Recently, very out-of-the-closet and very outspoken actor Sir Ian McKellan slammed professional sports players, organizations, fans and the overall establishment for being homophobic. He made his comments on a BBC radio show a few weeks after Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas came out of the closet.
In the interview, when it comes to homosexuality, McKellan said that sports stars “become little shrinking violets because they’re afraid, probably, of being booed from the terraces, and that must be a horrible experience and shame on people who do it.” While some people might think he’s making queer political hay, he’s actually right on point with his point. Professional sport has a long, rich history of flagrant gay bashing and homophobia and it shows no signs of backing down. To wit:
San Francisco 49ers running back—upon being asked about playing football with openly gay athletes—responded with this eloquent statement: “Aww, hell no! I don’t want any faggots on my team. I know this might not be what people want to hear, but that’s a punk. I don’t want any faggots in this locker room.”
Then there was the gracious moment when—after being booed by baseball fans in San Francisco—Chicago Cubs pitcher Julian Tavarez ruminated, “Why should I care about the fans? They’re a bunch of assholes and faggots here.”
Professional sport is one of the last bastions of bold-face homophobia
Both of these men later apologized for their erudite remarks, but that’s beside the point. One gets the feeling it was more to save face and career than out of any concern about offending a segment of society. Why did they feel they could make those statements in the first place? Can you imagine if a white football player made similar comments using racial epithets as opposed to ones based on sexuality? The boys’ club that is professional sport is one of the last bastions of bold-face homophobia. No wonder queer athletes—and there are plenty—for the most part keep their mouths shut about their sexuality.
This is not to say there are no openly queer jocks. Wimbledon tennis champ Bill Tilden came out in 1920. In 1975, NFL running back David Kopay was one of the first big name pros to come out and of course there’s Billy Jean King, Martina Navratilova, Greg Louganis as well as Canadian champs including Brian Orser, Mark Tewksbury and late boxer Mark Leduc, to name a few.
The irony is the incredible homoeroticism of male sports stars like David Beckham
Certainly being an openly gay athlete must be a struggle. Depending on the sport you participate in, you can be subject to plenty of abuse from fans and likely passive aggressive abuse and neglect from teammates in the locker room or on the field. In the sports world, you are not necessarily rewarded for your bravery when it comes to honest sexuality. Pro athletes can have very public indiscretions of all sorts. However, there are two “vices” that are verboten: Betting on games (see Pete Rose) and being gay.
With all the fear of queer and homophobia that continues to grip professional sport there is one incredible irony: The spectacular homoeroticism of star athletes; one of the most obvious being David Beckham, who does soft-core gay porn ads in barely-there designer underwear. Then there are the calendar boys of soccer and rugby. Nude, waxed, buffed, tanned, made up models posing provocatively together and alone. They look like gay porn wet dreams as they use balls to cover their balls and pout longingly at the camera. Who are these calendars really targeting? Yep, straight women and gay men.
While pro sport still struggles with homosexuals as fellow players and teammates, it seems to be coping fine with turning athletes into polished, eroticized models who look like they just stepped out of a Chi Chi Larue shoot. When it comes to gay-for-pay, even straight athletes have their price. Too bad it’s the gay athletes who really pay.
