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Pro sports now
ready for gay athletes
By
Cyd Zeigler jr.
It's
been one week since news of former NBA player
John Amaechi's coming out party hit the Internet, and if
there's one thing we've learned it's this: The idea that an
active professional athlete in one of the big four leagues
can't come out is now officially dead. Gone. Not to be
revived. Sleeping with the Celtics' playoff chances. Dead.
Amaechi's revelation that he is gay has stirred a weeklong
national discussion but, interestingly, precious little
debate. That's because, while a handful of religious
conservatives and sheltered ballplayers have expressed
doubts or concerns about gay athletes, the
overwhelming majority of comments have been positive and
supportive – and much more so than many would have ever
guessed.
"If [there
was an openly gay player] in my locker room, we won't have a
problem with it," New York Knicks coach Isaiah Thomas told
Newsday. "I can't speak for somebody else's locker room, but
if it's in mine, we won't have a problem. I'll make damn
sure there's no problem.
"I don't
consider it any issue at all," Detroit Red Wing Chris
Chelios told the Detroit Free Press. "As far as I'm
concerned, it's a non-issue. I don't care if a guy comes out
and says he's not gay or he comes and says he's gay. Who
cares?"
"It would
not bother me if one of my players came out of the closet.
He would get my support," San Francisco Giants owner Peter
Magowan told the Sacramento Bee.
A coach, a
player and an owner, reflecting the vast majority of voices
in sports that have talked with the media over the past
week: All three of them positive, all of them welcoming, and
all of them circulated heavily around media outlets over the
past week.
Still,
if you asked the average person, they'd probably tell you
how hard it would be for a gay player to come out. If you
asked the average ballplayer, they'd probably tell you the
same thing. Something about losing endorsement money, losing
playing time, and losing fan support. Maybe batteries thrown
at them on the field. Something like that. That's all based
on a perceived reality that many in the media, who
continually push the idea that sports is anti-gay, have
created. But thanks to so many people in sports speaking
positively about gay athletes in the last week, it's the
facts that are now holding more weight.
Two
statistics in particular stand out:
-
A
sizable majority of professional athletes would welcome
a gay teammate (by-sport it ranges from 57% in the NFL
to 80% in the NHL), according to a
2006 Sports Illustrated study.
-
70%
of fans would not think negatively of their favorite
athlete if he came out of the closet, according to a
2002 Witeck-Combs study.
Most
informative, however, may be the responses to questions
asking how they think other players and fans would react if
an athlete came out. Without exception, every study shows
people believing their friends are more homophobic than they
are. This perception, again, comes from the reinforcement
from the media that sports and athletes are anti-gay; People
don't have a problem with a gay athlete, but the media has
repeatedly told them that everyone else does.
All of
this isn't to say that coming out in professional athletics
would be a bed of roses. There would be hardships. Some
teammates would likely have a problem with showering with a
gay teammate, and they'd probably make it known. Some fans
would hold signs alluding to the "fag" on the floor (but
truly, that would simply replace the other expletives used
by taunting fans).
It won't
necessarily be easy. But, contrary to popular belief, after
the last week we can assuredly say it won't necessarily be
hard, either. And, according to some, it may be positive and
lucrative.
Dallas
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hit on something that we at
Outsports have been saying for a while, but at which most
reporters we've said it to have scoffed:
"From a marketing perspective, if you're a player who happens to be gay
and you want to be incredibly rich, then you should come
out, because it would be the best thing that ever happened
to you from a marketing and an endorsement perspective. … On
the flip side, if you're the idiot who condemns somebody
because they're gay, then you're going to be ostracized,
you're going to be picketed and you're going to ruin
whatever marketing endorsements you have."
Sheryl
Swoopes' coming out in October 2005 is a great example.
She had a lot to lose. She was one of the top players in her
league and she had endorsement deals to protect. But when
she came out, her team stood behind her; Nike, with whom she
had an endorsement deal, said they wouldn't drop her; And
she picked up a lucrative endorsement deal with Olivia
Cruises.
Of course, when we bring up Swoopes with male reporters and sports fans
we hear, "She's a woman. That's different." While it may be
different, it doesn't dismiss the example. The bulk of the
condemnation in this country of gay people today comes from
religious conservatives; And they don't discriminate when it
comes to whom they discriminate against.
What
team would cut a gay player two days or even two months
after he came out? From the reactions of members of the
media and general fans, it's clear that team would catch
such hell they'd have to bring that player back onto the
team and make him the team captain. Not to mention the fact
that, depending on the city or state, the team may face a
discrimination lawsuit.
By the
same token, what company would drop a recently out gay
player as one of their spokespeople? If Masterfoods would
cave on a
candy bar commercial featuring two men kissing after 12
hours of protest from some gay bloggers, just imagine what
would happen if they told a gay player their services were
no longer needed. Not to mention the fact that, as Cuban
said, that player's stock would rise so fast any company
looking for publicity would be crazy to drop him.
A great
case-in-point is what happened with Kraft and the Gay Games
this past summer. When it was announced that Kraft was going
to sponsor the Gay Games in Chicago, there was an
almost-immediate
protest and threat of boycott from religious organizations.
But Kraft stood by the Gay Games and said, "We have no plans
whatsoever to change our stance based on this group's, or
any other, objections." That's how almost any major company
would handle any openly gay spokesperson; You can count on
it.
The
legacy of John Amaechi's coming out will forever be this:
That it was his announcement that opened the eyes of this
country to how far we have come in the acceptance of gay
people since David Kopay came out in football in the 1970s.
While the coming out of Esera Tuaolo and Billy Bean and
Sheryl Swoopes gave people strength to talk positively about
gay people in sports, it will have been Amaechi's
announcement that put sports over the hump.
And, I
dare say, it will be this newfound vision that will lead to
more and more openly gay former athletes – and that elusive
active pro athlete – sooner than we think.
Related:
Pre-order "Man In The Middle"
List of
out athletes
Baseball: Billy Bean, hitting a home run for my lover
Football: Gay former player addresses rookies
Football: Dave Kopay, still fighting the good fight
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