Bashing Down The Last LGBT Closet In Sports: The NFL

Well, the day has finally come ... or nearly. Wednesday night's article from The Bleacher Report revealed that one of the last closet doors in professional sports was almost opened and then closed shut, rock solid. The NFL, which estimates to have hundreds of gay players, is not "ready" to have its Jason Collins, its Branch Rickey, its Jackie Robinson. Uhhh, excuse me? #rude.

Not ready? For what? For a human being, talented and capable, to be himself while being an NFL player. That's like telling Tom Brady, "hey don't tell us you have a child, and hey don't tell us you have a girlfriend, we aren't ready to hear that." Sounds ridiculous, absurd and discriminatory right? Well that is what NFL owners and league officials are basically insinuating as they aren't ready for the Collins-esk media attention for the first openly gay player in the NFL.

Hundreds?! That means nearly 10% or more of NFL players are gay. That means 200-300 players are in the closet, hiding and probably suffering incredible amounts due to a few people's uncomfort with gay players. Some estimates say that the NFL is two-three YEARS away from having its first openly gay athlete. HELLO?! Are we in medieval times? Even if the NFL wanted that to be the timeline, there is no way that bigots can halt progress and equality.

"I don't do the gay guys, man. I don't do that. Got no gay people on the team. They gotta get up outta here if they do," said 49ers defensive back Chris Culliver. Well a*%$^hole, how about you learn to speak English first before discriminating against other players. No wonder a gay players want to hide - if this is the attitude in team locker rooms, who would be brave enough to step up and say, "I'm gay."

We need to tell the NFL we are ready. Sports is ready and the world is ready for the league's first openly gay player. Enough is enough, the closet door needs to be bashed down once and for all. How much longer can we tolerate exclusion and hate? Human rights are not something we can stand to ignore.

A Scary Place For Gays: The Locker Room

It's where bonding happens, hidden actions committed and secret words said. The locker is the most sacred place for any sports team as they cannot be bothered by media, fans or outsiders. They can be themselves, interact with their teammates and get close. What does that insinuate or allow for? Physical interactions are as much a part of locker room interactions as any other aspect.

An OutSports.com blog post outlines the narrative of ex-Purdue football player Dorien Bryant who is now openly gay. He claims to have had many teammates who "weren't exactly straight." Bryant is not the first to claim such, as many tales and legends are spoken of athletes acting "gay" our touching one another in "gay" ways inside the locker room. But what does this all mean? What can we take from these wives tales?

What we can be sure of is that homosexual tendencies have existed for centuries. Before the term gay was even created, there were men sleeping with men and it was not questioned. Today, closeted men and women who grow up knowing internally that they are gay or lesbian may be inclined to be themselves and act out in the intimate setting of a locker room. I can remember many team locker rooms when I played hockey where there was touching, slapping and insinuations that clearly weren't hetero-normative.

We need not ignore such actions or take them to signify immature boys or girls are just fooling around. Additionally, we don't want to insinuate everyone is LGBT if you touch another person of the same gender; however, what should occur is a discussion of LGBT identities and lives within an intimate team environments. Let athletes know that being gay, lesbian, bi or trans is ok and welcomed. Rather than hiding and chastising these actions, let's learn from them and hopefully eradicate that awful closet for which so many are bound to.

A Pioneer In High School: 1st Trans Coach

Stephen Alexander never knew he'd be "the first" or considered a pioneer in the world of sports. Now, his name (not by birth) will be ingrained in sports history forever ... because of his gender. Around the world we are seeing the transgender rights revolution, with more human beings coming out as trans than ever before. What makes Stephen special then? He is the first high school athletic coach to be out as transgender in the United States.

We continue to see and hear about firsts ... Jason Collins, Robbie Rogers, Billie Jean King to name a few. Does it even matter anymore? Is there real significance to being the first anything LGBT anymore since society, at least in the USA, has become so progressive? The answer is yes, absolutely yes. In a little conservative town in Glocester, R.I., Stephen is making a world of difference.

The distinction of Stephen's coming out relates to the audience he serves - youth, specially perceptible high schoolers. These are the individuals who are arguably in the most critical stage of mental and emotional growth and are developing their own opinions and thoughts. To have your high school sports coach come out as LGBT and moreover transgender, it effects you, it hits you hard.

