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Fans: I'm Not Homophobic but My Buddy Is By Jim Buzinski A new survey on public attitudes towards gay athletes in professional sports showed contradictions—most fans said their attitude toward their favorite athlete would not change, but speculated that their neighbor’s would. An online survey by Witeck-Combs Communications and Harris Interactive found that 65% of fans said they would not change their opinions of favorite male or female professional athletes if the athletes revealed they are gay or lesbian. But 78% said other sports fans would have less favorable opinions. These findings in the survey released Monday mirror those of a poll taken for ESPN in May 2001. The ESPN poll found 63% would not change their opinion if an athlete came out, while 67% said others would have a negative opinion. “In many tests of public opinion, when Americans are asked about their own discriminatory feelings – it’s not unusual to hear them say that they, themselves, are more tolerant than others,” said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications. “In this instance, however, the gap seems remarkably wide between one’s own views and those prejudices thought to be held by other people.” “When it comes to openly gay sports figures, this gap suggests a couple of possibilities,” Witeck said. “First, it may be that individuals decide to conceal their true attitudes towards gay sports figures, and thereby, appear more socially tolerant by projecting discriminatory views on the ‘general public.’ Or perhaps sports fans are more accepting than we realized, and the perception of public stigma or bigotry is possibly much greater than the reality.” It is still is not possible to put these contradictory thoughts to a test. Not one professional athlete in an American male pro team sport is openly gay, while Sue Wicks of the WNBA’s New York Liberty is her sport’ only open lesbian. Overall, the Witeck-Combs survey, which polled 2,191 adults online (with 6% of these gay or lesbian) and has a margin of error of plus/minus 2%, showed that most fans would hold a positive view of an out athlete. For example, the survey asked, "If an active and popular male athlete revealed he is gay, what words, if any, would you use to describe him?” More than three-quarters of the respondents (76%) used words that were favorable: Honest (55%), Being himself (46%), Courageous (35%), Heroic (6%) and Fair-Minded (5%). (Note: Totals do not equal 100% since some respondents used more than one description). Negative connotations were expressed by 32%: Publicity-Seeking (14%), Sad (12%), Perverted (11%), Self-Centered (6%), Disrespectful (3%) and Sick, Sinful, Stupid and Misguided each with 1%. In responding on what fans in which sport would be least accepting, the survey neatly followed the perception of the sport’s perceived “macho-ness.” “Large numbers of respondents believe that fans for major team sports, such as football (64%), ice hockey (61%), rugby (55%), basketball (48%), and baseball (46%) would be ‘not accepting at all’ of openly declared gay, lesbian and bisexual competitors,” the survey found. “On the other hand, far fewer adults believe that fans of individual sports, such as swimming (10%), diving (9%), gymnastics (9%), as well as figure skating (8%) or tennis (8%) would be ‘not accepting at all’ of openly gay, lesbian or bisexual athletes.” The complete survey questions and methodology Courtesy of Witeck-Combs Notes on reading tables GLBT refers to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender respondents. The percentage of respondents has been included for each item. An asterisk (*) signifies a value of less than one-half percent. A dash represents a value of zero. Percentages may not always add up to 100% because of computer rounding or the acceptance of multiple answers from respondents answering that question. VIEWS TOWARDS A FAVORITE MALE ATHLETE IF HE REVEALED THAT HE IS GAY "If a favorite male professional athlete revealed he is gay, how would this personal disclosure change your feelings toward the athlete?" Base: All Respondents
VIEWS TOWARDS A FAVORITE FEMALE ATHLETE IF SHE REVEALED THAT SHE IS A LESBIAN "If a favorite female professional athlete revealed she is a lesbian, how would this personal disclosure change your feelings toward the athlete?" Base: All Respondents
PERCEPTION OF OTHER SPORTS FANS VIEWS TOWARDS AN ATHLETE’S SEXUAL ORIENTATION
"How do you think a disclosure about an athlete's sexual orientation changes how other sports fans feel toward the athlete?" Base: All Respondents
LABELS USED TO DESCRIBE A POPULAR MALE ATHLETE IF HE REVEALED THAT HE IS GAY "If an active and popular male athlete revealed he is gay, what words, if any, would you use to describe him? Please check all that apply." Base: All Respondents
LEVEL OF ACCEPTANCE TOWARDS ATHLETES IN VARIOUS SPORTS WHO REVEAL THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION "How accepting are fans of the following sports in terms of responding to athletes who are honest about their sexual orientation and publicly disclose whether they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual?" Base: Familiar with Sport
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