Why Are Lesbian Athletes Not Given The Respect They Deserve For Supporting Gay Rights In Professional Sports?

 

Although, the NHL Star Sean Avery has received a lot of positive press for declaring his support for same-sex marriage, there is still a barrier that exists. No top male athlete in North America has come out of the closet and declared his homosexuality while he was still a professional athlete. No NHL, NBA, baseball,  basketball, NFL, PGA, or tennis star has come out.

The mainstream media have consistently pointed out that since Sean Avery is a young, white heterosexual man, his vocal support for gay rights is a form of social progress.

An explosion has occurred in the sports media since Sean Avery’s heterosexuality and  white male skin privilege has created a veracity that gays deserve equal human rights as heterosexuals.

Sean Avery does deserves credit for speaking out and supporting same-sex marriage. However, the real pioneers for promoting the discussion about gay rights in the sports arena are the lesbian athletes and not heterosexual men.

Due to heterosexism, misogyny and patriarchy, Sean Avery is receiving a lot of praise by the mainstream media because he is a straight white man. Since Sean Avery is a white heterosexual man he words have more social value and power than white lesbian athletes or gay athletes of colour.

Many lesbian athletes have been very vocal in their support for gay rights for decades. However, due to heterosexism and  misogyny  lesbian athletes that dare to speak out for gay rights are treated like an afterthought.

Some people will argue that society is more accepting of lesbian athletes than gay male athletes. However, the lesbian athletes deserve society’s respect because these brave women had the courage to come out. Where are the courageous gay male athletes? If society is more progressive than the 1980s why are so many gay male athletes in professional sports still in the closet? If sexuality doesn’t matter why is homosexuality in professional sports this an issue?

I argue that due to feminism lesbian athletes have a stronger awareness about human rights issues than gay or  heterosexual athletes. The feminist movement empowered  women to understand the interlocking systems of male oppression in society. Professional sports are still controlled by the mythical norm which is the white heterosexual man. The lesbian athletes have always lead society by being pioneers and promoting the discussion about gay athletes in professional sports.

For instance, in professional basketball the African American  WBNA star  Sheryl Swoopes  declared she was a lesbian in 2005.

The negativity Swoopes received by the heterosexual male reporters was a total lack of respect. Despite Sheryl Swoopes bravery for coming out as a lesbian she was dismissed as unimportant.

In professional golf the lesbian golfers Patty Sheehan and Rosie Jones declared their lesbianism yet no male pro golfer is out of the closet. In women’s tennis, some of the greatest women’s tennis champions of the last thirty years are lesbians.  Martina Navratilova, Amelie Mauresmo, Conchita Martinez, Billie Jean King, Renee Stubbs, and Lisa Raymond are all lesbian tennis champions. Now on the WTA Tour it is safe for female lesbian tennis players to be comfortable coming out of the closet.  However, the only gay male tennis champion that was openly gay was the 1920s tennis star Bill Tilden. By contrast, on the ATP Tour no gay male tennis star in the modern era is out. Professional tennis is an individual sport yet no gay male tennis player has the courage to come out of the closet.

In the 1990s, Amelie Mauresmo came out of the closet and she lost no endorsements. Since Martina and Billie Jean were outspoken feminists fighting for women’s rights and equality the tennis fans accepted them.

I believe if a high-profile gay male athlete  did come out he would probably face some backlash. However, I think sports fans would eventually support and respect a gay male superstar athlete that had the courage to come out.

However, beneath the surface, the truth is, in the psyche of the  heterosexual man  there is still the  belief that to be gay means to be less than a man. Masculinity and sports are conflated issues for  heterosexual male sports fans. I am not suggesting all straight male sports fans are homophobic. I am arguing that heterosexism is so entrenched in male sports despite the obvious homoeroticism.

Straight male sports fans  pay a lot of  money to  debate, watch, and  analyze the movement of attractive, fit, male athletes.  Homoeroticism has always been a part of male sports. It will take an extremely brave gay male superstar to come out of the closet in the professional sports arena. Society needs to give respect to the  lesbian professional athletes that opened the door for gay athletes to come out in professional sports.