Stephen is changing American and humanity, one small bit at a time. He is pushing the ticker of progress that much further down the road towards 100% equality for all. He is influencing the minds of adolescents in a positive manner. Stephen is illustrating through action that you can be LGBT and still be a damn good athlete, or even a coach.

LGBT Pictures Are Worth 1,000 Words

Nike LGBT Sports Summit 2013


Openly gay boxer Orlando Cruz


Tatyana Firova and Kseniya Ryzhova of Russia 


Trans MMA fighter Fallon Fox    


Openly gay MLS star Robbie Rogers

    \
All Out campaign for LGBT equality at Sochi Olympics  

 
Openly gay NBA player Jason Collins

     
Athlete Ally Founder Hudson Taylor


Openly gay Sochi hopeful Blake Skjellerup

A Fresh Perspective: International LGBT Athletes

Take 10 minutes and watch this perspective on international LGBT athletes. Eye-opening.

Sandusky Not Only Sicko At Penn State

Often, it is easy to understand what we should be doing by examining what we shouldn't be. Jerry Sandusky will go down in history for his heinous, disgusting and reprehensible behavior and actions while a football coach at Penn State. What the public doesn't know about the Nitanny Lions squad is that Sandusky isn't the only Penn State coach to have committed despicable acts, as Rene Portland stands a second close.

Who? That's the curious question most ask when you say her name. She is the winningest basketball coach in Penn State women's basketball history. Equally as noteworthy is her long track record of homophobic actions, words and culture which she fostered while at the helm of the Lady Lions squad. In this ESPN Outside The Lines montage of interviews, former players attest to the discriminatory environment that Portland pursued for 27 years as head coach.

Well wouldn't you know it ... 600 wins, 21 NCAA Tournament appearances including a Final Four trip, can make a lot go away. Shielded by administrators and other coaches including the formerly heroic Joe Paterno, Portland went unscathed for over two dozen years. She damaged the lives of multiple players including Cindy Davies and Jennifer Harris. What went wrong? Why was this allowed to happen? Did anyone stand up?

It is because sports, even in collegiate women's athletics, has stereotypes ingrained into its culture due to disgusting individuals like Portland. She was religious, traditional and wanted what was best for her girls ... These may be a few of the pathetic defenses Portland has used since being asked to leave Penn State, but non are sufficient.

History teaches us not to make mistakes of the past. Therefore, we should observe and learn from the example of the sad human being that Rene Portland is. She may never change or understand what LGBT have to offer the world of sports, but that is ok. We must do more than understand and fix, we must celebrate everyone who puts on a uniform.

Can One Gay Athlete May A Difference?

This week has created buzz around the possibility of Jason Collins, one of the modern day LGBT sports pioneers, being signed to a contract by the New York Knicks. This would mark Collins' first active player status while being an out gay man, as he proclaimed to the world this past summer. Many have talked, commented and speculated what it would mean to have a knowingly gay man step onto the NBA court for arguably the first time ... but would it actually make a difference for LGBT athletes?

Well, to get a hint at the answer let's look at a previous example. Robbie Rogers is proclaimed to be the first out gay male in a major sport to actually play. He has been well received, welcomed and embraced by Major League Soccer's limited fan base and players, coaches and owners. Has anything really changed in MLS? One can argue it is too soon to tell, but the results have been positive. There is chatter about how well teammates and others have celebrated Rogers' coming out and ability to be his true self. Could this be a model to replicate with Collins?

I'd venture to say absolutely, yes. The sooner we get openly gay players onto the court, the quicker we can start fully breaking down the equality barrier that has separated the haves from the have nots for so many years. After all, the intriguing attribute about Collins coming out was that he had the potential to actually be an active player. Numerous NFL and other major sport athletes have come out, but only after their careers had ended. What Collins and Rogers did was different.

Although not all issues may not be eradicated by the Knicks potentially signing Collins, it will certainly make a significant inroads towards acceptance. Remember, progress isn't the movement from one extreme to the other, but rather ensuring the equality ticker is constantly moving in the right direction.

