After announcing that he was gay at a media event with the New York Times and the NFL, University of Missouri football player Micheal Sam, received countless homophobic tweets. Many people began expressing concerns about a homosexual man playing professional football. Even an old teammate who was previously privately supportive, was publicly unsupportive of his public announcement (Pariera et al. 2021). These examples of homophobia are just the tip of the homophobic iceberg deeply rooted in football and the NFL.
There have only been 16 players out of over 25,000 men in the 102 year history of the league that have come out as gay. This includes Micheal Sam, who never technically played in the NFL, but was drafted and attended training camp (Buzinski 2021). This low number most likely comes from the aversion to employing gay athletes. Coaches do not want to disrupt the norms of toxic masculinity in the sport, which valorizes straight and tough men. But only 16 players is likely to be higher in reality because many athletes might not come out due to consequences from coaches and teammates such as discrimination and negative impacts on their career. This problem stems from the fact that, “It’s a culture that undoubtedly lends itself to silence, lest any divergence from heteronormativity be used to halt your career before it even starts”(Pruitt-Young, 2021). The homophobic culture on teams could deter players from expressing who they really are.
Discrimination prior to playing in the NFL
Homophobia doesn’t start at the professional level but rather continues to be an issue in college athletics for LGBTQ athletes, especially within male team sports. College athletes who were open about their homosexuality and their teammates reported being laughed at, being prevented from talking about their sexuality openly, and being harassed for being a member of the LGBTQ community. Additionally, being a member or a male sports team, including football teams, made it especially difficult for these athletes. The study showed that men were more likely to hear homophobic language from their teammates, reinforcing the common idea of “locker room talk”. Men were also more concerned about alienation from their teammates due to their sexuality (Pariera et al. 2021).
Such homophobia on men’s collegiate sports teams likely prevents others from coming out. In his new Netflix series “Coming Out Colton,” Colton Underwood talks about his experiences facing heteronormative locker room cultures as a closeted gay man. He reports hearing gay slurs and homophobic jokes in his football teams’ locker rooms. Such talk kept him in the closet because he was afraid of the consequences for expressing who he truly is (Reimer 2021).
How can we change the culture?
In order to create change, one must first tackle the social ideals that underline the homophobia that is occurring in male sports, like football. A gay man playing football bumps against the hegemonic masculinity that accompanies the sport. Football is a staple in American culture which projects that the idea of hegemonic masculinity is a central social ideal in the nation (Pariera et. al 2021). Recently, Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib, came out and received a much wider acceptance by society. Despite this slight change in response, the football community itself still has a lot to do to break down this normative belief of what a football player should be.
An additional hope for the LGBTQ sports community is the implementation of supportive policies that protect these athletes from discrimination. Kosciw et al. conducted a study that determined that the implementation of institutional inclusive/protective LGBTQ policies at a university resulted in adolescents facing less subtle and overt discrimination from peers. These policies should also be targeted towards male sports teams and should be followed up with discussion based sessions to create a well informed athletic community on this issue (Atteberry-Ash et al. 2018). If this was implemented in athletic programs and leagues, there would likely be similar positive effects.
Works Cited
Atteberry-Ash, Brittanie, and Michael R. Woodford. “Support for Policy Protecting LGBT Student Athletes among Heterosexual Students Participating in Club and Intercollegiate Sports.” Sexuality Research & Social Policy, vol. 15, no. 2, 2018, pp. 151-162. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/support-policy-protecting-lgbt-student-athletes/docview/2023989311/se-2?accountid=11264, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0283-z.
Buzinski, Jim. “Meet the 16 out Gay and BI Football Players in the NFL’s 102-Year History.” Outsports, Outsports, 5 Sept. 2019, https://www.outsports.com/2019/9/5/20850457/nfl-history-gay-bi-players.
Cretaz, Britni. “Carl Nassib, the First Openly Gay Active NFL Player, Could Be Turning Point for Male Sports.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 22 June 2021, https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/first-openly-gay-nfl-player-carl-nassib-could-be-turning-ncna1271896.
Greene, Catherine R. 2010. “An Investigation of Sexual-Orientation Attitudes and Behaviors of College Athletes.” Order No. AAI1478153 dissertation (https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/investigation-sexual-orientation-attitudes/docview/852901519/se-2?accountid=11264)
Pariera, Katrina, Evan Brody and Travers S. D. 2021. “Now that They’re Out: Experiences of College Athletics Teams with Openly LGBTQ Players.” Journal of Homosexuality 68(5):733-751 (https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/now-that-they-re-out-experiences-college/docview/2495193936/se-2?accountid=11264). doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2019.1661727.
Pruitt-Young, Sharon. “Carl Nassib’s Experience Coming Out Is Very Different from NFL Players Before Him.” NPR, NPR, 23 June 2021, https://www.npr.org/2021/06/22/1009180945/carl-nassibs-experience-coming-out-is-very-different-from-nfl-players-before-him.
Reimer, Alex. “Colton Underwood Reflects on His Life as a Closeted NFL Prospect in New Series.” Outsports, Outsports, 2 Dec. 2021, https://www.outsports.com/2021/12/2/22812592/colton-underwood-coming-out-colton-netflix-streaming-nfl.
TheAdvocateMag. “15 Of The Most Hateful Tweets About NFL Hopeful Michael Sam Coming Out.” ADVOCATE, Advocate.com, 10 Feb. 2014, https://www.advocate.com/sports/2014/02/10/15-most-hateful-tweets-about-nfl-hopeful-michael-sam-coming-out.
