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American sports fans are as schizoid as ever when it comes to the subject of gays and lesbians in sports, a new survey has found. While 86% of those polled said it is OK for male athletes to participate in sports even if they are openly gay, 68% thought It would hurt an athlete's career to be openly gay. If that many people say they have no problem with a gay athlete, why would such a large percentage say it would be harmful? Contradictions like these abound in the survey conducted for NBC/USA Network by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates. The poll of 979 people was taken in March and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1%. The survey coincides with a documentary, “Ring of Fire,” that airs on USA next week and deals with the 1962 boxing match that saw Emile Griffith beat Benny “Kid” Paret to death in the ring, after Paret had called Griffith a faggot in the pre-fight weigh-in. (See review) The survey finds people either conflicted about their own views of gays in sports or certain their neighbor is more bigoted than they are. For example, 68% thought it would hurt an athlete’s career to be openly gay. But virtually half (49%) thought gay athletes could get the same endorsements as their straight counterparts. A few questions later, by a 64% to 11% margin, people said that “brands and products are unlikely to select athletes as endorsers if the athletes are gay or even have been accused of being gay.” "I now understand why gay athletes would choose to stay in the closet," said Doug Schoen of Penn, Schoen & Berland. "The poll shows us that we still have a long way to go in this country before homosexuality is accepted in sports." The contradictions go on: Sort of good news: Only 15% say it’s not appropriate for an umpire to be gay. Bad news: 46% to 44% say it’s a sin to engage in homosexual behavior. (But 61% said homosexuality is a way of life that should be accepted by society). Sort of good news: 78% says it is OK for gay athletes to participate in sports, even if they are open about their sexuality. Bad news: By a 42% to 22% margin, people thought “if ESPN created a television special on the accomplishments of gay athletes, viewers would be enraged.” Does this mean these people themselves would be enraged or that they think others would be? Any poll that finds a quarter of people saying having a gay player would hurt a team is not the best of news (though it does mean three-quarters think it would be no problem). But one guesses that number would have been much higher years ago. In fact, 79% agreed that Americans are more accepting of gays in sports than they were 20 years ago. The results in this survey mirror those from polls done in 2001 and 2002 by other groups on the same subject. It is always hard when reading these surveys to determine exactly how people would behave and how much of their views are based on how they think others would react. For example, 90% polled said football, boxing, wrestling and hockey would be intolerant of gays. Maybe so, but it is still speculation until we get an athlete in that sport coming out. Ignorance is still at the heart of people’s views on gays and lesbians in general, not just sports. For example, the poll found “61% know a friend, colleague or family member who is gay.” I would guess that the real number is close to 100% taking into account how many closeted or quiet gays people know. This poll, of course, deals with hypothetical. There has never been an out active player in any of the four major North American team sports, and this attests to the fears and uncertainty faced by gay athletes. I would guess that many of the 24% of the respondents who would have a problem with an athlete being gay would change their minds if this athlete was on their favorite team and kicked the Super Bowl-winning field goal or hit the World Series-winning home run. Winning beats sinning most of the time. Of course, to any athlete coming out, the reaction of his teammates would matter more than what fans think. So it was heartening to hear what Ken Griffey Jr. told Sports Illustrated about having a gay teammate: "Wouldn't bother me at all. If you can play, you can play." But for every Ken Griffey there’s a John Rocker (as our anti-gay list shows). The ultimate test will come when (if?) an active elite jock comes out. We then won’t need surveys to guess at people’s reactions.
April 13, 2005 |
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