Why There Few Openly Gay Athlet In Men's Profsnal Sports : NPR

Contents:

• RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST
• MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY
• WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS
• NFL PROUDLY CLAR 'FOOTBALL IS GAY' NEW VIO
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT
• CARL NASSIB BE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• NFL ACH OUT AS GAY HISTORIC MOMENT AMERIN SPORTS
• BY G OUT, CARL NASSIB LIKELY IMPROVED NFL FANS’ ATTUS TOWARD GAY MEN. HERE’S HOW WE KNOW.
• IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY

RAIRS’ CARL NASSIB ANNOUNC HE’S GAY, AN N.F.L. FIRST

I actually hope that like one day vios like this and the whole g-out procs are jt not necsary, but until then I’m gog to do my bt and my part to cultivate a culture that’s acceptg, that’s passnate, ” before addg that he would donate $100, 000 to The Trevor Project, a nonprof group that foc on suici preventn efforts among lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer and qutng youth. ”Michael Sam, an all-Amerin fensive leman at Missouri, had been viewed as the most likely to acquire that distctn when he announced he is gay before he beg chosen by the Rams the seventh round of the 2014 N.

The Dallas Cowboys signed Sam to their practice squad, but he never played a regular season Otero/Associated PrsSam’s draft stat was seen as a barometer of whether the climate of men’s pro sports was beg more acceptg of gay athlet, particularly bee Febary 2014 the N. He played for ne seasons wh the San Francis 49ers and four other teams the 1960s and 1970s, and has sce bee an activist and an ambassador for the Gay Gam, a quadrennial sportg Simmons was the send former player to announce that he was gay, dog so 1992 after his reer wh the Giants and Washgton Football Team had end. ”In recent years, the league has publicly supported Pri Month through promotnal efforts like changg official social media avatars to clu rabows and supportg the You Can Play Project, which provis rourc to enurage clivy youth sports, even as some players have ma rogatory statements about gay people wh ltle penalty or supported groups that oppose gay Wewerka for The New York TimIn 2013, Chris Culliver of the San Francis 49ers and Chris Clemons of the Seattle Seahawks ma offensive ments when asked about the prospect of havg a gay teammate.

There are key differenc the cultur of men's and women's athletics While few active players the major men's sports leagu have e out, many female profsnal athlet have said publicly that they're gay, om U. Summarize this article for a 10 years oldSHOW ALL QUESTIONSThere has been only one player who has publicly e out as gay or bisexual while beg an active player the Natnal Football League (NFL): Carl Nassib, who revealed himself as gay on June 21, 2021.

MEET THE 16 OUT GAY AND BI FOOTBALL PLAYERS THE NFL’S 103-YEAR HISTORY

Homosexualy Amerin sports is an issue that go back s, though a recent strg of ments om the San Francis 49ers rnerback Chris Culliver igned a firtorm of ntroversy regardg the stat and acceptance of gay athlet profsnal Amerin sports.

Though his ments were rejected by his team's management and he received strong cricism om many dividuals the media and the sports muny at large, Culliver's story is nohels a fascatg and potent lson for the issue of gay athlet the Uned Stat. By the time the ntroversy died down the post-Superbowl phoria, Culliver avoid any repercsns for his statements bis a mor admonishment for homophobia on behalf of his managers, and plete disregard by his teammat, who attributed the ments to his young age and the reee atmosphere leadg up to the Superbowl.

WHY THERE ARE FEW OPENLY GAY ATHLET IN MEN'S PROFSNAL SPORTS

This statement, issued two days after the media blunr durg Artie Lange's rad show, was qutned both s honty and efficy, beggg the qutn of whether Culliver or the 49ers themselv had any particular ncerns about the homophobia exprsed by their teammate. This acknowledgment that homosexualy is still nsired a shameful act and a personal qualy that mt be hidn to ga acceptance om one's teammat and supporters is central to the bate about the value system Amerin football has, and whether the sports muny was takg the proper approach to discrimatn the profsnal realm.

