Revelations of gayness in sports just don’t have the punch they used to.
Phoenix Suns Executive Rick Welts came out as a homosexual in a recent New York Times piece, in which he encouraged young people to “pursue their passions” in spite of “issues” they might be struggling with. There have been no angry tweets from bible thumpers in response, no public judgments by players or other organization figures, and no negativity whatsoever, really. What a shame. And I thought we were just getting warmed up for a culture war after Sean Avery’s participation in the New Yorkers for Marriage Equality Campaign. In fact, Welts’ blackberry “exploded with e-mails from all over the place,” all in support of his cause, with nary a negative Nancy in sight, or on the web for that matter.
Thankfully, Charles Barkley stepped in to fill the void. No, not the bigotry void (disappointing, I know), but instead the void of progressive thinking from unexpected places.
In my piece on Sean Avery, I wrote about asking my college football tutees (that means I tutor them) what their reaction would be to a gay teammate coming out. As pressures of conformity took hold before my eyes, most fell in line and expressed doubt. Maybe they should ask Sir Charles what he would do if a gay teammate came out:
First of all, every player has played with gay guys. It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say, ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.
It seems that many players in team sports (especially those at the college level, when the athletes are young and perhaps without fully formed sexual identities) have the perception that because they aren’t aware of any gay teammates, they must not exist. And whether or not they do on some teams, all teams, or no teams, players seem to convince themselves that they don’t.
Kobe Bryant called a referee a “faggot” in response to a disputed foul call just weeks ago, former NBA star Tim Hardaway recently claimed that he “hates gay people,” (which should do a lot for the fight against discrimination in the African-American community), and even Lebron James said that he couldn’t play with a teammate in the closet, because of “trust” issues (maybe King James’ teammates should come OUT of the closet in the future). Even though they all backed down from the above comments (Kobe even called it a “teaching moment,” sensing brand loyalty in the highly progressive LA market slipping just a tad), there is still a reluctance in pro sports to show any sympathy towards something deemed effeminate. Which is why Barkley’s comments are so surprising, coming from such a prominent alpha male sports legend, albeit a goofball, but an alpha male nonetheless:
Any professional athlete who gets on TV or radio and says he never played with a gay guy is a stone-freakin’ idiot. I would even say the same thing in college. Every college player, every pro player in any sport has probably played with a gay person. We gossiped behind each other’s back before; I’ll be the first to admit that. But the first people who whine and complain is them bible-thumpers, who are supposed to be non-judgmental, who rail against them.
Guys like Hardaway represent this “bible thumper” contingent, and despite the degree to which such views are venturing far outside the mainstream, they are still relatively common in sports. But whenever the old guard (in this case, free speech enthusiast Charles Barkley–a former Republican gubernatorial hopeful at that) begins to embrace openness, its worth a look.
The fault lines of social discourse have been a rumblin’ this May.
