1) Traditionally, sports have been viewed as a hyper-masculine environment that reinforces traditional gender roles and heterosexuality. However, lesbian and gay athletes now participate openly in sports. 2) Lesbian athletes generally face more acceptance than gay athletes due to cultural perceptions of masculinity. However, both groups face stigma, discrimination, and lack role models in professional sports. 3) Psychological interventions for lesbian and gay athletes include addressing prejudice, promoting community, assisting with identity development, and empowering athletes to challenge heteronormative culture. Consideration of cultural identities is also important.

1. Gay & Lesbian Athletes
BY SAMUEL MONTANO

2. Athletic Environment
 Traditionally, the athletic environment is thought of as a male dominated heterosexual
arena where men could showcase their masculinity. In other words a place where “men”
could be “men.”
 The sports community has expectations of traditional gender roles and expression of
athletes (Sartore & Cunningham, 2008).
 The athletic world/environment is an “arena” for acting out sexuality (Eng, 2008).
 Women who participate in sports are commonly referred to as “mannish” or “masculine.”
 Women who play sports are a direct challenge to what it means to be “feminine” (Roper &
Halloran, 2007)
 Participation in athletics is commonly perceived to validate a man as heterosexual (Roper
& Halloran, 2007).
 Sport has long been identified as a phenomenon organized by heterosexuality and
hegemonic masculinity, with ideas of the typical masculine athletes as being
powerful, strong, and assumed heterosexual (Sartore & Cunnignham, 2008).

3. LG’s in the Athletic Environment
 There are currently no “out” professional
athletes, however there are more “out” collegiate and
high school athletes.
 Roper & Halloran (2007) stated that lesbians have
received more acceptance as sexual minority athletes
than gay athletes.
 Difference’s between gay and lesbian athletes and the
athletic environment…
 Some research has stated that sport has influenced the formation of
lesbian identity. For example, sport “attracts” lesbians, thus sports
would offer lesbians social support, acceptance, and s sense of
community (Ravel & Rail, 2008).
 Gay athletes have been more discriminated against and stigmatized
in the sports community, due the culture being hyper-masculine.

4. LG’s in the Athletic Environment
 The “Gay Games” has served as a new framework for
LGBT athletes to compete in sport similar to the
“Olympics.”

5. Specific Issues Gay/Lesbian Athletes Face
 Lesbian and gay athletes face stigma, stereotypes, and
discrimination in the athletic community. It has been
salient through the following: (a) verbal discrimination
(b) social isolation (c) homophobic harassment (d)
discrimination in team selection, and (e) negative media
attention/portrayals (Roper & Halloran, 2007).
 The aforementioned issue that lesbian and gay athletes
face have many detrimental consequences.
 There have been documented hate crimes / suicides
regarding lesbian and gay athletes.
 Justin Fashinu – English soccer player who committed suicide.
 Locker room culture
 Extremely anxiety provoking for many lesbian and gay athletes.

6. Attitudes
 In the general population:
 Men more than women typically tend to hold more negative attitudes
towards LGBT individuals (Hinrichs & Rosenberg, 2002;
Herek, 1988).
 Catholics and individuals with no religious affiliation tend to have
more positive views towards LGB’s than there counterparts (Willis &
Crawford, 2000).
 Individuals with higher education levels tend to have more favorable
attitudes towards sexual minority people than individuals who have
less education (Ensign et al. 2011).
 Research also highlights that people who tend to have more contact
with LGBT individuals tend to have more favorable views than
people who have little or no contact (Ensign et al. 2011; Hinrichs &
Rosenberg, 2002; Herek, 2002).

7. Attitudes Cont.
 In the sports community: (Little research on attitudes towards LGBT athletes)
 Study 1:
 Ensign et al. examined 964 athletic trainers (AT’s) in the NCAA and
their attitudes towards LGB student athletes.
 Results:
 Positive or somewhat positive attitudes were held by 86.4% of AT’s in
this study.
 Men still tended to hold less favorable views than their female
counterparts.
 Catholics and non religious affiliated AT’s held more favorable results
towards LGB student athletes than did Protestant and Mormon AT’s.
 AT’s who had more contact with sexual minorities had more positive
attitudes towards LGB student athletes than trainers that reported
having little or no contact with sexual minorities (Ensign et al. 2011).

