I was curious to see what Mr. Peterson looked like, but was unable to find anything using the spelling of his name as it appeared in the OUTSPORTS article.

However, I did find this:

Derrick Peterson

I wonder did he change the spelling for his coming out or is it a case of the USATF spelling it the “normal” way?

This was posted at a Yahoo group I'm in...

We worked with Genre on this. Story comes out June 20.

Wow! That's exciting, Jim.
I'm still hoping that it turns out to be a team sport, though...

Right now, an athlete is an athlete. If its a major individual sport, it will help the cause, and maybe pave the way for a team sport athlete.

OH....MY....GAWD!!!!!! Is it really necessary to start ANOTHER thread on this??!!!

Another? There wasn't another thread on the topic of the report that the July issue of Genre would feature a coming-out story from an athlete.

I just hope the name lives up to the hype of "major athlete."

Okay, time to speculate.

Individual sport....let's see...there's:

tennis
golf
Allen Iverson
swimming
diving
figure skating
speed skating
wrestling
boxing
mmmmm, wrestling
okay, where was I?
gymnastics, SORT OF. kind of.
track & field (except relays)
mmmm, gymnastics
wrestling...heh heh...
cycling
horseracing?
car racing
BOWLING!!!
skiing
fishing. wait, definitely not a sport.
Other Olympic Sports
Finally, there's wrestling

That's the entire list of American individual sports. The Genre cover boy has to be in one of those. Perhaps wrestling?

It's War Emblem ...
Contrary to the news conference where he claimed to like "fillies" ...
Bob Baffert said the stables are ready for a gay racehorse, given the diversity ...
The mare War Emblem was seen in the paddock with is merely a beard ... or a mane ... whatever.

Now that you mention it , Charlie, I did notice him getting in a little nuzzle with Proud Citizen in the paddock on Preakness day...

Andy Roddick. With that last name, it's gotta be him. Plus, he's as cute as a button.

and we all know War Emblem is hung like a horse...Sorry I just HAD to go there.

Hope it's tennis and that he's under 25.

Why Tennis?

Because tennis is the only major individual sport in which an openly gay male athlete could survive.

Why under 25?

Resilience and Endurance. Resilience of youth cause he'll need it. Identification with the MTV crowd - some positive peer pressure and support available in that generation. No matter how PC the older generations claim to be the reality would be a different matter.

Also it might blunt the inevitable firestorm from the religious right. The acid-tongues may be slightly moderated by appearing to be browbeating an all-american youth.

How we can harass someone for being honest about who they are yet ask them to make the ultimate sacrifice in uniform is one of our many social contradictions.

BTW just heard an interview with a Wall Street Journal reporter about the NYPost gossip columnist article.[boy has this thing grown legs] I forget his exact words but he seems to think a major athlete coming out would not be a big deal and would relatively quickly become a non-event.

I suspect he may be wrong but it what would make the first big pro coming out more likely and 'successful' [meaning they manage to continue their career] would be for two or more such individuals to decide to come out together. This would be especially important for a player in a team sport.

That's the essence of team play.

I don't think it's tennis...is there such a thing as U.S. tennis champion? But while my instinct is that tennis fans would probably accept a gay player more readily than most other sports, I don't see why it would be impossible to survive as a golfer, swimmer, skier, runner etc. The judged sports might be problematic. And I think you're overrating the reaction, though it will depend on who the guy really is (if it's Tiger Woods, that would be rather large news). I don't recall a serious "firestorm" from the religious right when Navratilova or Louganis came out. And don't you think the "ultimate sacrifice" is a little melodramatic?

I hope whoever it is plays a sport that is not generally thought of as the province of gay men. Unfortunately, I think it's going to be another figure skater.....

HA!

Check out Randy Boyd's column on Bean.

A bit rough on a fellow team member but insightful.

Didn't Timothy Goebel win the US Nationals before the Olympics? I'll bet it's him.

Big whoop! A gay figure skater.

That's what I'm thinking too, PCC.

When this Big Closet Door is finally swung open, I'm hoping it's not one of those "grande comings-out" where every life form on the planet with even the faintest flicker of gaydar all heave a collective "WELL, D’UH!"

