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Do you think America would accept an openly gay athlete?

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  • Yes

    Votes: 18 64.3%
  • No

    Votes: 4 14.3%
  • Other

    Votes: 6 21.4%

  • Total voters
    28

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So, do you think America would accept an openly gay athlete? Or do you think they would be ostracized to the point of retirement, or worse suicide, or even be murdered?
 
weir.jpg



Ummmm, what was the question again?
 
So, do you think America would accept an openly gay athlete? Or do you think they would be ostracized to the point of retirement, or worse suicide, or even be murdered?

It would depend greatly on a number of things I think....

1. What sport
2. How good is the person
3. How "blatant" of a homosexual is he. Or, to be more blunt, how "flaming" is he.


If its a person playing football whose a mediocre wide reciever that looks and acts like Parez Hilton or Elton John then I'd say absolutely not, never going to be accepted.

If its a golfer or baseball player whose one of the better individuals in the association/league that is as flamboyant in their presentation of their homosexuality on a daily basis as say a Stephan Fry or an Ian McKellan, then I'd say there's probably a decent chance to be accepted.

I'd say it'd go kind of like this...

In regards to #1. Nascar would be harder than Football that'd be harder than Basketball that'd be harder that'd be harder than Hockey that'd be harder than Baseball that'd be harder than Golf that'd be harder than Tennis that'd be harder than [fill in most other sports] that'd be harder than Figure Skating/Gymnastics.

Essentially more southern or urban sports, and more physical sports, would likely be more difficult than your more cosmopolitan/wordly or lighter sports.

In regards to #2. The better the person is the more likely people will embrace them. We'd never even pay attention to Tiger Wood ever again after what he just went through if he was even just a Vijay Singh level golfer, but because he's SO good people are willing to get back on that bandwagon if he starts playing well again. Tom Brady comes out as Gay? He's probably going to still be accepted. Rob Grankowski comes out as gay? We're not likely to hear from him again.

In regards to #3, this ones simple. The less "flaming" a person is the more likely they're be embraced. If they seem "just like everyone else" but they happen to screw guys, that'll be ignored FAR more than if they have a crazy colored hair cut, talk with a lisp in a high pitched voice, and constantly saying how the game was FAAAABULOUS tonight.
 
Who's Johnny Weir? *goes to search*

edit: ah - figure skater.

Of course.

It would depend greatly on a number of things I think....

In regards to #1. Nascar would be harder than Football that'd be harder than Basketball that'd be harder that'd be harder than Hockey that'd be harder than Baseball that'd be harder than Golf that'd be harder than Tennis that'd be harder than [fill in most other sports] that'd be harder than Figure Skating/Gymnastics.


Granted, since no one really knows who the hell he is I'd hardly say its as much accepted as it is just kind of there.
 
Granted, since no one really knows who the hell he is I'd hardly say its as much accepted as it is just kind of there.

Those who follow the sport certainly know who he is.

He's only a three time U.S. champ. :roll:
 
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The brief history of gay athletes

That's an old article ('98...man I remember good ol' '98. I was still an undergrad, I had Clinton to bitch about. Bush hadn't ****ed everything up even more than Clinton yet. Life was good). But it has some things in there.
 
My question really concerns the 4 major sports, Football, Baseball, Hockey, and Basketball. Where it's harder to go under the radar. Say if someone like Sidney Crosby, or Chipper Jones came out would they be accepted?

The only pro athlete that is out and still playing is Gareth Thomas, who plays rugby, and he seems to be doing well over in Wales.
 
My question really concerns the 4 major sports, Football, Baseball, Hockey, and Basketball. Where it's harder to go under the radar. Say if someone like Sidney Crosby, or Chipper Jones came out would they be accepted?

Crosby? Outside of Canada and Pittsburg? No he wouldn't be. He's already seen as a nancy boy whining *****, so coming out as gay would just reenforce that and play into the negative stereotypes of him.

Chipper Jones? I think he'd be accepted, if he continued to act essentially no different in the public eye than he is now save for being seen with guys and claiming to be gay. He's a hell of a player, arguably one of the best 3rd basements of this generation of baseball players. He's beloved by the Atlanta fans and held up as essentially one of the good guys of baseball. Additionally out of the four "major" sports I think baseball is most likely to be accepting of it. I think the only strike against him is he's playing for a southern team, and think it'd work better if it was for say the Dodgers or the Giants, but utlimately I think he'd be fine.
 
Since this is not divided up by type of sport, I am going to assume this means for all sports. For that, I am going to say no, because I don't think people would accept a gay guy playing football or doing NASCAR.
 
