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ESPN Gets It Mostly
Right "Playmakers" Gay Episode a Solid Show
By
Jason Page The acting may not be the greatest on ESPN’s “Soap Opera for Men” and most in the GLBT community may not have even known about the Oct. 28th episode that centered around a closeted gay football player. Well, I was watching and while I’m often critical of ESPN for its entertainment first, sports second attitude, they actually got it right on the issue of gay’s in professional sports. OK, maybe not right, but damn close. Several months ago, I wrote of my disappointment with the Broadway Show “Take Me Out,” which featured a closeted gay baseball player who comes out to his team, much to most of their dislike and ignorance. I thought this portrayal was off-base. As someone whose spent an inordinate amount of time in professional sports locker rooms, I can say that most guys wouldn’t have a problem with a gay guy in the locker room. However, the few red-neck hillbillies that would take umbrage with it are the ones that ultimately keep players in the closet. "Playmakers" did its gay plot justice in areas where Richard Greenbergs “Take Me Out” failed miserably. In “Take Me Out” a large majority of Greenbergs characters are ignorant fools. The gay player in "Playmakers," “Thad Guerwitcz,” was very much closeted, even to the extreme of having a token girlfriend while sleeping with a guy on the side. This same guy winds up outing him at practice, in front of his teammates after learning of his phony engagement to a pretty young woman. Thad is forced to eventually come out to his teammates. After being outed by his boyfriend most of the star players are quite understanding. “Take Me Out” had a bunch of athletes portrayed as immature guys with a couple bordering on the mentally retarded. There may be a few guys who aren’t all that familiar with homosexuality, but the vast majority have a pretty firm grasp on the issue and I am beginning to find that most are understanding. Where "Playmakers" made a small mistake was in over-dramatizing an issue that needed no further dramatization. The way the team handled Thad’s decision to come out of the closet was extremely unrealistic. An owner of a team would never blackmail a player who decided to come out of the closet in an effort to keep him in. Nobody could convince me otherwise. However in this drama, this is how the show played out. The player agreed to stay in the public closet and instead go on injured reserve to avoid the owner's wrath. The show ended with the player speaking with the media about his recent selection to the all-star team. He then was asked about rumors he was getting married and he confirmed that he was. End of show, end of gay plot. But for gays in sports, it was an interesting month on the show. All things considered, the show handled the plot of the gay player in a manner I feel was representative of what a closeted and eventual openly gay player would face. But with the good, you have to take the bad. It was a pretty painful experience for Thad, as it would be for any pro athlete who came out of the closet while in their prime. Baby steps continue to be made on the sports front for gays. There is still a long way to go, but in time, that gigantic first step will be made. It will happen. As long as our closeted gay players know that our support is there, there will inevitably be one that dares to be different.
Jason Page handles the News and
Sports for OutQ in the Morning in Sirius Satelite Radio OutQ 149. You
can listen to OutQ at
www.siriusoutq.com.
Additionally, Page provides a daily sports commentary on Sirius
Satelite Radio’s All Sports Stream 123. He also co-hosts a Saturday
Sports talk show “The Fella’s” on Saturdays from 3-6 PM Eastern.
Editor's note: The "Playmakers" episode drew some strong reaction
on our Discussion Board. One posting from someone, Bosox Guy, who says
he's a college athlete was very interesting: Nov. 3, 2003 |