Congrats on Randy Boyd's column....I have had the same feeling with Mr. Negative. At least some other gay commentators are not as negative. Mr. Bean needs to understand that there are usually complications and problems with coming out, but that a "courageous" athlete (like Jackie Robinson) will stay the course no matter what...
Just because Mr. Bean did not feel safe to coming out while he was playing, that does not mean some one else could handle the situation.

I don't think there is anything dramatic about dying in uniform in a foreign land for a cause that you may or may not fully understand when you may or may not have had any real choice about serving.

Economics as much as patriotism lands many young people in the military and ultimately they may be asked to do what the rest of will not or can not.

Rowan Atkinson played sports?

Without speaking for JC, I initially misread your first post so that "uniform" refered to athletic uniforms and "ultimate sacrifice" refering to coming out.

I think the important clue is that sponsorship is important in this sport. Which leaves us with golf, tennis, skiing, car racing, cycling and, frankly, bowling.

I think bowling, skiing and cycling can be considered minor sports and an athlete would not get the "major" figure treatment (with the exception of Lance Armstrong whose heterosexual credentials are all over every commercial he's in). For golf, the only person who could make the kind of splash they're evidently anticipating is Tiger Woods, here's hoping. I agree that tennis does not have national champions and therefore is unlikely, the same would apply for car racing.

From that logic, it has to Tiger Woods. However, I think the hype is going to far outdistance the weight of this story, and it's going to be a figure skater. Unfortunately, they've already way overtipped their hand, and admitted the athlete's male. A gay female figure skater would, I think, make much more of a splash.

Big problem is if it is figure skating and isn't Timothy Goebel. The rumor states that the athlete has been a national champion in the past two years. The past two years have had Goebel and Todd Elgredge as national champions. If Elgredge is the athlete, all this hooplah will be over another over the hill, retiring athlete who didn't have the guts to do it while still in the game.

Now maybe I'm nitpicking, but the original quote said the athlete had been national champion in his sport in the last 2 years... not in each of the last 2 years... so it doesn't rule out either Eldredge or Goebel. It also doesn't say it's a formal national championship. I would take winning the NASCAR championship as winning a national championship, in essence.

Didn't Marat Safin win the US Open in 2000?

If it's him it would be ironic for a Russian to lead the way for freedom of expression after winning our eponymous tennis championship. At age 20 he may have a long career ahead of him as well.

BTW sorry JC and jqueer if I caused confusion with the 'ultimate sacrifice in uniform' comment. I was refering to military service.

If it's a figure skater, it'll get a shrug and/or a few jokes from the late night comedians, and nothing more. Figure skating is only huge to the public at large during the Olympics and even then, the focus is mainly on the women.

I can't imagine that if Tiger Woods were gay that he'd be coming out of the closet for quite some time.

for male figure skaters.... Very!

it's like saying "I'm a waiter and actor"

I worked on this story.

- It is not tennis;
- He is under 25;
- He has been a US champ one of the last two years;
- You probably have not heard of him, though he does have a major athletic sponsor.

What a tease! Glad I never met you at a bar during my cruising days.

If we 'probably' haven't heard of him then his coming out will 'probably' be irrelevant to promoting exceptance of gays in sports. Oh well next time.

I wish him well regardless.

My guess would be a track and field athlete. They and swimmers are pretty much the only individual sports who have annual championships but also have major sponsor, and also have enough profile to have this be a big deal (Judo champ or tandem diving is not going to cause a sensation, IMHO).

Looking back over the past championships, the name Gabe Jennings comes up. He is a young runner, champ at 1500 meters in 2000, lots of potential, but has never lived up to it, and it definitely follows his own drummer.

Jim/Cyd...do I win a prize?

Yes, "major athlete" and "national champion" doesn't seem to jibe with "you probably haven't heard of him." If sportsfans haven't heard of him, what sport could he be champion of?

Not every sports fan follows every sport, canmark. As most of us know, soccer is a huge sport worldwide and about to begin its most prestigious tournament. But most sports fans in the USA don't care.