8. Attitudes Cont.
 Study 2: Campbell et al. (2011) Sports Fans’ Impressions of Gay Male Athletes
 This study examined female (n = 167) and male (n = 109) college students
attitudes/impressions towards gay athletes.
 Study background/design: Researchers used a 2(orientation) x 2(distracting
athlete) factorial design.
 Orientation = Gay or Heterosexual
 Distracting Athlete = Yes or No
 Results:
 Females held more favorable impressions/attitudes than males towards
gay athletes.
 Males did not show a significant difference between how they rated the
heterosexual and gay athlete or whether the athlete was distracting or not.
What does this mean? It means that the men in this study were unaffected
by sexual orientation of the athlete or whether the athlete was distracting
or not.
 This may show that the sports community or the way lesbian/gay athletes
are being viewed in society is slowly changing…

9. Politics
 NCAA Constitution 2.6 (the Principle of
Nondiscrimination) founded in 1993.
 Amended in 2000 to include reference to sexual
orientation.
 The “bylaw states that the Association shall promote an atmosphere
of respect for and sensitivity to the dignity of every person and shall
refrain from discriminating in its activities, including on the basis of
age, color, disability, sex, national origin, race, religion, creed or
sexual orientation (National Collegiate Athletic Association, 2009).”
 The NCAA also became an endorsing organization of “It
Takes a Team! Education Campaign.”
 This outreach campaign is aimed at eliminating homophobia as a
barrier to males/females in sport, so that the sports community can
be made/considered safe and open to all (Griffin et al, 2002)

10. Politics Cont.
 Title IX (for schools and colleges that receive federal financial
assistance)
 “Title IX of the Education Amendment Acts of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in
education programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance, this includes
athletic programs. Although Title IX does not prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation, sexual harassment directed at an LGBT student is prohibited by Title IX if it is
sufficiently severe and pervasive that it results in denial or limitation of the victims ability to
participate in or benefit from the program. Title IX also prohibits gender-based
harassment, including harassment on the basis of a students failure to conform to
stereotyped notions of masculinity and femininity (Griffin, Perrotti, Priest, & Muska, 2002).
 Example: This would include such things as discrimination against a female wrestler
because she is perceived to be too masculine or discrimination of a male figure skater
because he is perceived to be too feminine.
 Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment
 “All athletes and staff have a federal constitutional right to equal protection
under the law. This means that schools have a duty to protect
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes and staff from
harassment/discrimination on an equal basis with all other athletes and staff
(Griffin, Perrotti, Priest, & Muska, 2002).”

11. Professional Athletes
 Currently there are no professional athletes “out” in America only “out” retired athletes.
 Professional Athletes can have many positive and negative effects on LG athletes and youth, as well as
heterosexual athletes and youth.
 Unfortunately, anti-gay slurs by professional athletes and coaches have been ever so prevalent…
 Kobe Bryant (Basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers). Incident happen April, 2011 during a game in front of
thousands of fans. Kobe Bryant called the referee a F***** F***ot (Medina, 2011).
 Joakim Noah (Basketball player for the Chicago Bulls). This anti-gay slur occurred May 2011 where Mr. Noah called
a bantering fan a F***ing F***ot after being call for his second foul by the referee ("Another professional athlete,"
2011).
 De’sean Jackson (Football player for the Philadelphia Eagles). Mr. Jackson was on a radio show and received a call
from a fan who decided to insult him, Mr. Jackson responded by calling him a gay a** F***ot (Mandell, 2011). This
event occurred July, 2011.
 Tim Hardaway (Former basketball player for the Miami Heat). Mr. Hardaway blatantly said “ I hate gay people, so I
let it be known. "I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It
shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.” Additionally he said And second of all, if he was on my team, I
would, you know, really distance myself from him because, uh, I don't think that's right. And you know I don't think
he should be in the locker room while we're in the locker room. I wouldn't even be a part of that("Retired nba star,"
2007)." This event happened in 2007.
 Roger McDowell (Coach of the Atlanta Braves Baseball team). Mr. McDowell asked a group of male fans, "Are you a
homo couple or a threesome?" and "Are you three giving it to each other in the a**.” Mr. McDowell also supposedly
used the bat he was carrying to simulate gay sex. A father with children present confronted Mr. McDowell from the
stands about his behavior, he responded by saying: "Kids don't [blanking] belong at the baseball park" ... and then
approached him with a baseball bat, saying, "How much are your teeth worth (Brown, 2011)?” This event happened
April, 2011.

12. Professional Athletes Cont.
 It is well known that athletes have been role models for
children and especially youth athletes.
 This is why it is so unfortunate that there are no current out
athletes. However, some retired professional and collegiate
athletes have been activist for LGBT athletes and youth.
 Ex. Martina Navratilova, Austin Hendrix, & Hudson Taylor
 It is crucial for LGBT pro athletes to come out and be the
catalyst for change in the athletic world and serve as role
models for youth LGBT athletes. This will also be the first
major step in combating the heterosexist and homophobic
athletic community.

