Gym Class Isn't Tasting The Rainbow: LGBT Youth

You run to the gymnasium, change into those stretchy shorts and an old t-shirt. It's supposed to be the highlight of your school day, but for some reason you cannot stand the social nature of gym class, despite being a fifth grader. LGBT youth grow up in hostile environments that are not the least bit inclusive, accepting or welcoming. What does this mean for sports? That LGBT youth involved in athletics are as uncomfortable as ever before ... which certainly doesn't bode well for being comfortable as an adolescent or adult.

80% of LGBT youth experience harassment, 85% of youth hear the term gay used as a slur on a regular basis and more than 25% of LGBT student-athletes in the U.S. reported having been harassed or assaulted while playing on a school sports team because of their sexual orientation. That's one-quarter of them! If any identity whether personal, ethnic or racial were exploited as horribly as being LGBT is, we'd certainly live in an uncomfortable and hostile world. Why do we as human beings, let alone sports aficionados, allow one identity to be continually bashed in elementary and middle schools throughout the United States and world? Let me know if you have the answer, because I certainly do not.

All this equals discomfort for LGBT youth, whom many of are athletes as well. Research shows that LGBT boys and girls know that they are "different" by age three or four, and can pinpoint their sexual orientation or gender identity by ages 12 or 13. That means those mini-mite hockey players, little league baseball stars, in-town softball standouts and munchkin football athletes, all know that they are LGBT, if so, before they even hit puberty! They are also harassed, discriminated against and barraged before they are old enough to date as well.

Where are the teachers? The Ms. Robinson's of the world that you always hear people reminiscing about. "Oh she was great, so sweet, and so helpful," says the average school teacher who always is ready to help and aid his or her student. Hmmm, that person seems to be a ghost in today's school systems.

So it is no wonder it has taken until 2013 for any male in a major sport to publicly come out. It is no wonder that leagues like the MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL are just now becoming LGBT ally trained. It is no wonder that athletics is not a welcoming place for LGBT individuals. And it is no wonder that elementary, middle and high schools aren't tasting the rainbow of LGBT equality. Excuse me Mr. Gym Teacher, but it's time to blow the whistle on hate.