- especially professional sports -- preventing LGBT players and coaches from feeling safe and equal? Probably, and that's the very culture that GLAD and organizations like the National Center for Lesbian Rights are trying to dismantle.

(Photo courtesy of nicksarebi's photostream on Flickr.)

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
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