New Study: USA Ranks Worse in Homophobia in Sports

The Christofascists and their minions in the Republican Party like to blather about American exceptionalism.  A new study of English speaking countries confirms that yes, America is exceptional when it comes to homophobia in sports.  Of the nations in the study, America ranked dead last.  Apparently mistreating and abusing others is one of the things that makes America exceptional in the deranged and fear stricken minds of the godly folk and their political whores.  Time looks at the study findings.  Here are excerpts: 

Throughout most of high school, Michael Martin—a senior at Musselman High School in Inwood, W. Va.—kept his sexuality hidden from his soccer teammates. “I was afraid I would get harassed, tormented, made fun of a lot,” said Martin, who knew he was gay since middle school. “I wasn’t afraid of physical abuse necessarily. But I thought guys would do stuff like throw the ball at me. On purpose.” Martin says he heard the word faggot all too many times.

According to new research released on Saturday, Martin is far from alone. The study, entitled “Out On The Fields” and billed as “the first international study on homophobia in sport,” is a survey of nearly 9,500 people, mostly from six countries (the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand). The researchers found that 80% of all participants and 82% of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) participants “said they have witnessed or experienced homophobia in sport.” Of those reporting personal experience with homophobia, 84% of gay men and 82% of lesbians said they had received verbal slurs like faggot and dyke. Also, 81% of gay men and 74% of lesbians who were under 22 at the time of the study reported being completely or partially in the closet to teammates while playing youth sports. Nearly half of gay men and 32% of lesbians hid their sexuality while playing youth sports because they feared rejection by teammates.

The study found the U.S. had the highest percentage of gay men reporting that they had received verbal threats in a sports environment, and the highest percentage of gay men who heard slurs. In fact, of the six countries surveyed, the U.S. ranked worst in sports homophobia and discrimination, as measured by the “inclusion score” developed by the researchers. (Canada had the highest score, followed by Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Ireland and the U.S.) “It’s sad that the U.S. fared so poorly,” . . .

This is the largest study of its kind yet to be undertaken. The results illustrate the extent to which LGB sport participants across multiple nations share common experiences of harassment, bullying, and even physical violence. It reaffirms what most LGB and straight athletes in these contexts already know, that homophobic language and action remain effective techniques for normalizing heteronormative masculinity in the sports domain. If we are going to take issues of (in)equality and civil rights seriously, this study reminds us that there’s no better place to start than on the sports field.”

Olympic Silver Medal Figure Skater: I'm Gay

Having had a daughter who competed in United States Figure Skating Association ("USFSA") competitions, I am all too aware of the pettiness and back stabbings ways of the USFSA and also the homophobia that pressures gay skaters to remain in the closet.Apparently, things in Canada are better and coming out doesn't translate to career suicide. At least that is the opinion of Canadian silver medal winner Eric Radford who came out even as he and his pairs partner, Meagan Duhamel, have their sights on the 2016 Olympics.  Out Sports has details.  Here are excerpts:

  

Eric Radford can already hear it coming.  The Olympic figure skater in the prime of his career knows the stereotypes associated with men in his sport. He's heard it since he was a child when a classmate asked him why his parents forced him to figure skate.

"They don't force me," he told her. "I like it."  That precipitated years of torment by other kids his age in rural Ontario. Not only was he performing in what his peers considered the "gayest" sport of all, he also had a lisp that plagued his childhood.

Fact: No elite figure skater on the world stage has ever come out publicly at the height of his competitive career.

None.

Ever.

Only one - Rudy Galindo in 1996 - did it while still competing at all, retiring from competition after that season.

Sure, Johnny Weir put on a Hello Kitty shirt and Gucci sunglasses and bobbed his head to Christina Aguilera. But not even Weir ever said "I'm gay" publicly until after he had retired from competition (not including his ill-fated "comeback").

It's a scary path to walk for a figure skater. Unlike a sprinter, they are not timed. Unlike a football player, they don't have stats like catches and sacks. A figure skater's success depends on the subjective scores of judges. Those judges are certainly given guidelines. They walk through rigorous instruction on how to judge, and they have deep connections to the sport - An elite international judge won't give a "5" to a "9" performance. But a point here and there? It very well may have cost Weir a medal in 2010.