From how Cyd describes him, it sounds like Genre may be overplaying the stature of this athlete in order to sell magazines. We'll have to wait and see what happens when the issue arrives to see if it makes a splash with the public at large.

Good point. If so maybe Genre is about to learn a lesson in marketing:

"Never spurn a sports queen!"

Sometimes credibility really does matter. Real or percieved.

Obviously, Genre and Outsports are working together on this story, and why not? All the emphasis on an established, famous athlete coming out is somewhat misplaced in my opinion: I'd much rather see a young up and comer be out almost from the start so all this ridiculous hoopla might be avoided. With all the talk about a baseball player coming out, you wonder if any of these folks actually watch the games. It underlines the misconception that gay men are only watching sports to ogle...Let's keep the focus on the integration of gay athletes, their teammates, their fans, and their sport.
Plus, with all the dissing of Billy Bean on this site, what do out athletes have to look forward to from the gay press and this site? The commentary on this site towards Billy Bean is shameful, and unneccessarily mean-spirited. Please, girls, save the claws for those who actually deserve them.

If we've "probably never heard of him" then he's not a major athlete.

Anonymity doesn't follow "major athletes", even for relatively obscure sports.

Sorry guys, but no one ever said he was a major athlete (except Newsday, who, understandably, got the "quote" a little wrong). He's a US Champion with a major sponsor (and the sponsor you've definitely heard of).

What is important about this story isn't his name, but the name of his sponsor. All these athletes keep saying they'll lose sponsorship if they come out - yet, here comes this athlete in a smaller sport who is coming out with the knowledge and support of his sponsor. THAT is important.

[ May 30, 2002: Message edited by: Cyd at Outsports ]

Amelie Mauresmo didn't lose any sponsorship when she came out. Matter o'fact, I seem to recall the president of Reebok (or whatever clothing biggie sponsors her) making a very positive statement about her coming out. It was a very pleasant surprise (emphasis on "pleasant" and not "surprise" because I wasn't that surprised) that the response to Amelie's coming out was almost universally positive.

A letter, from someone who only gives his name as Chris, in the "Readers Speak Out" story says:

As I've said before, it would be easier and better if two or more gay players decided together to come out at the same time. It's all about teamwork, peer support and courage.

As with anything in this country, everyone has thier own opinion, which we are entitled. All a company cares about is its bottom line. Aren't pro teams companys caring about thier bottom line? (no pun intended)

It's all about $$$. I love money as much as anyone else. Look at the film music industry-controversy sells. It gets talked about, people watch, people pay $$$$. The newspapers sell, tv and radio ratings go up because of the bazillion talk shows have to cover the topic.

Look at how much discussion this brings to our society. Look at how many people will watch or go to a game now or write in a chat room, newsgroup or discssion group. I really don't care about ones sexuality, I want them to get the job done.

If they're gay they're gay, if they're straight they're straight. Each will have thier own opinions on everything, just as we all do.

From a purly greed and marketing perspective, I would be eating this up and trying to figure out how to capitalize financilly on this freenzy (I have my ideas, mostly pro gay obvioulsy).

If an athlete is gay, who cares, that's their business. The bigger question is, from the bottom line standpoint of the company is, can they do the job they were hired for?

If a person has moral or ethical issues with the business decisions of the company, the person must make thier own decision, not us (the public, the media, or some dictatorship).

***
Personally I'm glad this discussion is happening right now, because it takes the spotlight off of the UM basketball investigations.
***

Belated response to sportinlife--yes, jqueer was correct. When I read your post, I was thinking that you were referring to US wanting an athlete to make the "ultimate sacrifice"--and losing sponsorships and even your whole career doesn't quite measure up. Whoops.

More on the topic...yeah, a guy coming out in a lot of sports is going to have a rough time with fans and other athletes. But great athletes can continue to perform at very high levels amid extreme distractions. When Wade Boggs was slapped with a palimony suit and they were selling "I slept with Wade Boggs" T-shirts, it didn't stop him from winning another batting title. Steffi Graf won the French, Wimbledon & the U.S. open while her father was being tried for tax fraud. Jackie Robinson won the M.V.P. I just don't think the hostility of some fans and teammates would be sufficient to drive a great athlete from the game.