NFL PROUDLY CLAR 'FOOTBALL IS GAY' NEW VIO

Dpe some promise about open acceptance of gay athlet by their teammat, who more often than not are only really ncerned wh the profsnal performance of an dividual, the sports tablishment self remas a difficult place to fd openg self to the gay muny. Moreover, as Culliver's narrative shows, the sual nature by which homophobic remarks n be ma and then dismissed as the eager ramblgs of a young player on the way to his first Superbowl is both troublg and at the same time hopeful, as the 2011 study by Cashmore, Ellis, and Cleland shows that.

The media event aimed at salvagg Culliver om the ccifixatn of gay rights activists, yet ntradictns exist between what observers such as Rosenthal believe the young football player felt terms of a “public shamg” as the NFL prs put , pared to the seemgly empty apology and lack of any real ncern on behalf of profsnal sports anizatns or mentators. “narrativ that gay mal rema unwele men's team sports”, although the were “all were challenged nsistently, showg the fluidy of hegemonic masculy and the creasg societal acceptance of gays and gay liftyl” (Kian). This tensn between the relatively more accepted stat of homosexualy the public realm and agreed-upon societal norms dit that, even wh prt media takg a strong stance agast homophobia s publitns, nohels reflects a broad unrlyg nsistency when parg two distct value systems.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN COM OUT AS GAY HISTORIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Instead of embracg and takg a proactive stance on the matter of gay rights, the NFL particular has lagged drastilly ensurg openly gay athlet n fd a welg environment to practice their sport, and should expect playful hazg. Ex-Ravens lebacker Brandon Ayanbajo, one of the strongt proponents of gay rights wh the NFL, and NFL Players Associatn print Domonique Foxworth were quoted an article om March of 2013, nearly two months after the Culliver ntroversy, statg that. and that, even nsirg Colls' strong posive reactn his muny, the qutn remas whether Amerin football is fully prepared to take the leap and embrace openly gay players whout sufferg substantial cricism and flak om not only s fan base, but also those dividuals that participate the nng of the anizatn.

CARL NASSIB BE FIRST ACTIVE NFL PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

However, spe Culliver's relative famy wh regards to homosexualy the NFL, almost all sourc discsg the matter of Coll's g out lacked any reference to Culliver's statements; stead, an even newer sndal volvg homophobic ments by the Miama Dolphs Mike Wallace ught most of the flak when he qutned why a man would want to be wh another man wh “all the betiful women about” (Legan).

The story of Chris Culliver and his homophobic ments is not one that will reverberate particularly loudly the media beyond a few weeks of mentary about bigoted NFL players, but nohels holds important lsons when parg the petg value systems held profsnal sports anizatns and the public. Instead of allowg gay athlet to play openly, the NFL has an sutnal ristance to such a monumental change, wh some llg a “semal moment” history when the evable occurs and actively playg NFL players e out (Ross 49).

Moreover, as the lack of openly gay athlet ntu to plague the NFL, is more likely that the gay athlet currently petg will be forced to nform to the societal norms that ern the NFL and not the broar culture.

NFL ACH OUT AS GAY HISTORIC MOMENT AMERIN SPORTS

Ined, though the arrival of openly gay athlet the NFL is evable, the story of Culliver offers an sight to how appropriate levels of behavr n be achieved and, addn, the reasons behd why gay athlet rema heavily stigmatized the anizatn. Culliver's narrative is eful the reactn that garnered om the surroundg muny—if the issue of gay rights the NFL mattered ltle to the media and players, there would hardly been such an outcry over blatant homophobia. When he ma those remarks, Culliver brought the silent issue of homophobia back to foreont of the moral bate about valu that only a few other dividuals, such as Brandon Ayanbajo, had been nstantly fightg for.

BY G OUT, CARL NASSIB LIKELY IMPROVED NFL FANS’ ATTUS TOWARD GAY MEN. HERE’S HOW WE KNOW.

