Homophobia and Transphobia in Sports

categories: LGBT Sports, Nonprofit Profiles

Published September 23, 2009 @ 04:41AM PT

Soccer Field

From the mistreatment of South African runner Caster Semenya to college football coaches calling their rivals "faggots," homophobia and transphobia are alive and well in the world of sports. For years, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has had a sports project working on equalizing the treatment of LGBT athletes in the world of sports. And now a second organization, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), is getting into the mix with an open call for survey respondents to tell their stories of homophobia and transphobia in the wide world of sports.

The goal is to explore even deeper the ways in which anti-gay and anti-transgender attitudes shape the sports culture. To gather that information, GLAD is asking for athletes, coaches and allies to share their stories of homophobia and transphobia, whether it's on the court, on the field, on the rink, or in the locker room.You can do so on the record, or anonymously, too.

Is it a coach that berates his or her players with anti-gay language? Teams who heckle and harass LGBT teammates (or those perceived to be LGBT)? Gay coaches who have to deal with a homophobic administration at their school or university? It certainly could be. So if you have a story that fits, GLAD is looking for it.

The timing of this couldn't be better, either. Earlier this year, a study came out surveying sports reporters, who said that there was rampant and overwhelming homophobia in sports -- particularly in men's sports. The study, conducted by the Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State University, found that 65 percent of sports reporters observed homophobic and transphobic behaviors in covering various sports. And those behaviors keep LGBT athletes living in the closet, according to researchers.

And that's something to remember. In male professional sports, there has never been an openly gay player in the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB, although several have come out after retirement. Is that a coincidence, or a sign that there's a whole heck of a lot of entrenched homophobia in sports -- especially professional sports -- preventing LGBT players and coaches from feeling safe and equal? Probably, and that's the very culture that GLAD and organizations like the National Center for Lesbian Rights are trying to dismantle.

(Photo courtesy of nicksarebi's photostream on Flickr.)

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Comments (2)

This will probably be one of the hardest areas of our society to obtain equality in...The reason being that sports tends to attract the intellectualy ignorant as opposed to those who value intelligence...Still it is a goal worth fighting for and winning.

Posted by Thomas McHugh on 09/23/2009 @ 05:44AM PT
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It's unjustified that homophobia is common in sports, especially men sports. There must be an obligatory reformation in the sports world to bring major tolerance so that LGBT atlethes get the respect they deserve. GLAD is doing a good thing by creating a survey in order to find people who have seen or experienced homophobia in or sports. Atlethes must know that homophobia is unjustified and always unprofessional if the atlethes do it.

Posted by Edwin Bonilla on 09/23/2009 @ 02:54PM PT
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Author

Michael is the Communications Director for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School, and previously was Communications Director for Pax Christi USA, a progressive Catholic human rights organization.