By Paul M. Banks
Last month saw an anniversary of a major civil rights milestone as Major League baseball celebrated the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the sport’s color barrier. It also saw a milestone in the movement towards Gay rights as two more states, Iowa and Vermont legalized same sex marriage. (Maine and DC quickly followed suit. And now, for the first time ever, polls show more Americans favor same sex marriage than are against it. This new plurality in regards to gay rights makes me wonder when the games played on rinks, fields and courts will catch up to the state courts? Am I going to see an openly homosexual male athlete playing for one of the four major professional team sports in my lifetime?
Baseball preceded the legal status quo when it came to racial integration. Branch Rickey brought Jackie Robinson in 1947, while major civil rights weren’t achieved until 1965. And if you’ve been to the South lately, you may wonder if we’re even there yet- see Auburn’s decision in hiring a football coach last fall. I think sports may lag the rest of society here, and it could be a long time before we see an openly gay athlete in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL- mostly because of the atmosphere, reputation and language of the locker room. Of course, I regard that as a travesty because if you can integrate lifestyle differences in the military -an even bigger bastion of so called manliness- you can do the same in sports.
Because of people like the harassing idiot I observed at a sporting event, it will take a long time. A fan clad in a St. Louis Cardinals jersey was insulted by a moronic Cub fan shouting, “the Cardinals?!- we know who’s gay here.” That’s exactly the culture that must be eradicated (see the Hillary Duff Public Service Announcement below for another example) in order for this to happen. Too many people (especially sports fans) use the word “gay” as a put-down.
To use that word for something found detestable is the ultimate slap in the face to homosexuals. The first openly gay athlete will certainly encounter bigotry, abuse, insults, hate crime, and death threats beyond the imagination. Jackie Robinson had unspeakable acts perpetrated against him; so will this trailblazer. Tim Hardaway reminded us of that in 2007.
NBA tolerating Gay
Of all the leagues, I still think the NBA will be the first to have an openly homosexual player for a few reasons. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (always on the lookout for how he can draw more attention to himself) has already made the promise he would sign the one to his team.
Former New York Knicks coach/GM and Detroit Pistons superstar Isaiah Thomas has said that not only would be accepting of a gay player in his locker room, but he would be the first to cut anyone who isn’t. The NBA has a higher representation of racial minorities within its fan base than the other three sports, and these fans, who have encountered bigotry and intolerance similar to the gay community, would likely sympathize.
Finally, the Association also once had John Amaechi, the most high-profile of gay male athletes, who came out after retirement. My prediction is the barrier will be broken by a franchise located on one of the coasts, perhaps the Northeast where people are often more progressive on social issues. And it will likely be in a city with a large gay community.
Question for the Panel
While attending The Progressive magazine’s 100th anniversary conference in Madison, Wisconsin, a panel on sports and social issues was held, and it was there I posed the question of this column to the speakers.
Sportswriter Dave Zirin is the author of four books and his column, Edge of Sports, appears on Sports Illustrated’s website. He is the host of XM satellite’s weekly show, Edge of Sports Radio. Zirin, a frequent op-ed writer for the Los Angeles Times, told the room about the Isaiah Thomas anecdote and answered my question thusly: “I don’t think an owner would be decisive in the least; I think the coach would be decisive. An idea of putting tolerance over winning, that’s what it would take. And it would set a tone for a team and for a league that would make it very hard to ignore.”
“I don’t see things that we’ve talked about here changing in my lifetime, but then again I didn’t think we’d see a black president either.”
–Award winning editor and author of two sports books Fred McKissack.
“I think the culture of the locker room is more influential than the decisions of an owner…LeBron James and some other folks have been kind of commenting in negative ways about the idea of having a gay athlete on their team. Until those kind of attitudes start to change I don’t think an owner would make a difference.”
–Andrea Lewis, KPFA San Francisco
“I think in the next couple of years you’re going to have an out gay male athlete for no reason other than people have cell phone cameras and some photos are going to be taken of people on the down low, and they’ll have to come out. The first prominent female athlete, Billie Jean King did not come out by choice, and I think you will see something similar,” Zirin said.
Paul M. Banks is also a contributor to NBC Chicago.com and Walter Football.com
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Very interesting subject. I think Zirin is probably right.
Well done Banks.
Sports has come a long way in regards to accepting people who are not 18-35 males. As a woman, I feel more comfortable flirting with the idea of a career in sports journalism than 5-10 years ago.
I’m hoping the same kind of encouragement and acceptance will apply to openly homosexual athletes as well.
Thanks Rikki, no one wanted to touch this a panel question when I threw it out there, but that’s ok I found the rest people to disuss it. You’re right, gender issues and the march towards true equality have been just as much a part of the struggle in sports as racial divisions. I’m hoping it will be sooner rather than later that lifestyle alternatives are integrated as well.