Hey everyone-- longtime lurker here, very infrequent poster. I am hoping some of you might be able to help--or might know people who know people who might be able to help.

I am a graduate student at Georgia State University in Atlanta. I am writing my dissertation on GLBT (out or closeted) employees of professional (major/minor league and Olympic) sports teams. As you can imagine, I've picked almost the smallest target population and certainly not the easiest to recruit. At least it is not also limited to left handed, blue-eyed employees. I'm hoping some folks on here might be willing to help a poor graduate student out, or at least pass this information along.

For this study, "professional sports" include but are not limited to any of the "big 4" - MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL, as well as the WNBA, the (defunct) WUSA, professional tennis, professional minor league sports/leagues, and the National Olympic teams for any country. "Employee" is fairly loosely defined for the moment, but include anyone from coaches and trainers to ticket reps and marketing department employees.

Participants must be over the age of 18 and either currently employed with a professional sports team or must have been employed within the last five years (or so-- even if you don't exactly fit that timeline, you may still be able to participate). I am interviewing both men and women of all backgrounds, although at this moment I am in greater need of more male participants.

Now for the poor grad student part: Unfortunately, you will not be compensated for your participation. But, you will get the glowing satisfaction that you helped contribute to the (severely lacking) body of research in this area. Plus, you will get my undying gratitude. And, good karma.

I am asking for people to participate in an interview--either face-to-face, if you live in the Southeast, or over the phone. Interviews generally last between 1 and 2 hours, with the average of about an hour and a half.

All responses and identifying information is confidential, and no identifying information will be listed in any written work that stems from this research. This project is approved by the Institutional Review Board at Georgia State University.

If you are able to participate, or know someone who might be able to participate, please respond and/or circulate this information widely. I appreciate any and all leads and suggestions.

You can contact me through this board, or through email at bethcavalier@gmail.com. Thanks for your time!

Beth Cavalier/soccerphreak (as you prefer)
Georgia State University, Red Sox fan for life (hopefully this doesn't affect your willingness to participate. I promise I'm not part of the "hard core since 04" movement within Red Sox Nation).

Hail fellow poor grad student! I wish I could help you out, but about all I have to offer is a friendly thread bump.

You might want to talk to Jim and Cyd (the owners of this lovely website), they might be able to give you some contacts.

Thanks for the bump. And the suggestion. I really have shot myself in the foot here with my target population. Not the easiest one to access. Thank God for the internet!

Drop me an email. I have an out contact at the NY Giants and one at the Colorado Rapids. Also, you should reach out to the 49ers - just call their PR office; they have an out employee, but I don't know who it is. cyd@outsports.com

Outsports did a story on a guy that worked for Colorado's MLS team a while back. It was a great read... that may help your paper.

On the Jock Talk blog in this item there's a comment from someone who states he works for the Indianapolis Colts and is openly gay.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. Cyd, I've sent you an email. I'm also giving myself a friendly bump. That sounds dirty.

Is there a timetable for contacting you (i.e.- how long do we have)? Yes, I'm lazy and an hour seems long.

Hi everyone - updates from the dissertation world - I'm crawling out from under a rock to recruit more participants... I've changed a few things, so please read below and forward to whomever you think might be willing/able to participate. Thanks again...

I am seeking participants for my dissertation. My original sample was gay, lesbian, or bisexual (or queer, or another identity other than heterosexual) professional sport employees (not athletes). I have recently expanded my sample to include both college and club sports.

I am defining “employee” pretty broadly – everything from coaches to trainers to marketing department employees to ticket reps, and so on. The only requirement is that they have worked in the field for at least 2 years and identified as LGBT (or something other than heterosexual) during the time they were employed in sport.

“Professional Sport” includes (but is not limited to) MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA, WUSA, and minor league teams for any sport. Olympic/National teams (for any country) also work. I am also seeking NCAA Division I employees (for any conference). Finally, I am seeking paid employees of club sports teams or leagues – club sports being non-youth, non-collegiate programs.

I can do face-to-face interviews if they are in the Atlanta area, or I am set up to do phone interviews as well. It should only take about an hour, no more than two. The research is all approved by the IRB at Georgia State University, and I can't compensate anyone for their participation, other than the warm joyous feeling they'll get by helping out a poor grad student and contributing to the literature on this topic. Participation is confidential and no identifying information will be in any written work that stems from this project.

I'd appreciate any help you can give me!

You can contact me through the boards or at bethcavalier@gmail.com.

Thanks for your time...