The Closet Case

If you asked a group of avid sports fans to name five openly gay professional athletes still active in their careers, what would be the response? I would go so far to say that half of them could not even come up with one. Homosexuality in sport is still considered a faux pas. The military policy of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” seems to fall closer in line with the guideline for sports, than that of mere acceptance. However, just as it is in the military, the policy will never mean that homosexuals are not present. So why is it difficult for professional athletes to be either openly gay from the start or come out of the closet during their career? It is likely a sense of fear and uncertainty that pressures most to keep quiet. The fear of reprisal from their teammates. The fear of losing sponsors and endorsements. The fear of losing franchise support and fan base. The fear of losing respect in the public eye and media. The fear of judgment of their athletic career based on their personal life. Within our society and culture, we have created an environment that harbors these fears and holds them true.

Over the course of history, despite any potential repercussions, some athletes have taken steps out of the closet (information taken from ESPN.com):

In 1975, David Kopay was the first professional team-sport athlete to reveal his homosexuality three years after retiring. Kopay was an NFL running back who played for San Francisco, Detroit, Washington, New Orleans and Green Bay between 1964-1972.

In the 1980s, Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova went public with their sexuality. Navratilova did so during her career and lost endorsement deals as a result.

In 1985, an offensive lineman for the University of Pittsburgh, Ed Gallagher, attempted suicide by jumping from a dam 12 days after his first sexual encounter with a man. He survived but was left paraplegic. Gallagher commented that before his suicide he could not resolve his image of himself as an athlete with gay urges. Following the incident, Gallagher admits the incident forced him to face his sexuality and stated “I was more emotionally paralyzed then, than I am physically now.”

In 1988, Dave Pallone, a National League umpire alleges that he was accused of having involvement with a teenage sex ring and subsequently fired. The charges were dropped based on groundlessness. Just prior to these false allegations, Pallone had come out to the then-National League President Bart Giamatti. Pallone was fired on the grounds of his homosexuality.

In 1991, Penn State University women’s basketball coach, Rene Portland, reveals her policy against lesbians playing on her team.

In 1994, four-time Olympic diving gold medalist, Greg Louganis, comes out publically. In the same year, openly lesbian mountain biker, Missy Giove, wins her first world title. Giove was considered the Michael Jordan of her sport and wins titles in 1996 and 1997.

In 1996, Muffin Spencer-Devlin, an 18-year LPGA veteran, discusses being a lesbian with Sports Illustrated.

In 1998, former track-and-field coach at Auburn and Northwestern, Michael Muska, is named athletic director at Oberlin College and is the first openly gay man to hold such a position in college athletics.

More recent claims include Sheryl Swoopes and John Amaechi. In 2005, Sheryl Swoopes publically disclosed her relationship with former basketball player and Houston Comets assistant coach, Alisa Scott. Swoopes goes on to play with the WNBA and European leagues. In 2007, former NBA player, John Amaechi, reveals his homosexuality with ESPN, as well as releasing a book titled Man in the Middle. Former NBA player, Tim Hardaway, publically responded to Amaechi’s announcement stating:

"First of all I wouldn’t want him on my team. Second of all, if he was on my team I would really distance myself from him because I don’t think that’s right and I don’t think he should be in the locker room when we’re in the locker room. Something has to give, If you have 12 other ballplayers in your locker room that's upset and can't concentrate and always worried about him in the locker room or on the court or whatever, it's going to be hard for your teammates to win and accept him as a teammate.”

Team sports pose the toughest challenge when it comes to acceptance for gay athletes. Cohesion and trust are the key components to winning as a team. However, statements like Hardaway’s, show the social climate that players must succumb to if they choose to come out of the closet during their career. This is why it comes to no big surprise that most athletes choose to do so once their playing careers have ended. Those fears are minimized and the social environment is less impacting. Homophobia is a clear issue in our society and thus carries over into sport since it is a social construct. It is no secret that homosexuality is still a heavily debated and discussed topic in society. Ignorance is the biggest proponent of this issue. Many people still believe being gay means you cannot control same sex urges or you are attracted to anyone who is the same sex as you. For those who believe this way, a locker room environment would be the root of much worry with an openly gay individual present. These are not psychologically-based theories; these are socially-based theories that have been passed down from generation to generation. Until theories about homosexuality become more in line with truth, the social tempo will continue to dictate the mentality such as Tim Hardaway’s. The irony of it all is that the gay athletes bear the real burden. The burden of ridicule, mistreatment and judgment which are born from our societal beliefs and misunderstandings of homosexuality. Will our society ever have the courage to change?

How Does Religion Impact Sport?

From a sociological standpoint, religion is defined as a socially shared set of beliefs and rituals that people use to transcend the material world and give meaning to important aspects of their lives (Coakley, 2007). Some would argue that religion and sport are rooted within the same ideology – a culturally-based way that people find meaning in life and connect with each other. The fact is that religion cannot be ignored when analyzing sport as a social construction.

In the United States, we see a number of church leagues and organizations that use sport to channel community and togetherness within their subculture. These leagues are generally well-versed in sportsmanship, openness, and creating a sense of belonging. Sport in the United States is viewed as a positive influence on our community and individuals. It shows us how to work together to achieve a common goal, despite our differences. Sport can often act as a platform to exercise religious-based concepts such as helping one another, seeing past differences, being involved in the community and the like. Furthermore, some religious-based groups see sport as a way to keep youth focused on a positive outlet and distanced from trouble and negative pressures growing up. The YMCA is a great example of an organization founded on principles associated with Christianity and sport. George Williams founded the YMCA on June 6, 1844 in London England. The original concept was to put Christian principles into practice; the early YMCA targeted young men who sought work in London but were living in rough conditions. Its goal was to offer an alternative to life on the streets that involved prayer and Bible study; it was meeting the social need in the community. The YMCA was unique in that it ignored the separation of churches and social classes evident in that time, and opened its doors to all. The YMCA continues its mission on an international level today of building a healthy spirit, mind and body (Zald, 1963).

Religion can also bear a burden in sport. Take for instance the Iraqi National soccer team. Uday Hussein, Sadaam Hussein’s notorious brother, was in charge of the Iraqi Olympic Committee and the team itself. Under Uday’s control, the team was subjected to torture which took place in the basement of the Olympic building. It was equipped with contraptions such as a sarcophagus with long nails pointing inward so victims could be punctured and suffocated. Another contraption was a metal frame designed to clamp over a prisoner’s body, with footrests at the bottom, rings at the shoulders to hoist the victim, and attachment points for power cables to deliver electric shocks. Losing games or poor passes could result in beatings, imprisonment and floggings by electric cable. Uday’s justification for terrorizing the players was the fact that a majority of the team was Shiite Muslim, at a time of Sunni governmental control through Sadaam (Burns, 2003). The religious differences between Shiite and Sunni Muslim are the source for a long-standing historical battle. However, as shown by this case, even sport is not free from religious-based cultural differences.

The two examples above show that different cultural settings can produce different roles for religion within sport. The latter case, however extreme it may be, is not to be ignored when studying religion and sport as social constructs. The main component of a social construct is people, which is evident in both religion and sport. Examining the two will lead to greater understanding of how religion can impact sport in society.