sexual orientation and athletics

When we here the word "athlete", what are the first things that come to mind? For me, I think of musculature, physical health, and (most importantly) how they perform during an event. Many people would agree with me that a part of what makes an athlete is how well they perform, another part being how they interact with others both on and off the field. So, when we hear that an athlete is homosexual, does it affect how we view that person? Some may say yes, but I wonder why we do that. It didn't change who the athlete was, just how they were viewed. Their sexual orientation didn't change their athletic performance one bit though the 'coming out' process may have hurt their careers. Look at Billie Jean King, for example. She one the "Battle of the Sexes" singles Tennis tournament against Bobby Riggs. Her personality is strong and it showed in her playing style. But, when she was outed, she lost alot in such a short amount of time I still can't comprehend it. Billie Jean was quoted as saying she "had to play tennis to pay the lawers" for a lawsuit and losing all her endorsements. Simply because she is a lesbian. In my opinion, just because an athlete is gay or a lesbian, that shouldn't be a reason to scrutinize everything they do. Yes, we may have gotten better at how we as a population support them, but we're still a long way from even being close to how we should act.



S Garcia
339I M 7P