Marketing vs. Reality: Major Gay Leagues

A good friend sparked my interest in this next subject of discussion. Recentely, everyone is getting all up in arms when activists say sports aren't inclusive of LGBT people..why? Well because they now have "gay" nights at ballparks, stadiums and arenas across the country. Sure, Fenway Park had Jason Collins throw out the first pitch in July on gay night. The LA Dodgers celebrate diversity on gay night at the stadium. So wait, does this mean that we are wrong? That all is right in sports? Well no. Folks, there is a large difference between marketing to a LGBT constituency versus actually accepting and welcoming them.

There is money to be made off of LGBT fans and supporters. That is the bottom line, harsh truth of sports marketing right now. A myriad of teams are taking advantage across a variety of sports, and who can blame them? They have every right to pursue profit just as Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon do. So what is so questionable about this practice? It is the claim that a social injustice is being mended from pure monetary driven practices.

Apart from the marketing to LGBT people, are leagues really being inclusive in nature and working to bash down the last closet in America? Well partially. We see leagues like the NBA training their rookies on LGBT terms and definitions. Major League Baseball will see education and training regarding LGBT policies at their winter meetings this year. But what about the rest of the NBA players? What about the NBA's Roy Hibbert (pictured below) who made a blatantly heinous anti-gay slur at a press conference just last season? Are they being trained and educated? Where is the NFL on the topic of LGBT equality? Just because MLB executives understand the need for a more diverse environment, do players, general managers and coaches as well?

All these questions are unanswered with no good reason. We are in 2013, where now 15 states legally permit gay marriage and many more on the cusp of doing so. LGBT citizens are everywhere, part of every line of work, and existent in nearly all communities in the United States. If we want to claim sports is part of this country's tradition, it better get on the equality bandwagon and become gay friendly leagues, not exclusively hetero-normative.

Stepping Down: Amateur Gay Athletics

Do athletics and sexuality intersect in sports apart from collegiate and professional spheres? Initially it may be a foreign idea, however amateur LGBT sports leagues (which are booming in participation around the country!) are playing in integral role in developing a more inclusive environment for all in the athletic community.

Softball, volleyball, flag football, bowling, tennis, running ... The sports are endless for which there are LGBT specific leagues in major urban areas around the country. NAGAAA, the North American Gay Softball Association acts like the NCAA or NFL offices in governing the myriad of LGBT softball leagues in the United States. There is even an annual World Series that takes place across four different talent divisions in a different city each year. Wow, a league that is competitive, fun and inclusive of not only sexual orientations and gender identities, but of all competition levels as well?

Apparently the NFL, NBA, MLS, NHL, MLB and NCAA have an effective principle based model that stresses equality and acceptance...so there is an answer to our problems! Well not entirely. Yes these leagues are based on both competitive and recreational sporting environments for LGBT people throughout the USA; however, at the end of the day they are amateur. Professional and collegiate sports associations are dealing with high level athletes who are the best in the world at what they do. But what does this mean for best practices?

Well for one, LGBT amateur sports leagues are inclusive of not only gay people but of allies as well. They aren't gender specific, but rather welcoming to all expressions and identities. They help introduce communities to LGBT people and illustrate that they are normal, law-abiding citizens who actually contribute positively to local culture and initiatives. They are helping citizens of the United States understand what it means to be cognizant of fostering an accepting atmosphere.

For one, pro and college organizations and administrators have a model to examine with these leagues in terms of parity and inclusion, but moreover we all have them to thank for breaking a sometimes seemingly rock hard barrier in welcoming everyone of all colors, races, creeds and sexual orientation into the wonderful world that sports is.

LGBT News Articles: Channel of Voices

Here are seven articles I think offer interesting points of view regarding various topics relating to the intersection of sexuality and sport. Take an afternoon off and enjoy:

• Gay Sports Leagues Gain Ground as a Social Outlet (LA Times)
•  Athlete Ally PSA
• LGBT Groups Hoping for a Roving Pride House in Sochi (USA Today)
• Open Games in Moscow to Test Antigay Law (The New York Times)
•       Voice To Voice: Jessica Aquilar and Alyssa Puno Discuss Latina Heritage And Sexuality (HuffPo)
•        Major League Baseball Stands Up for LGBT Youth (PolicyMic)
•        Ayanbadejo Reshapes LGBT Advocacy in Sports (GLAAD)
•             Nike Uses #BeTrue Campaign To Make $200,000 Donation To LGBT Sports Coalition (Thing Progress)