Plenty of people in the closed circles of figure skating know about his sexual orientation. Despite that, he and skating partner Meagan Duhamel have found incredible success. They were part of the Canadian team that won silver at the Sochi Olympic Games in February. They won bronze in pairs skating at the World Championships in both 2013 and 2014 and are the three-time defending Canadian champions. They earned gold at last week's Grand Prix event in Osaka, Japan, which will send them to the Grand Prix final in Barcelona next week. It was their second win of the year.

Radford has thought about coming out publicly before. Earlier this year, just weeks before the Sochi Winter Olympics, he contacted GLAAD for advice on coming out. The folks there told him it would be an incredible opportunity to send a powerful message of strength from the LGBT community. They were right, and Radford gave it careful consideration. He understood what would happen if he came out just before the Games - He would become a media darling, the proverbial "poster child" for LGBT rights at the Olympics in Russia, where anti-LGBT laws and sentiment were a hot-button issue.

"My concern was that I would be known as 'the gay athlete' if I came out at the Olympics, rather than Eric the medalling figure skater who happens to be gay. And I felt uncomfortable with that title."

Radford was also quite conscious of the warnings about being gay in Russia. 

Unsure of the climate in Sochi and wanting, like so many athletes before him, to be judged on his athleticism and not his sexuality, Radford chose to wait. While the skating community knew whom he was, the public would just have to wait.

Rams Sign Michael Sam To Four-Year Multi-Million Dollar Contract

The haters at the American Family Association will have to ramp up yet another unsuccessful boycott campaign in the wake of the St. Louis Rams' signing of a four year, multimillion dollar contract with openly gay Michael Sam (pictured above with his boyfriend).  The contract hopefully will put to rest for good the claims that no NFL team would ever sign an openly gay player.  The New Civil Rights Movement looks at this development. Here are some highlights:

The St. Louis Rams have signed Michael Sam to a four-year, $2.65 million dollar contract, officially making him the first openly gay player to be hired into a mainline professional sports team.

The Rams made the announcement yesterday afternoon, and in fact hired all eleven picks from their entire 2014 draft class.

Sam, who is 24, is guaranteed at least $46,000, according to Fox Sports. “Let’s do this!!” Sam tweeted after the news was announced.

In early February, Michael Sam announced that he is gay, not wanting to surprise a future employer. He has become a flash point for conservatives, one that exploded when he was drafted into the NFL last month. Sam, as many players do, kissed his significant other — in this case, a man — infuriating social conservatives who thought it was a ratings plot by ESPN.

Bigots Claim Rams' Draft of Gay Player Violated Their Religious Freedoms

The last few days have truly provided a bumper crop of examples of Christofascst lunacy as the godly folk have gone absolutely batshit crazy over gay marriage and the St. Louis Ram's drafting of Michael Sam.  What truly put the drooling, spittle flecked "godly folk" completely into crazy land was ESPN's broadcast of Michael Sam learning that he had been selected and the following kiss that he gave to his very attractive boyfriend.  Since Sam's draft, these folks have had nothing short of apoplexy and have gone berserk claiming that somehow the Rams and the NFL have trampled on their religious freedom.  How any of this amounts to an interference with their religious freedom rights isn't explained, particularly since if they find gays offense, then all they need do is to change the TV channel.  Christian Post provides an example of this unhinged batshitery:

Jack Burkman, head of the Washington, D.C. lobbying firm J.M. Burkman & Assoc. who is seeking to ban gays from the NFL, says he intends to build a national coalition to boycott any football franchise that picks openly gay football player Michael Sam in the NFL Draft, which starts Thursday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

In a release issued Thursday, Burkman said he would "leverage his political clout" to ensure that the franchise that selects the 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive end from Missouri would get "roughed up financially."

"The NFL, like most of the rest of American business, is about to learn that when you trample the Christian community and Christian values there will be a terrible financial price to pay," said Burkman.

