Daley Announcement Highlights Continuing Plight of Gay People in Sport

Ben Campbell,

Correspondent (Our World)

 

With British Olympic diving bronze medalist Tom Daley’s announcement that he is gay, sport appears to have taken a further step away from the doldrums of homophobia and towards acceptance. Announced via YouTube video as it would allow “his words to not get twisted,” Daley joined an ever growing list of top class sportsmen to come out in public.

Back in April this year, former Boston Celtics centre Jason Collins became the first active National Basketball Association player to announce he was gay, and former Leeds United and now LA Galaxy player Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay footballer in Major League Soccer this year. Others have come out before, but few have been of as high a profile as those who have done so this year. However, the situation is by no means perfect. No European top flight footballer or American footballer has come out as gay while still playing. The same can be said for international cricket and international rugby.

Homosexuality is still a taboo as far as sport is concerned. German sports authorities recently spoke about the risks associated with a player coming out as gay, saying that a player risked their career with such revelations. Other players and former professional athletes who have come out as gay have publicly encouraged others to come out, but as of yet, their message has not been heeded.

More recently, being gay has become less of an issue; something which is very much a reflection of changing times in society. Life, especially in some western states, has changed and become a lot more liberal; a lot more accepting of what would not quite be considered the norm. Gone are the 1970s in these countries, where the typical convention was to marry someone of the opposite sex.

As society has changed, so has sport. Sport is reactive to the culture in which it is in at the time; it has to change as rapidly as its surroundings. As culture has changed, sport has generally followed. This is not the case with all sports though. Football is seemingly stuck in the past, with homophobic chants still being heard on the terraces, particularly in Eastern Europe. This can be attributed to the tribalistic nature of supporting football; a culture of supporting your own and hating the opposition. Even considering this exception, which itself is becoming more accepting, the world of sport is becoming a much easier place for sportsmen and sportswomen to come out in.

That being said, the need for players to come out should remain the player’s decision. If an athlete does not feel comfortable enough to reveal their sexuality publicly, then they should not. It is, after all, a personal issue, and just because a figure is in the public eye, it does not automatically grant the public an access key to every detail of an athlete’s life. Straight athletes do not specifically have to reveal that they are attracted to members of the opposite sex; why should this not be the case for gay sports people? What is important, however, is that the atmosphere in which they would come out in is accepting.

It all begs the question, why do people care about the sexual orientation of someone? The answer to this question is more and more frequently becoming a resounding no. It is important to remember at times that no matter what the origin, colour, religion or sexual orientation a sports person is, they are no different to the people watching the sport.

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons (Jim Thurston, Marissa Gawel)