13. Activism in the Sports World
 Project Fearless / Fearless campus Tour
 Fearlesscampustour.com
 “It Takes A Team!”
 “It Gets Better”
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzxYUbMTkn4 (1:07)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce-PB9mWEYQ (1:14)
 The “Gay Games”
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3JHARCnUOA (Intro to 2010 Gay
Games 2:06)
 Gay and Lesbian Athletics Foundation (GLAF)
 Glaf.org
 Pat Griffin Blog (Pat Griffin is a pioneer in the realm of LGBT athletes)
 ittakesateam.blogspot.com

14. Project Fearless / Fearless Campus Tour
 Jeff Shang:  Project Fearless:
 Creator of Project Fearless  Displays pictures of “out”
and the Fearless Campus high school and college
Tour. athletes.
 Photographer for Project  Is an activist project
Fearless aimed at showcasing the
 LGBT Activist adverse effects of
 Former Athlete
homophobia in sports.
 Harvard Graduate  Fearless Campus Tour:
 Displays Jeff Shang’s
photographs at different
university and college
campuses to heighten
awareness.

15. Project Fearless Photos
*All photos taken from
www.fearlesscampustour.com

16. Psychological Interventions
 Dealing with the prejudice and stigma in the athletic community:
 As clinicians: We can explore with our clients the sometimes superficial
acceptance and discrimination towards Lesbian and gay athletes in the sports
community and help our clients acknowledge this phenomenon and possibly
reject it, by engaging in dialogues with peers who engage in such behaviors
(Gough, 2007).
 Isolation in the sports community:
 As clinicians: Give resources to our clients to seek dedicated support groups and
websites for lesbian and gay athletes. This would help foster self-esteem and a
sense of belonging. It may also be beneficial for our clients to get in to contact (if
applicable) with other lesbian/gay athletes in the community to help our clients
become more aware of heterosexism and homophobia, as well as a possible
prompt for our client to have a collective and a possible means to create a
political campaign (Gough, 2007).

17. Psychological Interventions
 Coming out to the team:
 Coming out to the team may create intense feelings of anxiety and fear for lesbian and gay athletes.
 As clinicians: We can assist our clients by giving them psychoeducation surrounding the coming
out process as it relates to the team/sports environment.
 It has been recognized in the literature that even though coming out to the team may initially create
intense feelings of fear and anxiety, in many cases once the individual comes out he/she reports that it
was a positive/liberating experience (Gough, 2007; Ravel & Rail, 2008 ).
 Identity:
 It is important to be cognizant that our clients may dealing with identity issues; not just in the
sports community, but possibly the familial and social communities simultaneously.
 As clinicians: We need to take an affirmative stance when working with these clients and offer
deconstructive readings of sport and sexuality. Additionally, we can help our clients shift away
from the homophobic lens and dichotomous conceptualization of sexuality, and attempt to
highlight how positive embraces of identity and saliency not only empower but compel social
transformation (King, 2009).
 Using Queer Theory :
 As clinicians we can use the core tenets of queer theory to help our clients deconstruct and
challenge the heteronormative ideals and a way to combat homophobia and heterosexism in the
sports community (Eng, 2008).

18. Other Considerations for Psychological Interventions
 Clinicians also need to be aware of our clients cultural, racial, and ethnic
backgrounds. It is important not to dismiss double or even triple minorities. For
example, when working with lesbian and gay athletes who come from another
minority group (e.g. African American, Hispanic, and women) it is crucial for
therapists to be cognizant that their client may be in the process of forming multiple
identities (Ritter & Turndrup, 2002).
 Resolving Cultural Conflict:
 As clinicians: Identify where our clients are within the framework of
cultural conflict (Ritter & Turndrup, 2002)…tailor the stages so it
applies to lesbian and gay athletes.
 Stage 1: Denial of Conflicts
 Stage 2: Bisexual vs Gay or Lesbian
 Stage 3: Conflicts in Allegiances
 Stage 4: Establishing Priorities in Allegiances
 Stage 5: Integrating the Various Communities
***For further detail on the stages of cultural conflict see Ritter & Turndrup pages 197-198***

19. Additional Resources for Therapists’
 Books
 Strong Women, Deep Closets (Pat Griffin)
 In the Game: Gay Athletes and the Cult of Masculinity (Eric Anderson)
 Sport, Sexualities and Queer Theory
 + many more books available
 Websites
 Pat Griffin’s blog
 ittakesateam.blogspot.com
 Hudson Taylors
 athleteally.com
 Itgetsbetter.org
 Changing the Game: The Glsen Sports Project
 Sports.glsen.org
 Foundations
 Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation (GLAF)
 The Gene & John Athletic Fund of Stonewall

