SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Skating
SLAM! Stojko
COLUMNS
REVIEW
INTERACTIVE
ALSO ON SLAM!
Sports has always had a bias against gays
"No, I've never had to deal with it -- never even had an inkling," said Western Mustangs football coach Larry Haylor.
"I've never had a player who was in that situation," said John Kuhn, manager of the new Frontier League professional baseball team in London.
"No, not that I knew of," responded Gary Agnew, coach and general manager of the Ontario Hockey League London Knights.
"I've never had to handle that situation. No one has ever told me," said Barry Martinelli, coach of the Western Mustangs hockey team.
The silence of the gay athlete. Nothing is as much a condemnation of the acceptance -- or lack thereof -- of the gay athlete in the world of sports.
Haylor, Kuhn, Agnew, Martinelli have been involved in competitive sports for most of their lives. They had direct contact with hundreds, perhaps thousands of athletes during those years. No doubt they coached dozens of athletes who where gay, but who allowed their sense of preservation to get the better of them, deciding to remain mute about their sexual preference.
"Why would anyone be surprised?" asked Harry Gauss, who has been involved in soccer for more than 30 years. "Sports has always had a prejudice against gays. Some people involved in sports are very closed minded. It's no different than regular society.
"I can't believe all those other coaches said they've never had to deal with a gay athlete. I've had a number of gay athletes who have told me they are gay. I've never disclosed that to other people on my team because that's not for me to do.
"But the truth is, there would be problems with a gay athlete on a team." That's not the athlete's fault. It's the fault of a society that has somehow managed to stigmatize that athlete to the point that admitting one's homosexuality is a virtual guarantee to being ostracized.
If one were to acknowledge that sports mirrors society where indications are five to 10 per cent of the population is gay, it's mind-boggling to believe none of those coaches have had an athlete come out to them.
It's a powerful indication of how homophobic sports and society in general truly are. While an athlete may not necessarily worry about a coach, they would worry about what their teammates think of them. Even the most innocent glance in the shower would be translated into a gay male, sizing the other guy up.
That's the fear and ignorance specific sections of society have ingrained in people about gays.
"I think (having a gay player) would make people uncomfortable in the dressing room," said Agnew.
In professional sports, admitting one's gayness is akin to throwing away millions of dollars in endorsements as well. That's why high-level professional athletes who play in the National Hockey League, National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, or any other league, admit only as their career is nearing an end -- or long after it's over -- that they are gay.
It was a veritable feeding frenzy the day a palimony suit launched by a former gay partner of figure skater Brian Orser became public. One could almost forgive the remorseless coverage of the story if the focus was simply on a palimony suit. After all, famous people getting sued happens all the time.
But it seemed the big news was that Orser was finally outed, that he was gay (almost like, ha, ha, we finally caught you), something most people who knew him suspected a long time ago. His late outing had nothing to do with being embarrassed but more with the fear of what it would do to his career.
Step right up, Ellen DeGeneres, Martina Navratilova and the others who came out. There aren't a lot of post-career endorsements for those people.
Haylor was blunt when discussing the situation.
"Does it matter (that a person is gay)? No, it wouldn't make any difference if he played (on my team,)" Haylor said.
"It's not related to a skill level. I think the thing that matters is the person and the kind of player he is.
Great words, and Haylor probably believes them. But the reason most gay athletes can't admit to their lifestyle or beliefs, as others would to their spirituality, is because gay athletes know full well it could be reason enough to end their careers.
How long would a good hockey player, who was an asset to his team, be around if he admitted to being gay and 16 of his teammates told the coach they couldn't play with him?
The good answer is, "It doesn't matter. He or she plays."
You won't hear that.
"That's a good question -- a question that's hard to answer," said Agnew.
It's a dilemma that gay athletes face every day.
The world of sport doesn't deal particularly well with real-life issues. It's rooted in traditional fears and stereotypes.
It doesn't matter how good an athlete is, or how he or she lives that lifestyle.
The only thing they're judged on is their sexuality.
How sad.