WWJD?  Obviously, not what Burkman is advocating.  As noted in the previous post, what is really going on is that the Christofascists are beginning to slowly realize that the tables are turning and it is they, not gays, who are about to be the ones shunned by decent society. A piece in Salon entitled "Michael Sam is the New Normal" looks at this process of the tables turning on the "godly folk" who at least in Virginia are 9 times out of 10 openly racist to boot:

It would have been historic even without the kiss. But while the critics continue their predictable frothing over Michael Sam’s emotional response this weekend to his NFL draft, it doesn’t change the fact that the world is a different place now because of it.

That he’d already scored an endorsement deal with Visa indicated that being gay doesn’t have to make a man sponsorship-averse, but it also didn’t guarantee a career – or indicate what that career would look like.

That changed on Saturday in the span of a phone call – and the moments immediately afterward. It happened not just with the Rams’ indication that the NFL is ready for an openly gay player, but in Sam’s tearful, bowled over response. It happened when he joyfully smooched his boyfriend Vito Cammisano — and in the way an entire roomful of jubilant friends and family witnessed the whole thing and supportively celebrated with them.

The partners of sports figures always tend to attract attention. The WAGS (women and girlfriends) are part of the culture of the NFL, a lusted-after collection of supermodels and actresses. It’s going to be different from here on in. Having now seen a photo of Cammisano shirtless, I fully support this new expansion of the pool to include husbands and boyfriends.

But that gay, interracial display of affection was guaranteed to blow a few gaskets. 

While that kiss might not do anything to open the hearts of the crazy YouTube ranters, it is a big step toward tolerance and equality. So if you’ve somehow managed to successfully avert your eyes for too long, or think that gay people are fine as long as they’re not being gay in front of you, go ahead and look. It’s not scary or strange. This is love. This is celebration. This is normal. And as long ago Harvey Milk said, “Once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all.”

Due to their sick psychological need to feel superior to others and their bizarre fear of any challenge to their fantasy world religious beliefs (I increasingly see it as a form of mental illness), Michael Sam, his boyfriend Vito and other gays who refuse to knuckle under to Christofascist dogma send this "godly folk" literally into a near mental breakdown.   The message, of course is that we need to maintain the pressure.  The more crazy the "godly folk" become, the sooner it will be that no one decent and moral gives them the time of day.  Which is exactly what they deserve.
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Michael Sam Drafted by the St. Louis Rams

In the last day of the NFL draft, openly gay Michael Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, dispelling claims by homophobes that no team would draft an out gay player.  Kudos to the Rams.  And kudos to Michael Sam for his courage.  Amazingly, ESPN carried a video of Sam learning that he had been drafted and embracing and kissing his boyfriend.  I'm sure numerous heads exploded amongst the hate filled "godly folk."  Here are details from Out Sports:

Michael Sam has been drafted by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th pick in the 2014 NFL Draft. He is the first openly gay athlete selected in the NFL Draft and becomes the first openly gay active player in NFL history.

Analysts had largely predicted he would be drafted on the third day of the draft, with most saying he would be selected in the fifth round. When he came out in February, most analysts had him being selected in the third to fifth round. Going in the seventh round is not a stretch from the earlier predictions. Sam's subpar performance at the NFL Combine likely hurt his draft stock a bit.

Sam came out publicly in February to overwhelming support. He had been out as gay to his team at Missouri but had not made a public announcement until talk to Outsports, ESPN and the New York Times.

This week has been big for Sam. On Wednesday, ESPN announced he would be the recipient of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. He also signed a deal with Visa, . . . .

It will be fascinating in the coming days to watch the reaction to the drafting of Sam. Some will point to his sexual orientation as the reason he wasn't drafted earlier.

Ultimately, Sam was selected in the NFL Draft, and that's what matters. He beat out thousands of other prospects for his ability to help a team. His character, his leadership, his onfield performance and his Combine performance were all weighed and the Rams made their selection when they thought they had to. His ability to sell jerseys and contribute to a national conversation were also likely taken into consideration, even though the team's coaches, owner and front office will likely dismiss that assertion.

