No matter what sport you play there will be a mix of heterosexual, homosexual and bisexual players. The only problem with this is most of the players that are not heterosexual are forced into hiding their sexual preference. This can have a damaging effect on their performance in their sport. They have the added pressure of complying with the normal male/female roles in relationships and dating. They also have the fear of being rejected by their team or being kicked off the team. I believe that their is more problems for gay male athletes than female athletes. This is due to the stereotype female athletes attain just by being in certain sports. Many people believe that most female basketball players are lesbians this is not true, although my cousin that played basket ball was a lesbian. When it comes to male homosexuals in sports it is much more taboo. Most people see homosexuals as being like women and not having any place in sports especially contact sports. I knew a guy on my wrestling team that was gay, people made fun of him and he ended up quitting his first year. I believe that everyone should be given a chance to play any sport they want no matter what their sexuality is, and they also should not have to hide who they are. Before this could ever happen we as a nation would have to change and accept people for who they are.
J Cruickshank KIN 339I
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There is no doubt in my mind that most gay and lesbian athletes have it the hardest. I’m not saying this is the case for every team but to those teams that would turn their back on a fellow athlete based on their sexual orientation is sad. Teams are like family, in fact in high school I saw my teammates more than my family, and it would never occur to me to turn my back on my brother or sister just because they are not heterosexual. At my high school we had two gay guys on our football team. Nobody did or said anything discriminatory and they were just like anyone else on the team. Had it not been for the support of the team, coaches and parents these two athletes may have had it rough throughout high school, but since everyone on the team was accepting I think the entire school just fell in line. I think the same should go for the athlete at the professional level; once a team accepts it then most people will follow. The worst of it would probably come from the fans. Since the dominant religion in the United States is Christianity/ Roman Catholicism, many die-hard religious people may not like a homosexual athlete. It’s funny actually because I went to a Catholic high school and that didn’t matter one bit. Anyone who has a gay friend knows that it makes no difference whether a person is hetero or homosexual, we don’t befriend someone because of their sexual orientation but instead their personality and the kind of person they are.
ReplyDeleteR Burbage KIN339
I agree to that Homosexual athletic have had a history of being stereotyped to underperformance against heterosexual athletes but I feel that this is just an opinion of an individual that may be homophobic. In my opinion I believe that this is false. From personal experience, I grew up with a gay athlete which was indeed very athletic. Although he had some feminine personality traits, when it was time to play basketball, he stepped it up. Maybe because he grew up playing basketball so it was natural for him to perform. There were occurrences when he was singled out, he did not let it get to him. Some wouldn’t give him the chance to participate but when they witness his ability, they were in disbelief. Recently in the new, there was a NFL player from Kansas City Chief that got suspended for saying gay slur. Even in the current times, discrimination against gay still exists. There will always be people against gay athletes. These people will have gay slurs and negative comments but the victim should not let the ugly comments get to them and just to continue to play the sport they love.
ReplyDeleteM Nguyen KIN 339I
I agree that it is difficult for homosexual athletes in today’s society because of all the social constructs that we live with. Our society is very heterosexist and by being a homosexual athlete in many cases you are seen as going against the societal “norm.” What I do not agree with is that it is more difficult for homosexual male athletes opposed to lesbian athletes. I say this because of the case of former Penn State Women’s head basketball coach, Rene Portland. Portland served as head coach at Penn State for 27 years until she recently resigned a few years ago. Portland allowed no lesbian athletes on her teams, and threatened to ruin careers or in other words blackball you if she found out you were a lesbian or thought you were a lesbian. Her players were forced to keep their sexual orientation in the closet because of the fear of their basketball careers being ruined by Portland. Many of her former players recall their time at Penn State under coach Portland being some of the hardest times of their lives. Eventually Portland’s homophobic ways caught up to her and led to her resigning but she was never really punished because of her success as a coach at the school. My point being that it is not less difficult for lesbian athletes opposed to gay male athletes or the other way around and that lesbians are not always accepted in sports such as basketball which are typically thought to be lesbian friendly. I feel that it is equally difficult for homosexual athletes simply because of the heterosexual society we live in today. I do agree that for this sort of thing to change we need to as a society start accepting people for who they are.
ReplyDeleteAdam Grubb Kin 339i
I have noticed that in general, people tend to stereotype certain sports as homosexual sports, especially female sports. Basketball and softball are frequently thought of as "lesbian sports." That is making a huge overgeneralization and is not fair to neither homosexual athletes nor heterosexual athletes. You don't hear too much on the side of male homosexuality in sports. Male sports are thought of as masculine and gay men are thought of as feminine, leaving them without a place in the world of athletics. It is a shame that those who are gay may not feel comfortable revealing thier sexuality because of the potential of being ostracized or rejected from sports. Homophobia has been tolerated in athletics and it can be detrimental to those who are homosexual. I would imagine the psychological and emotional effects of having to worry about your sexual orientation getting involved in your sport would be extremely stressful. Heterosexist behavior is also a problem in sports. Making the assumption that all people in a group are heterosexual can be offensive to homosexuals. It is not fair to make that assumption and is insensitive.
ReplyDeleteAn example of the issue of homophobia in sports is when a football fan asked FNL.com to customize a jersey to say "Gay" on the back, they deemed it inappropriate and "naughty." There are several professional athletes with the last name of gay (Randall Gay, Bean Gay, William Gay)and to not allow thier last name to be placed on the back of jersey says a lot about our society's view on sexual preferences. This is a homophobic society and it is unfortunate because it alienates a whole group of people. I hope that the world of athletics can someday move past homophobia. It can be another step toward liberation for homosexuals in American society today.
Erin Tucker
KIN339I
M 7Pm