Since this is not divided up by type of sport, I am going to assume this means for all sports. For that, I am going to say no, because I don't think people would accept a gay guy playing football or doing NASCAR.

If Jimmie Johnson came out of the closet and said he was gay, people would accept it. If Kyle Busch or Jeff Gordon came out of the closet, people would say, "I always knew that asshole was gay."

It largely depends on how good the guy's man-credentials are in his sport whether he will be accepted or not (unless his sport is figure skating).

The same is true of, for instance, gay cops and soldiers.

p.s. Anyone notice how there are already plenty of "out" lesbian athletes, and no one seems to care?
 
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If Jimmie Johnson came out of the closet and said he was gay, people would accept it. If Kyle Busch or Jeff Gordon came out of the closet, people would say, "I always knew that asshole was gay."

It largely depends on how good the guy's man-credentials are in his sport whether he will be accepted or not (unless his sport is figure skating).

The same is true of, for instance, gay cops and soldiers.

p.s. Anyone notice how there are already plenty of "out" lesbian athletes, and no one seems to care?

I was thinking the same thing about Nascar. There are certain drivers that might lose some fans, but it would most likely be the lesser known drivers. Most big Nascar fans know that it takes a lot of physical strength and endurance to drive a car at those speeds for that long. If a driver has already proven himself as a good driver, then only those really hardcore "I hate gays" people will not accept a driver that they already were a fan of. Now that being said, if the "coming out" was seen as publicly embarrassing in how it was done or it negatively changed how the driver acted in public, then it could certainly lose him some, if not a lot of fans.
 
Where is this 'America' that agrees, or disagrees together in unison?
 
Those who follow the sport certainly know who he is.

He's only a three time U.S. champ. :roll:

The "acceptance" of gays in sports will be more difficult in the more "manly" sports such as football or Nascar (is that even a sport? I'm not sure). Macho guys never watch figure skating.

I'm sure there have already been plenty of closeted gays in those manly sports, though.
 
p.s. Anyone notice how there are already plenty of "out" lesbian athletes, and no one seems to care?

That's because there's been a double standard in regards to societies acceptance of non-heterosexual women for ages now.

Additionally, and going with the sad stereotype of sexism here, what women athlete's are actually well known and accepted. Most people don't know of many women basketball players. There's no major known professional womens football or baseball/softball league. Ditto for hockey. Aside from a chick taking her shirt off in soccer there hasn't been a ton of attention there.

Most well known female athletes are from the "softer" sports such as gymnists, swimmers, tennis, etc. Typically the most well known ones are also the most attractive, not necessarily the "best" in their sports such as Anna Kornikova. Sometimes their attractiveness can transend the "soft" thig, such as Danica Patrick.

With tha being the case, going back to the double standard in our society about women, if Danica Patrick came out as a lesbian all you'd be getting is fist bumps, high fives, and crude wooohooo's from the majority of the male population.
 
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^------ There's your issue ;)

It sounds to me like YOU are the one here with the issue, considering the sport requires far more athleticism than most any of us have ever possessed in our life.
 
That's because there's been a double standard in regards to societies acceptance of non-heterosexual women for ages now.

Additionally, and going with the sad stereotype of sexism here, what women athlete's are actually well known and accepted. Most people don't know of many women basketball players. There's no major known professional womens football or baseball/softball league. Ditto for hockey. Aside from a chick taking her shirt off in soccer there hasn't been a ton of attention there.

Most well known female athletes are from the "softer" sports such as gymnists, swimmers, tennis, etc. Typically the most well known ones are also the most attractive, not necessarily the "best" in their sports such as Anna Kornikova. Sometimes their attractiveness can transend the "soft" thig, such as Danica Patrick.

With tha being the case, going back to the double standard in our society about women, if Danica Patrick came out as a lesbian all you'd be getting is fist bumps, high fives, and crude wooohooo's from the majority of the male population.

"soft" or "hard" sports, they are still athletes. A female figure skater is still an athlete. Snowboarders are still athletes. Swimmers are still athletes. Skiers are still athletes. Runners, etc, etc.
 
"soft" or "hard" sports, they are still athletes. A female figure skater is still an athlete. Snowboarders are still athletes. Swimmers are still athletes. Skiers are still athletes. Runners, etc, etc.

I think there is an assumption that many female athletes are lesbians and not very feminine, particularly in certain sports. Softball, for instance. "Softball player," in this area of the U.S., is slang for "lesbian." I'm not even joking about this...I'm completely serious.
 
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