20. Video Clips
 http://youtu.be/k7mJAgL2trA
 http://youtu.be/_QrGhAXQcFM
 http://youtu.be/X2mqtd0qx5w
 http://youtu.be/-g4HCBlho2E
 http://youtu.be/nHyK4eQpCEM

21. Questions for the Class..?
 What research is needed to further asses the current situation
as it relates to LG athletes?
 What can we as mental health practitioners do to help
eliminate the taboo of being labeled LG, which causes many
athletes to remain closeted?
 With the hostile athletic community in mind and since
“coming out” to the team is extremely anxiety provoking, how
can gay and lesbian athletes begin to think about “coming
out?” What and how would you as a clinician go about
working with this client?
 What are some of your reactions to the video clips?

22. References:
 Another professional athlete hurls anti-gay slur. (2011, May 23). Retrieved from
http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/another-professional-athlete-hurls-anti-gay-slur1
 Brown, D. (2011, April 27). Braves coach mcdowell apologizes after threat, gay slur accusation. Retrieved from
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Braves-coach-McDowell-apologizes-after-
threat-g?urn=mlb-wp4652
 Campbell, J., Cothren, D., Rogers, R., Kistler, L., Osowski, A., Greenauer, N., & End, C. (2011). Sport fans'
impressions of gay male athletes.Journal of Homosexuality, 58(5), 597-607.
 Eng, H. (2008). Doing sexuality in sport. Journal of Homosexuality, 54(1-2), 103-123. doi:
10.1080/00918360801951996
 Ensign, K. A., Yiamouyiannis, A., White, K. M., & Ridpath, D. (2011). Athletic trainers' attitudes toward
lesbian, gay, and bisexual national collegiate athletic association student-athletes. Journal of Athletic
Training, 46(1), 69-75.
 Gough, B. (2007). Coming out in the heterosexist world of sports: a qualitative analysis of web postings by gay
athletes. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, 11(1-2), 153-174. doi: 10.1300/j236v11n01_11

23. References Cont.
 Herek, G.M. (1988). Heterosexuals’ attitudes towards lesbian and gay men: correlates and gender differences.
Journal of Sex Research, 25(4), 451-477.
 Herek, G.M. (2002) Heterosexuals’ attitudes towards bisexual men and women in the United States. Journal of
Sex Research 39(4), 264-274.
 Hinrichs, D. W., & Rosenberg, P. J. (2002). Attitudes towards gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons among
heterosexual liberal arts college students . Journal of Homosexuality, 43(1), 61-84.
 King, S. (2009). Virtually normal: mark bingham, the war on terror, and the sexual politics of sport. Journal of
Sport & Social Issues, 33(1), 5-24. doi: 10.1177/0193723508328631
 Mandell, N. (2011, July 08). Desean jackson makes gay slur during radio show appearance: report. New York
Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/desean-jackson-gay-slur-
radio-show-appearance-report-article-1.158079
 Medina, M. (2011, April 14). Kobe bryant's anti-gay slur is indefensible; afterward is a nonapology, then
reconciliation. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from
http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2011/04/kobe-bryants-anti-gay-slur-is-indefensible-and-he-
handles-the-aftermath-with-mixed-results.html?cid=6a00d8341c506253ef014e87cbe576970d

24. References Cont.
 Ravel, B., & Rail, G. (2008). From straight to gaie? quebec sportswomen's discursive constructions of sexuality
and destabilization of the linear coming out process. Journal of Sport & Social Issues, 32(1), 4-23. doi:
10.1177/0193723507312022
 Retired nba star hardaway says he hates "gay people". (2007, February 16). Retrieved from
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2766213
 Ritter, K. & Terndrup, A. (2002) Chapter 10: Sexual Minorities within Other Minority Populations. Handbook of
Affirmative Psychotherapy with Lesbians and Gay men. (pp. 11-24). New York, NY: Guilford Press
 Roper, E. A., & Halloran, E. (2007). Attitudes towards gay men and lesbians among heterosexual male and
female student-athletes. Sex Roles, 57, 919-928. doi: 10.1007/s1119-007-9323-0
 Sartore, M. L., & Cunningham, G. B. (2009). Gender, sexual prejudice and sport participation: implications for
sexual minorities. Sex Roles, 60, 100-113. doi: 10.1007/s1119-008-9502-7
 Willis, G., & Crawford R. (2000). Attitudes towards homosexuality in Shreveport Bossier City, Louisiana.
Journal of Homosexuality 38(3), 97-116.

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