Th, Culliver helped to provi a se study for a simple exprsn of homophobia— was the reactn to his ments by the NFL and the sports muny that helped to ga sight to how well received openly gay athlet would be their chosen profsn. Homosexualy Amerin football is a substantive issue that, asi om a handful of media blunrs by Chris Culliver and Mike Wallace, and the strong efforts of Brandon Ayanbajo, is largely ignored or simply not discsed.

On the rare ocsns when homosexualy aris the public eye, is received wh a mixture of posive support by gay rights activists and a handful of offensive or c remarks by others that receive a substantial level of objectn. The g out of NBA player Josh Colls bos well for the gay muny, as his strong level of support om many profsnal sports anizatns was a wele boon towards movg to a better environment for Ameri's gay athlet.

Though Culliver's ments will likely not stand the tt of time and be substantial enough to remember years to e, the effect they had and the sight they allowed to the stat of gay athlet the NFL is valuable.

IN A LLEGE FOOTBALL FIRST, HBCU PLAYER OUT AS GAY

Th, Chris Culliver's brief stt wh homophobia provis the pacy to tablish the levels upon which affirmaton of gay athlet n be termed, and exemplifi the petg value systems and tensn between accepted societal norms and those found profsnal Amerin sports anizatns like the Natnal Football League. ' I know now that you don't turn gay, " he 6ft 5 footballer said any uncertaty he had about his own sexualy was put on hold when he was drafted by the Cowboys add: "The NFL lls and I get that ll om the Cowboys, and I thought: 'Well, if I was turng gay, I need to stop now. Michael Sam, who me out as gay while llege 2014 before he was drafted by the St Louis Rams, was close to beg the Sam only featured pre-season or practice squad gam for both the Rams and Dallas Cowboys.

Jacksonville Jaguars' Kev Maxen has ma the public statement "to be vol support of people livg how they want to live, but I also want to jt live and not feel fear about how people will react"; Maxen is the first male ach a major Amerin sports league to e out as gay. Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St Louis Rams selected him 2021, Carl Nassib, then wh the Las Vegas Rairs, beme the first active NFL player to e out publicly. Nassib ma the announcement an Instagram vio and pledged $100, 000 to support LGBTQ Nassib, who plays fensive end for the Amerin football team the Las Vegas Rairs announced that he is gay, beg the first active member of the Natnal Football League (NFL) to publicly acknowledge his homosexualy.

Kev Maxen, a strength ach for the NFL anchise the Jacksonville Jaguars, has publicly e out as gay a landmark moment Amerin men's profsnal sportsJacksonville Jaguars strength ach Kev Maxen (R) has publicly e out as gayJacksonville Jaguars ach Kev Maxen has ma history by beg the first active NFL ach to publicly e out as gay. [33] At the Washgton Redsks trag mp 1969, Ray McDonald was a gay player, wh sub-par skills, [34] who was tryg to mata his spot on the roster, [35] but this time wh Lombardi as the Redsks' new head ach. Prr to Super Bowl XLVII 2013, San Francis 49ers player Chris Culliver on media day durg an terview wh The Artie Lange Show, was asked if he thought any gay players were on his team which he replied, "No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do...

[39] Then-Baltimore Ravens player Brendon Ayanbajo, an advote for same-sex marriage, timated that 50 percent of the league agreed wh Culliver, 25 percent disagreed, and 25 percent were acceptg of everyone even if they were not plete support of issu such as gay marriage. [63][64] Prr to Carl Nassib's g out, many experts believed that the first openly gay active NFL player would not be a current athlete, but stead an already out high school or llege player who ends up the NFL.

In his study of homosexualy among sportsmen the US, soclogist Dr Eric Anrson found that 19 a sample of 47 had taken part acts tend to sexually aroe other men, rangg om kissg to mutual masturbatn and oral sex.