Tom Daley: 'I Am a Gay Man Now'

I have one friend - he knows who he is - who just loves British diver Tom Daley.  With Daley's new announcement that he's gay, not bisexual, my friend DW must be in seventh heaven.  Here are excerpts from The Bilerico Project:

Tom Daley, the cute 19-year-old British diver and reality television star who won the bronze medal in the 10-metre platform in the 2012 London Olympics, announced in December that he's "dating a guy and... couldn't be happier" but that he also "still fanc[ies] girls."

But last night on the UK television show Celebrity Juice, Daley told the world that he does not identify as bisexual, but as gay. "I am a gay man now," Daley said.

He went on to explain:

"I came out on YouTube as I wanted to say what I wanted to say without anyone twisting it. I told my family before I told the world. I was terrified. I did not know what the reaction was going to be. I did it on YouTube because people were constantly digging and asking questions."

As to his relationship with Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, Daley said things are "all good."

 

Hopefully, Daley's example and that of other recently out athletes will continue to inspire other athletes to come out of the closet.  Meanwhile, DW, sweet dreams!

re at http://www.bilerico.com/2014/04/tom_daley_i_am_a_gay_man_now.php#6z6I5Gikd8eYjYyp.99

NFL Prospect Michael Sam Comes Out

Someone had to be the first to do it and now Michael Sam (pictured above), an All-American defensive lineman from the University of Missouri, has revealed that he's gay.  In fact, he has stated that "I'm an openly, proud gay man."  Given his outstanding record as a college player, he should be a high draft choice and he has the possibility he could be the first openly gay player drafted by the National Football League.  Moreover, should he not fare well in the draft, the NFL will have a hard time proving that it is not the bastion of homophobia and anti-gay hatred that some allege.  Obviously, it will be interesting to see if the NFL steps and proves that it is supportive to all players, gay or straight.  Bleacher Report.com has details.  Here are excerpts:

One of the last barriers of bigotry in all of professional sports will soon fall: Former Missouri star defensive end Michael Sam, an All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, has come out as gay.

Sam is expected to be a high-round draft pick in May, which would set a series of historic firsts in motion. He would be the first openly gay player drafted. Since most high-round picks make NFL rosters, he'd also likely be the first openly gay player in NFL history.

"I came to tell the world that I'm an openly, proud gay man," he told Chris Connelly of ESPN's Outside The Lines Sunday night.

“Michael has shown great courage in taking this step and not only do we support him, we are incredibly grateful. His decision to welcome us all into his world as he embarks upon a professional NFL career is an honorable one. This moment will resonate in a unique and important way for countless people, particularly LGBT youth,” said former Baltimore Raven and human rights activist Brendon Ayanbadejo . . .

One general manager told Bleacher Report that Sam, 6'2" and 255 pounds, will be a true test of whether or not the NFL is actually open to all kinds of players. He believes that if Sam falls past the third round, then "something stinks. Because this guy is easily a high-rounder."

Bleacher Report NFL Draft Lead Writer Matt Miller agrees that Sam's talents should result in his getting picked in an early round.

"As a player, Michael Sam was one of the most impactful defenders in college football last season," Miller said. "Playing left defensive end, he was able to produce All-American numbers by using his quickness off the ball and high-level instincts.

Sam will have to withstand being the center of attention outside and inside the locker room. And many believe his teammates may have a hard time accepting him.

The NFL reiterated it has a workplace conduct policy that prohibits discrimination of any kind. A portion of the collective bargaining agreement also states: "There will be no discrimination in any form against any player by the NFL, the Management Council, any Club or by the NFLPA because of race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or activity or lack of activity on behalf of the NFLPA."

The historic nature of this cannot be overstated. An openly gay player in America's most popular sport has the potential to change a great deal all across the sports world. Gay NFL players—as well as players in other sports—have come out after they retired but never during their career, or, as Sam is doing, as their NFL career is beginning.

Sam's declaration has the potential to open other fronts on this issue as well. It can make current closeted NFL athletes less fearful. It could provide support to younger athletes, in high school or younger, that they don't have to deny their sexuality.

Kudos to Michael Sam.  Now let's see the NFL put its money where its mouth has been.