A marginal player like Billy Bean would have difficulty holding down a job as an openly gay player, but there's no way they'd release a Mike Piazza or a Barry Bonds. Even if it were legal (and in California & New York, it wouldn't be), I'm the outrage of the fans would be far greater for dumping a great player than that directed at a gay player. Major league teams put up with John Rocker, Albert Belle, Carl Everett, and many other problematic personalities. They may talk about clubhouse chemistry, but if a player can produce, they'll put up with a lot of distraction.
Even if it's a second rank player (say a Jose Cruz, Jr.), he might be traded to a team with a more accepting front office, but I doubt he'd face an outright loss of his job.

With respect to sponsors--a big star like Piazza would definitely lose sponsors. Some wouldn't want to be associated with a gay player. Mauresmo isn't a fair comparison since she's a woman, a tennis player, and not American, all of which work in her favor. But a lesser-known athlete might well find the exposure would lead to greater sponsorship opportunities.

Glad we all got that straight.

My feeling is that a top-ranked star athlete would have the most job security upon coming out, but would face a loss of sponsorship dollars. Which I can't understand being so important if one is presumably already pulling in seven (or even eight!) figures a year in base salary. How much money can one person need?

By contrast, while a less storied second tier athlete might not have as much certainty of remaining with the same team, it's likely that if (s)he could remain in the majors at all, gay-specific endorsements might actually exceed the regular sponsorship that could be expected at that level of play. The key, though, is being the first professional team athlete to do so - any benefits would be diluted for subsequent athletes that later come out.

Conjecture: Based on the importance given to the sponsor relationship, it seems like an "Extreme Sports" type of athlete might be involved ......

The Globe -- one of those Nat'l Enquirer type tabloids -- claims on its front page that six -- gasp six! -- MLB players are gay. The inside story (I swear I only read it in-line at the Safeway!) has no details -- claims their source was an MLB "insider", but has pics of Piazza, Anderson, Jeter.

On another -- unrelated -- note, Page Six had this blurb:
"Busta Rhymes is not nearly as enlightened about gays as, say, Mets manager Bobby Valentine or Mike Piazza. When asked what he thinks of so-called "homie-sexuals" - closeted male rap stars - Rhymes rants to Stuff magazine that he has "no understanding of that lifestyle. No understanding whatsoever." What's more, Rhymes refuses to hang out with gay rappers. "No, I ain't into that," Rhymes declares. "Not at all, bro."

June 20th is not that far away. I think it's time for Jim and Cyd to start dropping some more loaded hints. C'mon guys, don't we deserve some info ahead of the rest of the rabble?

Wish it was Bodie Miller....slurp!
It would be hysterical if it was from the "sport" of bodybuilding. That whole scene is rampant with queens, closet cases, and 'phobes anyway!
It would also be interesting to see a lesbian LPGA gurl take the national outing plunge.

Instead, I expect to be disappointed with a diver or a figure skater. And if hair-dressing was a sport, I'd throw that in too.

So i see in Genre that the athlete is Deric Peterson, the track and field dude...

But I have a question I was hoping someone could answer. In the piece on Deric, after stating that it might be harder for a team-sport dude to come out due to homophobia and that it might have been easier for adidas to support Deric's coming out, the writer says,

"Still, recent outings of athletes in more macho individual sports like boxing, auto racing, and now track and field suggest that the issue of professional athletes coming out in the major team sportss is more plausible."

Unless I read (and retyped <g> ) the sentence incorrectly, I get the impression there's been some out/outed boxer and/or racer. Now, I try to keep up, but can someone tell me who the gay boxer and racer are? i'd love to know.

Thanks...and big ups to Deric Peterson for stating his bisexuality (or at least his avowal that "he's definitely not heterosexual!")

Hello, this is the author of the Genre article. Yes indeed a silver medalist in boxing, Mark Leduc of Canada (white) came out publicly, as did a young American drag car racer by the name of Justin Lee. We should all cheer for Deric Peterson as he runs in the US national championship meet this weekend in Stanford, in attempt to defend his title.
CoachGumby

Got my support coach. Loved your book too.