Homophobia and Negative Recruiting

When I first read the Title IX blog about homophobia and negative recruiting I could not help but think back to the Birrell and Theberge article that we read for class. I do not know a lot about the inner workings of college recruiting but, if I had to guess, I would say that negative recruiting, in one form or another, is pretty common. I fell as if an emphasis on winning and winning now is more prevalent than ever before. Because of this newly emphasized view towards winning now, the importance of recruiting has subsequently skyrocketed. When a coach will do almost anything to win, negative recruiting involving homophobic views may rear its ugly head.

The Birrell and Theberge article talked about how some men viewed homosexuality in women's sports as a method to keep women in sports to a minimum. The article also goes onto talk about the view of lesbian women versus real women (heterosexual women) as if they were somehow different in all aspects. These negative views towards homosexual women in sport, that have been portrayed by the media, reinforce the effectiveness of homophobic negative recruiting and also oppresses homosexual women even further than they already are. Because of the representation of homosexual women as different or as worse than regular women, the use of homophobia in recruiting has become an all too familiar tool used by women's college coaches throughout the country. It has also caused homosexual women to become fearful of admitting their sexual preferences. Just like the race problem that plagued American sports for decades, headway must be made in terms of making it socially acceptable to be homosexual. It is wrong for athletes to live and play in fear just because of their sexual preferences. A good first step in making homosexuality acceptable in society and in sport would be to stop the use of homophobia in negative recruiting.