Psychological Issues of Gay and Lesbian Athletes

T. Cook
Kin 339i

Homosexuality is a continuing conflict within colligate sports. Many issues from the coaches to the fans go into this conflict. But I believe that there are 3 main issues. The first one is the feeling the need for gays and lesbians to hide their sexual orientation on their teams. For example, on a football team if you are gay one will feel uncomfortable going to the locker room or trying to have any non intimate relationship with a teammate in fear that the fellow teammate may question their incentive. This could destroy team chemistry. The next one would be problems with gays or lesbians having intimate relationships on the same team. For instance on my friends’ collegiate woman’s basketball they encounter many “issues” with fellow teammates because of intimate relationship going on between teammates. This could be hazardous to a team’s focus and demeanor. Finally one of the biggest problems that happens on a team is the division of a team aka cliques. You have every right not to agree with some ones orientation but this could cause disrespect on the same team. It also can cause a player to not perform to his/hers highest ability on the team.