While many people know about the four-part Washington Post series in 1975 in which David Kopay came out of the closet, few have read the text or know about the other three parts. So I was excited to stumble across the December 10, 1975, Part 1 of the series on Google this morning. What a hoot! It’s a wonderful look inside the sports world just days before the most important moment in LGBT sports history. Among other conclusions, writer Lynn Rosellini wrote:
Some of the biggest names in football, including at least three starting quarterbacks in the National Football League, are homosexual or bisexual.
While many people know about the four-part Washington Post series in 1975 in which David Kopay came out of the closet, few have read the text or know about the other three parts. So I was excited to stumble across the December 10, 1975, Part 1 of the series on Google this morning. What a hoot! It’s a wonderful look inside the sports world just days before the most important moment in LGBT sports history. Among other conclusions, writer Lynn Rosellini wrote:
Some of the biggest names in football, including at least three starting quarterbacks in the National Football League, are homosexual or bisexual.
Not much has changed there! Lol. Seriously, where on earth did she get that number?
If you want to see how far sports have come on this issue, just look at the text of a letter sent from Minnesota Twins public relations director Tom Mee to The Advocate, in response to their request for information on gay athletes:
The cop-out, immoral lifestyle of the tragic misfits espoused by your publication has no place in organized athletics at any level. Your colossal gall in attempting to extend your perversion to an area of total manhood is just simply unthinkable.
He went on, according to the Washington Post, to warn of any mention of the Minnesota Twins on the pages of The Advocate. How much has the team changed since then? The Twins hosted the gay night 'Out in the Stands' in 2010 and earlier this year said they would release an 'It Gets Better' video.
Oh, but it gets better:
Only about 10 per cent of the entire male homosexual population fits the stereotype of limp-wristed, effeminate "queens," while many of the remaining 90 per cent are virile, masculine-looking individuals with keen interests in sports.
What what? How did she…where did this…Um, bizarre! Oh yes, it gets better still…
Behavioral research in the last 15 years indicates that boys with homosexual tendencies usually do not have much interest in athletics.
Somebody did a little too much research waltzing through the theaters on Broadway.
The article also mentions that up to 20 percent of female athletes are lesbians.
It's a fun read, a telling look inside how the world viewed gay athletes just days before David Kopay came out.
