As the college
basketball phenomenon called "The Big Dance" winds its way through
March and edges into early April, we are reminded that the darkness
of homophobia in male athletics can cast a shadow over such a
shining event. Prior to his fourth NCAA tournament, J.J. Redick,
Duke University’s standout senior all-American guard, had been a
frequent target of homophobic taunts and jeers while playing on the
road.
Taunting
isn’t a new phenomenon in the world of men’s college basketball by
any stretch. Opposition arenas and gymnasiums have had a long
history of being hell for visiting players. And if you don’t think
the tactic of employing derisive chants, name-calling, and boos is
effective, compare the home vs. road records of NCAA teams.
It seems that each venue has its own style of intimidating the
visiting team’s players in some fashion. The University of
Maryland’s Comcast Centre, for one, is notorious for mocking the
opposition. Sometimes the spirit goes too far as loud curse words
are audible over national TV microphones and debris is sometimes
launched at the visiting benches.
Most taunting, however, is usually accomplished through chants
directed towards the targeted player’s personal physical
characteristics (as Duke fans derided the supposed homeliness of
former Maryland Terp Steve Blake), or as has been the case of
Maryland’s D.J Strawberry in other arenas, his controversial father,
Darryl Strawberry. Even a player’s family’s political leanings are
in bounds it seems. Duke fans hurled catcalls at Maryland Terp Nik
Caner-Medley by shouting that his parents are "Liberal!" Gasp!
Among the iniquitous forms of ridicule that are flung at a young
visiting player, however, is his perceived sexual orientation.
Again, this isn’t new. It doesn’t matter if a player is gay or not,
fans know this is how to get inside his head. This is what J.J.
Redick has been experiencing throughout his career.
Undaunted, Redick, who was born in Tennessee in June 1984 as
Jonathan Clay Redick (his older twin sisters nicknamed him J.J.),
has proven to be arguably one of the very best collegiate basketball
players of all time and is a leading candidate for the National
Player of the Year. He has amassed myriad offensive records for
Duke, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the NCAA.
The 6-foot 4-inch senior is a prolific scorer with a deadly 3-point
shot and is virtually automatic from the foul line. (Alas, his Duke
career ended earlier than expected during The Dance’s Sweet 16.)
Because of his accomplishments and the Blue Devils’ perennial
success, he is hated by opponents’ fans. It’s hard to comprehend why
though. He is not a trash talker nor does he show up his opponents.
He just plays to win.
No matter where he performed away from the friendly, cramped
confines of Cameron Indoor Stadium, J.J. Redick had to endure a wide
array of catcalls from the home team’s spectators. Some mocked the
fact he loves to write poetry while others harassed him for being
gay, or so they thought.
Outsports' Jim Buzinski pointed out how anti-gay taunts are intended
to demean opponents. He described a well-documented slur from NC
State guard Scooter Sherrill last year that was aimed at Redick. " [Redick]
has a little bit of cockiness to him," Sherrill said. Referring to
the fact that the Duke star holds his hand in the follow-through
position after making a shot while dropping back on defense, he
said, "You see him hit a 3, and he's running down the court
hollering. He's got his hand up like he's gay or something." He
later half-heartedly apologized for the comment and admitted he was
trying to agitate Redick.
For his part, Redick let it slide. "It's just the nature of sports,"
Redick told the Durham (NC) Herald-Sun. "Not just with me but with
anybody—they're going to try to find ways to get an edge." It seems
to motivate Redick more. Following the remarks, Redick outscored
Sherrill 28-11 head-to-head, albeit in a losing effort.
For J.J. Redick, the advent of "Brokeback Mountain" added more fuel
to the fire. Opposing fans have been chanting "Brokeback Redick" or
pasted his likeness on Brokeback posters and hoisted them up. The
"gay cowboy" film had also prompted Gonzaga fans to tease opponents
by chanting "Brokeback, Brokeback." School and team officials asked
fans to cease the verbal homophobia.
In Redick’s case, it’s just another day at the office. Outsports'
Cyd Zeigler, Jr. gave Redick his props for at least addressing the
issue when he could have simply ducked it. While noting Redick is
most likely not gay, Zeigler comments, "It warmed my heart to hear a
college basketball player, one of the nation's best this year, talk
so openly about his sexual orientation being a topic of discussion."
He continued showing his poise in the midst of the NCAA’s Big Dance
during an interview on Fox Sports’ "Best Damn Sports Show." (watch
the clip) Just a couple of days prior to the No. 1-ranked Blue
Devils’ shocking elimination that ended his collegiate career,
Redick again owned up to his being jeered without hesitation.
Redick matter-of-factly acknowledged to the former jocks who were
interviewing him, specifically Rob Dibble, the anti-gay slurs he
received during the season.
"This year, basically
the things people have attacked are my poetry and with the whole "Brokeback
Mountain" movie, I've seen a lot of their movie posters and we've
had a lot of "Brokeback Mountain" chants and a lot of "Brokeback
Redick" chants. These are the two things -- my sexual orientation
and my poetry," Redick said with his engaging smile. He didn’t use
the platform to gay-bash, or yuck it up about gays, which could have
been a convenient strategy to help mitigate the taunts. Instead, he
shrugged it off -- no big deal.
It would have been ideal if Redick had taken the opportunity then to
pronounce his heterosexuality but at the same time speak out against
the homophobia that is so rampant among those who jeer. But it would
have been hardly plausible in the macho culture of big time sports
and probably a major distraction during the tournament.
What is unclear is J.J. Redick’s attitudes are towards gays and
lesbians. A devout young man, he recently got a tattoo with the
number 19 inscribed to denote Joshua 1:9, his favorite verse. It
says, in part, "Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor
be dismayed, for the Lord is with you wherever you go."
Clearly his faith helped him deal with the taunting so he was able
to focus on his game performance. His inner character helped him
discuss it with class and courage.
Steve Charing is the
senior political analyst for Baltimore OUTloud, and the media
coordinator for PFLAG-Howard County (Parents, Families and Friends
of Lesbians and Gays). He also has a blog
Taunting
isn’t a new phenomenon in the world of men’s college basketball by
any stretch. Opposition arenas and gymnasiums have had a long
history of being hell for visiting players. And if you don’t think
the tactic of employing derisive chants, name-calling, and boos is
effective, compare the home vs. road records of NCAA teams.