| YES
By Jim Buzinski
American sports fans cheer for
wife beaters, alcoholics, crack heads and pot heads, drunk
drivers and all manner of assorted thugs. They won't, however,
cheer for an openly gay athlete.
This is the conventional wisdom we've heard the past two weeks
since Mike Piazza proclaimed his heterosexuality to the world.
Society just isn't ready, goes the mantra. I say that's bunk.
There is a simple answer to the question of whether sports fans
are ready: Who cares? If a male athlete on a pro sports team
sport publicly comes out as gay, fans will be forced to deal
with it, like it or not. He won't need their permission ahead of
time. I think most fans will accept it and move on rather
quickly.
Fans aren't as homophobic as everybody thinks. Many assume that
Joe Sixpack Couch Potato would get his bloodlust up if a gay
player came out. This does not square with a poll taken for ESPN
on May 30 and 31, 2001, (margin of error 4.5%), which found that
fans seem pretty tolerant.
The poll asked: If a player on your favorite professional sports
team announced he or she was gay or lesbian, how would this
affect your attitude towards that player?
Turn against, somewhat turn 17.7%
No difference 62.9%
Much or somewhat bigger fan 19.4%
A second question:
If an openly gay or lesbian athlete endorsed a particular
product, what effect would this have on your likelihood to buy
that product?
Less likely to buy 17.5%
No effect 79.0%
More likely to buy 3.5%
A substantial majority of fans in this survey would have no
problem with an openly gay athlete. This turns the conventional
wisdom on its ear.
However, a third question had this interesting twist:
Aside from your personal opinion, what do you think the public
reaction would be if a Major League Baseball player announced he
was gay?
Turn against/somewhat turn 67.4%
No difference 27.2%
Much or somewhat bigger fan 5.5%
It seems people are saying they'd have no trouble with a gay
player but their neighbors would. This could mean one of two
things: People are lying about their own tolerance, not wanting
to admit a prejudice to a pollster; or people assume the worst
about others and may be mistaken in that assumption.
I suspect it may be a bit of both. Society has grown
increasingly tolerant of homosexuality, but this does not
translate into being totally comfortable with it. Discomfort,
however, does not mean hostility.
The attitudes expressed in this poll were reinforced by ESPN.com,
which ran a package of stories on gays in sports a year ago.
``Of the 874 letters received, 75% said they would support a gay
athlete, 22% said they would not and 3% percent did not offer an
opinion,'' the Web site reported.
Of course there would be hecklers flapping their gums at an out
jock, but athletes deal with verbal fan abuse all of the time
(just ask Jason Kidd). It comes with the territory. But there
would also be a countervailing reaction to any fan who got too
abusive; he'd likely be roundly booed by other fans, and maybe
cold-cocked by the gay guy sitting next to him. Overt homophobia
isn't tolerated in American urban areas, where the vast majority
of pro sports franchises are located.
Collectively, fans (and I include
myself) take a black-and-white view of sports: Our players are
the good guys, the opposing players are the bad guys. In a fan's
eyes, a player can be just about anything off the field as long
as he performs on the field. Don't ask don't tell? More like,
Just Win, Baby!
Jim Buzinski is co-founder
and publisher of Outsports.com. From 1987-98 he was sports
editor of the Long Beach (Calif.) Press-Telegram. |
NO
By Chris Rose
We're a society of morons.
I would love to believe that as a society, our sports fans would
be mature enough to handle an openly gay player in baseball. But
there's no indication we're even close to being there.
I mean, all you have to do is look at what happened to Jason
Kidd and his family last week in Boston. He's being called a
wife-beater--we're a year-plus removed from the incident and
they're still yelling at him--and his wife and family are right
there in the stands. They've mended the problems in their
relationship. They've been upfront. They've gone about it the
right way. And look how they're treated.
I don't mean to single out the people of Boston. It happens
everywhere. Look at John Rocker. His 1999 comments to "Sports
Illustrated" we're made almost five months before the season--and
he's still dealing with it everywhere he goes.
Then it becomes a distraction for the entire team, so much so it
puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the organization.
Each city, players have to answer questions. They're distracted,
then say, "I can't concentrate on baseball, this is driving me
nuts."
It's just a handful of fans, but that's all it takes. On the
road, these people can be ruthless. And at home, the minute this
guy's not driving in runs or goes into a slump, he's going to
hear it there, too.
I grew up watching baseball in a stadium that was huge in
Cleveland. Even there, you knew the players could hear you.
This country has had trouble embracing the gay issue. When
you're with a bunch of guys, what's the worst thing you can
hear? "You're (gay.)"
We're better than we were 10-15 years ago. Is it good? No. I've
heard players saying having a gay teammate wouldn't be a
problem. I don't believe it.
Athletics, after all, are a bastion of manlihood. I mean, look
how sensitive an issue this became recently even though nothing
was revealed.
The baseball clubhouse is about as closed a fraternity as you
get. What's the first thing these guys said when this became a
hot issue? "I'm not gay." Immediately they went into a defensive
mode.
I don't see there being an openly gay baseball player any time
in the near future. The person is going to have to have a Jackie
Robinson-type demeanor. Not that strong, but he is going to have
to deal with similar issues.
It's going to have to be a star player. There's a lot more
catcalls and boos for a guy who's hitting .220 than for the guy
who's hitting .320. That's just the way we are.
Chris Rose is the host of
"The Best Damn Sports Show Period,'' which airs on Fox Sports
Net. He was also the lead announcer on Celebrity Boxing. |
