Homophobia for male and female athletes

With the concept sport, as we talked in class, is portrayed as a considerably male privilege through both structure and ideology. However in this talk of males being privileged, it is the underlying assumption that these privileges are only allowed for the heterosexual male. Homophobia is a topic that runs throughout sport and in some cases an athlete can be exiled from a team due to their sexual preference. In my personal opinion, having athletes speak up and say that they do support gay athletes coming out is a good thing for both sides. It shows that these athletes, who are professionals, do not have a problem sharing the field with someone of a different sexual orientation. It also opens up the door to the individual coming out and in a way welcomes this very large moment in their life. However one thing that struck me as being shown in the article is that the athletes that have spoken out about this are not top prime all stars. The most notable names are Reggie Bush and Steve Nash, two famed athletes. But what if someone like LeBron James or Tom Brady was to come out and say that coming out for homosexuals is a good thing? Would the stigma around this topic be much different? I think that it would have more positive effects for the athletes wanting to come out but some reasons why they may not is the backlash and reputation they might receive due to these comments. Another interesting part of this debate is the way in which heterosexual women lack in their speaking out of gay discrimination. As Birrell and Theberge state in Ideological Control of Women in Sport, women are represented in the media discourse as having homophobia on the topic of sexuality. I believe that this statement clearly shows how these female athletes would not want to be for speaking up for athletes coming out. This would possibly have a quite detrimental effect on their personal careers. It could first off make the media further their trivialization of women and attempt to frame these athletes as possibly being a lesbian. As Sue Wicks explains, a WNBA star and former St. Francis College assistant , she understands that at the coaching job fair her background as an accomplished pro is an asset, but her status as an out lesbian is an overwhelming liability.” ESPN Article Another example of a woman not being afraid and coming out no matter the consequences is Sherri Murrell, a head coach of Portland State University women’s basketball. It explains how when Sherri came out no negativity was received, only positive results. By Sherri coming out she explains how “There’s the younger generation of coaches that come up to me and say, you’re my role model. You give us hope. I hope to do that.” Sherri Murrell interview As one can see from the previous 2 examples, coming out can be both a detriment but also an enabler for others. I believe the binary between men coming out and women all comes back to two main ideas: sports as an inherently male preserve and the fear of homophobia in female sports. Once we can break down these ideological fears and allow people from all diverse backgrounds to share in sports, I believe it will end up being better for both sexes.