Time will tell if we get an openly gay NFL player, but it seems to be OK with the college kids.
http://www.towleroad.com/2009/08/poll-half...y-teammate.html
In ESPN magazine's college football preview, Bruce Feldman and Ryan Hockensmith survey 85 current college players about the state of their game. One of the questions players were asked was if they had any gay teammates:
"Almost half of those surveyed (49.4%, to be exact) said yes, they believe they have at least one gay teammate. In the Pac-10, 70% of those surveyed said yes."
QUOTE(badlydrawnbear @ Aug 14 2009, 05:43 PM) 
In ESPN magazine's college football preview, Bruce Feldman and Ryan Hockensmith survey 85 current college players about the state of their game. One of the questions players were asked was if they had any gay teammates:
85 players? That's not saying much. I also wouldn't be surprised if a good number of them were fibbing lest they be called "homophobic".
Actually, any respected/scientific study takes--@ the most--between a 5 or 10% sampling of a population. Studies have shown that the results USUALLY reflect the same %age results if one were to interview 100% of the same population. 85 players may not reflect a great % of a sampling of cfb players. But I would guess that it may be a somewhat decent sampling & something to look into.
QUOTE(OldSchoolBoy75 @ Aug 16 2009, 10:43 PM)
85 players? That's not saying much. I also wouldn't be surprised if a good number of them were fibbing lest they be called "homophobic".
These are football players... not politicians. I highly doubt they are worried about being labeled something.
A big factor for college-aged young men is peer pressure. For this population at least it appears that pressure is in the direction of believing and admitting that there are gay men on their team.
I wouldn't be surprised if this limited poll is a reflection of changing attitudes about what is possible, and what it is acceptable to say publicly.
Even that would be progress in my book.
I do wonder though how they chose the players and how many refused or were generally discouraged from answering any poll without advising someone like the athletic departments publicity managers.
That's another type of peer pressure that could have biased the sample.
I wouldn't be surprised if this limited poll is a reflection of changing attitudes about what is possible, and what it is acceptable to say publicly.
Even that would be progress in my book.
I do wonder though how they chose the players and how many refused or were generally discouraged from answering any poll without advising someone like the athletic departments publicity managers.
That's another type of peer pressure that could have biased the sample.
I think that a more revealing survey would find out how college football players would feel about having a gay teammate on their team.
Good pt Rob.
QUOTE(Rob in Maine @ Aug 21 2009, 08:06 AM)
I think that a more revealing survey would find out how college football players would feel about having a gay teammate on their team.
Yeah, this is just a numbers thing. If there are 100+ other guys and you have grown up knowing that gay people exist, it's not a huge leap to assume there's at least one homo on your team. Honestly, it's surprising that 50% think the locker room is a completely gay-free zone.
Well, you can't deny the power of people -- here, insert "straight men" -- believing what they want to believe, despite all evidence to the contrary. The (il)logic: gay guys can't be athletic; therefore, there are no athletic gay guys.
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