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Fighting an image Reprinted with permission from the Daily Bruin, the student newspaper at UCLA By
Adam de Jong
While no current male professional athlete in any of the four major sports is known to be openly gay, a slew of high-profile lesbian female athletes have revealed their sexual orientation. That list includes former world No. 1 tennis player Amelie Mauresmo and the WNBA's Michelle Van Gorp. Tennis legends Martina Navratilova and Billy Jean King were among the first lesbian athletes to come out. "For gay men, it's a little more risky (to come out)," said Pat Griffin, an openly lesbian professor of social justice education at the University of Massachusetts and the author of the book, "Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport." "Part of that is that team sports is the last bastion of heterosexuality and male masculinity. For lesbians, there are different issues." One lesbian athlete on a UCLA club sport agreed with Griffin, indicating that she did not believe homophobia was nearly as prevalent in women's sports as it is in men's athletics. Though she herself has not told any of her teammates that she is a lesbian, she said it is because she prefers to keep her sexual orientation a private matter so it does not distract the team. "Straight players are not taking their coaches or teammates aside and telling them they are heterosexual," said the athlete, who spoke on a condition of anonymity. "I honestly don't think there should be a difference, and I want to be treated the same." The athlete, echoing the sentiments of most UCLA female athletes who were interviewed for this article, indicated that openly lesbian athletes are not victimized by homophobia nearly as much as their male counterparts. In fact, none of the lesbian athletes interviewed said they were victims of homophobia – a far cry from the several male athletes who already voiced their concerns. "If I were to come out, it would not be a big deal, and I would most likely be treated the same," the anonymous lesbian club-sport athlete said. "I am not really afraid of being ostracized by my teammates. I know that girls (at UCLA) have come out to their teammates or coaches, and it was nice for them to get it off their chests." An open atmosphere Lesbian athletes at other schools haven't always enjoyed the support that they seem to receive at UCLA. At the University of Florida in 2003, former softball player Andrea Zimbardi was allegedly dropped from the team in her senior season because she is a lesbian. More than one decade earlier, Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland admitted to having a team rule, banning all lesbians. But at UCLA, lesbian athletes don't seem to have too many complaints. "Every girl I know that's a lesbian out on a team has had no issues," said a straight female athlete at UCLA, who wished to remain anonymous. The athlete said she knew of a varsity team at UCLA with a considerable number of lesbian members, most of whom have come out and none of whom have experienced any problems. The explanation for this, she said, is that women's teams are more tight-knit. "For girls, we're a family," she said. "We make everyone a birthday cake and take care of one-another when we're sick. Guys teams', it's manifested a bit differently." Since there is no specific policy related to homophobia at UCLA, the best way to handle issues of sexual orientation is left up to the coaches themselves. Olivier said she will only intervene if her team comes to her with a problem. UCLA softball coach Sue Enquist said she prefers to stay out of her players' private lives. "I've instilled a foundation of respect in my team, and I've told everybody to understand the differences they have between each other, whether it be sexual preference, religion or race," Enquist said. "Hypothetically, if I ever came across a case of homophobia, I'd speak individually to both parties, figure out what the perceptions were, try to come to an understanding, and direct them to the appropriate resources." With reports from Jeff Eisenberg, Gilbert Quiñonez, Andrew Finley and Seth Fast Glass, Bruin sports senior staff April 14, 2005 |