Dr Anrson, now of the Universy of Bath, UK, said the study showed that society’s creasg open-mdns about homosexualy and creasg stigma ncerng sexual activy wh other men had allowed sportsmen to speak more openly about the sexual activi.

“The evince supports my assertn that homophobia is on the rapid cle among male teamsport athlet North Ameri at all levels of play, ” he wr his study, entled ‘Beg mascule is not about whom you sleep wh…Heterosexual athlet nttg masculy and the one-time le of homosexualy’. He believ the posive portrayal of homosexualy on televisn, the ease wh which homosexuals uld gradually ‘e out’ by g the ter, the abily for straight men to talk wh gay men on the ter, and the cle of relig fundamentalism has ma homosexualy and homosexual acts nsirably ls ntroversial for universy-aged men.

The subsequent headle implied somethg more posive: that an otherwise stereotypil NFL player n also be openly gay, that beg gay is not patible wh beg a succsful profsnal athlete the hypermascule sport of Amerin football. Rearch suggts that when Amerin heterosexual men try to rencile their beliefs that gay men are weak and effemate wh beliefs about football players as pnacl of masculy and strength, men n qutn their own masculy — which has a boomerang effect, leadg them to be more hostile toward and opposed to LGBTQ rights.

In their 2017 book “The Conundm of Masculy, ” polil scientist Chris Haywood and -thors found that several aspects of ntemporary Amerin masculy rerce one another, cludg homosocialy (or socializg wh other men) and antigay attus. ’ Y, this is who I am, this is who I’ve been, and this is who I’m gog to be, ” Perks wrote the story, acrdg to (Instagram stori are only available for 24 hours, so Perks’ origal story is no longer viewable) several Divisn I football players have e out as gay durg their llege reers — cludg the College of Idaho’s Cy Hicks, Amherst College’s Avery Saffold and Kansas State’s Stt Frantz — Perks is the first to do so at one of the untry’s 101 HBCUs, acrdg to both Outsports and Perks.

Uned and Mnota Uned FC Major League Soccer, and for Richmond Kickers and Hartford Athletic the Uned Football me out as gay June 2018, makg him the only out man any of the big five Amerin sports leagu or any top-divisn profsnal men's natnal soccer, 26, shared the news on Twter, notg he had been openly gay to his iends and fay for years, but never on such a large platform.

'Mart's announcement ma him one of only two openly gay players Major League Soccer - the other beg Robbie Rogers, who retired shortly after his announcement but me back to play Tto was the first player to e out as a gay man, makg the announcement shortly after his retirement said his cisn to e out on an ternatnal stage was ma 'much easier' by the 'kdns and acceptance' om his fellow players.

Daily Mail has scribed Anton as the "first high-profile Swedish footballer to announce that he is gay" and as the send active profsnal football player to e out, after English footballer Jt Fashanu 1990.

All sorts of well-tend but ultimately unhelpful terventns om heterosexual players – who eher oped that gay players would benef om g out or utned agast – did not exactly fill him wh nfince that this was ed the right former ternatnal, who played the 2006 World Cup and the 2008 European Champnship, matas that he did not have to lie about his sexualy and that teammat eventually stopped askg about his lack of a girliend.

After partg Grimsby Town, Liam went onto play for Selby Town, Brigg Town, Gasborough Try, and most recently Cleethorp Town, who he reprented the 2017 FA Vase Fal at January 2014 Davis bee the UKs hight profile openly gay December 2017, Davis publicly cricized ments ma by FA chairman Greg Clarke that "profsnal players who out themselv as homosexual would be takg a risk. "Davis urged other homosexual soccer players to e out publicly and not fear a 32-year-old has spoken out enuragg male gay footballers not to worry about g out, sharg his own experienc as part of Uefa’s Equal Game mpaign, to foster greater cln and diversy the midfielr admted receivg abe om opponents, but sists football’s attus to homosexualy are creasgly UrbanMarc Urban, born 4 Augt 1971, is a former German football player.