By: Pat Griffin
In the past, all lesbian, gay, bisexual athletes and coaches were expected to keep their sexual orientation to strictly to themselves. Unfortunately, these hostile climates still exist today in many athletic programs. If an athlete or coach's heterosexuality is questioned, either by rumor, suspicion or confirmation, their athletic career could be in jeopardy. Most athletic programs today can be described as conditionally tolerant: lesbian, gay, bisexual athletes are tolerated on the condition that they keep their identity hidden. They are not free to talk about their personal lives among teammates, coaches or in public. If an athlete violates this code of silence, he or she may jeopardize his or her career.
However, as social perceptions of lesbian, gay and bisexual people have become more positive, more lesbian, gay, bisexual people are identifying themselves to family, friends, teammates and coaches who are increasingly supportive. As a result, it is less acceptable to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual athletes and coaches. The shifts in cultural acceptance of lesbian, gay and bisexual people are also signaled by a decreasing tolerance for anti-gay comments or use of anti-gay slurs by professional athletes like John Rocker, Jeromy Shockey, and Mike Timlin. In contrast, other professional athletes or coaches like Mike Messina, Johnny Damon, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Joe Valentine express their openness to having a gay teammate. Reflecting this increased comfort level, members of the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox appeared on "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."
In a 2006 program evaluation It Takes A Team! found that 71% of the college athletes in selected CHAMPS Life Skills classes were comfortable having a gay or lesbian teammate. Fifty-seven percent of the athletes said they would speak up to stop a teammate from using anti-gay slurs. These results reflect the changing climate for lesbian, gay and bisexual people in college athletics.
Consistent with these social changes, more schools have included sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in their non-discrimination policies and more states have adopted civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. For example, the NCAA includes sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policy and sponsors diversity workshops for member institutions on sexual orientation in athletics. The NCAA also provides all CHAMPS Life Skills programs with the It Takes A Team! education kit. Other sport governing organizations and coaches associations are sponsoring workshops and presentations on LGBT issues in athletics as well.
According to the . These high school, college and professional athletes include men and women in a wide variety of sports. The responses of their teammates and coaches in many cases are positive and supportive which reflects how the climate for lesbian, bisexual and gay athletes has changed since the early 1990s.
Several research studies document the negative effects of hiding or feeling shame about one's lesbian, gay or bisexual identity, especially among young people. Low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, social isolation, drug or alcohol abuse, extreme homophobia and risky sexual behavior are some of the effects of such secrecy. Pretending to be heterosexual to avoid being ostracized or targeted by teammates makes closeted lesbian, gay and bisexual athletes feel dishonest and inauthentic in their relationships and isolated from teammates and coaches.
Fear of discrimination from coaches is a primary motivation for closeted lesbian, gay and bisexual college or high school athletes. Coaches control playing time and even a player's place on the team. If a coach is uncomfortable with or hostile toward lesbian, gay or bisexual team members, the potential for discrimination is real. Fortunately, education and policy development focused on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has provided coaches and athletes with more awareness and practical tools to avoid or, where necessary, legally challenge discrimination against lesbian, gay and bisexual people in athletics.
Some coaches and athletes believe that having openly lesbian, gay or bisexual team members will negatively affect team unity or performance. It is our belief that the most important factor determining how an openly gay, lesbian or bisexual athlete is received depends on the leadership provided by coaches and team captains. The head coach sets the tone, either positive or negative. When the coach takes a stand for respect and openness, the team is more likely to follow this lead. When the coach reacts with prejudice, fear or discomfort, the team will probably react similarly. Contrary to conventional wisdom, when a bisexual, gay or lesbian team member is open about their identity and is accepted and respected, this can have a positive effect on both team unity and performance. This experience often helps heterosexual team members overcome stereotypes they have about lesbian, gay and bisexual people and encourages honesty and respect among everyone on the team.
Respecting an openly bisexual, lesbian or gay team member does not require acceptance of homosexuality. What is required is respect for difference and a belief that everyone on the team should be safe and treated with dignity and fairness. This standard should be the bottom line for addressing all issues of diversity on an athletic team, not only differences of sexual orientation.
Whether or not a lesbian, gay or bisexual athlete comes out should be his or her choice. She or he should not be pressured one way or the other by the coach or teammates. When coaches forbid athletes to come out publicly or tell them not to participate in campus or community lesbian, gay, bisexual groups or events, this places unhealthy pressure on athletes and demands that they choose between their psychological health and their membership on the team. It also requires them to keep secrets, behave dishonestly, and isolate themselves from teammates; none of which supports team unity and performance or individual achievement, health and safety.
Teammates sometimes pressure lesbian, gay or bisexual athletes to keep their identities secret in an effort to avoid associating the team or themselves with homosexuality or bisexuality. This is a particular problem in women's sports where the lesbian label has been used to intimidate or malign all women athletes. The coach's leadership in helping athletes to understand their own discomfort with lesbian, gay or bisexual teammates is an important part of making a team safe and respectful for everyone.
Recommendations for Coaches - Setting A Positive Climate for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Athletes to Come Out:
- Use inclusive language: Don't assume that everyone on the team is heterosexual.
- Avoid anti-gay slurs and don't allow team members to use them even as joking or teasing.
- Put up a Safe Zone sticker on your office door or locker room wall.
- Make it clear to team members that you expect everyone to be treated respectfully regardless of differences in race, religion, sexuality, etc.
- Schedule a team training on lesbian, gay, bisexual issues in sport.
Recommendations for Responding to an Athlete Who Comes Out to You:
- Thank the athlete for placing trust in you by sharing this information (and pat yourself on the back for being a trustworthy, approachable and respected person in the athlete's eyes).
- Don't assume that lesbian, gay or bisexual athletes need counseling. They might just want you to know about them because they are tired of keeping secrets from someone they respect.
- Assure the athlete that their sexual orientation makes no difference to you in how the athlete is treated on the team.
- Ask the athlete if there is anything she or he wants you to do to support them.
- Ask the athlete is she or he wants to tell the team, and if so, ask how you can help.
- Respect the athlete's right to privacy: Do not share information about the athlete's sexual orientation with anyone unless the athlete gives you permission to do so (exception: mandated reporter laws – if the athlete is in danger from others or him or herself, report this to a school counselor or counseling center or other appropriate authority and tell the athlete what you are doing).
- Identify gay-respectful support and counseling services in case the athlete wants to talk to someone and help the athlete make contact with that agency if she or he wants you to.
- Identify Web-based support or educational site for the athletes (see the resources section of the It Takes A Team! education kit)
Recommendations for Working with Teammates of a Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual Athlete Who Comes Out:
- Enlist the team captains' assistance in monitoring team reactions and helping to set a positive tone of acceptance and respect for all.
- If individual athletes are uncomfortable with an openly lesbian, gay or bisexual teammate, talk with them about their concerns.
- Provide information and resources for athletes who are interested in learning more about lesbian, gay and bisexual issues in sports (books, web sites, organizations).
- Recommend counseling for athletes who would like to address their discomfort or fear about having a lesbian, gay, bisexual teammate.
- Reinforce your commitment to making sure everyone is respected on the team.
- Reinforce the belief that being respectful does not necessarily mean approving of homosexuality or bisexuality: Every team member has a right to their personal beliefs, but each member is responsible for treating everyone on the team with respect.
- Talk about specific things that heterosexual teammates can do to make the team a safer, more respectful place for everyone, including lesbian, gay and bisexual people (see the Action Guide for Athletes in the It Takes A Team! education kit).