Several years ago, Shaquille O'Neal forwent a college degree to join the NBA. On Friday, however,
he went back to Louisiana State and accepted his degree. This was despite his Lakers having a scheduled game against Vancouver. "It didn't seem right to me to be telling kids to stay in school
when I hadn't got my degree," O'Neal said. "Now I can tell them -- stay in school." The Shaq-less Lakers beat the Grizzlies, 98-76.
BOTTOM OF THE WEEK
DAN FOUTS
Monday Night Football announcer Dan Fouts should be penalized 15 yards for inappropriate commentary.
After Tampa Bay safety John Lynch (who is white) drilled St. Louis' Marshall Faulk (who is
black), Fouts said, ``John Lynch, with another lynching.''
Given the horrible legacy of lynchings in U.S. history, Fouts' comments were offensive,
even though we're certain he was just trying to be clever. In this case, it didn't work.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK
HBO'S SPECIAL ON
SEX AND SPORTS
"John Rocker would be accepted into the NAACP first than a gay on a team; I just know how people would treat them."
Ex-NBA player John Sally's comment on HBO's generally worthwhile ``Playing the Field: Sex and Sports in America,'' is an example of the problems still facing elite gay and lesbian athletes, especially in team sports. About a third of the documentary, narrated by actor Liev Schriber, deals with the issue of homosexuality in sports.
As in most of the mainstream media coverage issue of the issue we only hear from active players (presumably straight), who say how tough it would be for someone to come out, the few open ex-gay jocks and various sociologists. The line is pretty uniform: Don't hold your breath waiting for anyone to burst out of the athletic closet.
An interesting segment dealt with the atmosphere of the locker room in men's team sports, described as ``super-macho and remarkably intimate,'' but with fear of the other never lurking far underneath the surface.
``I doubt where you will find another environment when two men wrapped only in towels will walk up to each other, hug each other and say, `Hey, I really love you man, I really appreciate you being here,' '' said sports sociologist Harry Edwards, who obviously hasn't spent much time in a bath house.
But Edwards is quick to note the iron-clad limits of any interaction:
``As long as you're masculine, it's all right to pat another man on the butt, to hug him and tell him `I love you,' and shower together, but the minute there's any hint of somehow a feminine dimension coming into that situation, a steel curtain drops.''
Billy Bean, the baseball player turned gay activist, described hiding his sexuality as like ``living like a fugitive.'' And Dave Kopay, who came out after his NFL career ended in the mid-70s, talked about how he tried to be tougher than any player since he ``couldn't be queer if he could break the wedge.''
What's missing, however, is any sense of the slow changes taking place in the public dialogue about gays and sports. The Troy Aikman rumors, which have received legitimate media attention, are never discussed. And neither is Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Kordell Stewart, whose sexuality is a topic even on sports talk radio. HBO could have dug deeper and found people willing to speak, even off-camera, about the presence of gays in team sports. Former umpire Dave Pallone, for example, has said he could have fielded an all-star team with players he knew were gay. There's an underground there that HBO never acknowledged.
``The burden of being a gay man in a team sport is so enormous,'' the narrator says, ``it is difficult to imagine an athlete fulfilling his athletic potential while carrying the secret of his homosexuality.'' Give us a break. We know of stars in all of the team sports who do a pretty damn good job of hiding their
sexuality while performing at a top level on the field. Living a double life is not impossible, especially for pro athletes, who are well-compensated with relatively short careers and are known for their ability to stay focused.
Martina Navratilova, always the voice of common sense and reason, had this to say about the freeing power of coming out:
``Nobody I know wants to go back in the closet. I wish more (athletes) would have the guts to (come out). I wish it because they will play better golf or tennis or whatever sport and they will feel better about themselves and they will be happier as people. It will feed the soul. When you're in the closet, the soul suffers.''
Especially useful in the hour program is a historic look at the roots of sports and their sex appeal. It notes that in the '20s and '30s sex was subtly sold as a reason to watch female athletes, as basketball players wore short skirts. But in a case of unintended consequences, an attempt to ``de-sexualize'' women's sports by having all-female coaches, trainers and administrators, led to an isolation that fueled the long-prevalent idea that ``woman athlete'' equaled ``lesbian.''
Despite some of our quibbles, overall this is a documentary worth your time. HBO will show it many times over the next month.