In the upcoming college football issue for ESPN the Magazine, there is a poll of 85 current players. Among the tidbits was this:
Do you have any gay teammates?
Almost half of those surveyed (49.4%, to be exact) said yes, they believe they have at least one gay teammate. In the Pac-10, 70% of those surveyed said yes.”
Half is a big number and 70% is pretty stunning given how often we’re told that being gay in a sport like football is impossible. What the poll question does not answer, though, is whether those surveyed personally know a gay teammate or whether there are players on their team they suspect are gay. It also does not answer whether these respondents perceive having a gay teammate as a positive or negative thing. Finally, 85 is a small sample and we don’t know if it was weighted to be representative.
We profiled anonymously a college football kicker who is known as gay by his team. He has had nothing but support. Times are changing, especially for young people who are growing up either knowing gay people or seeing them constantly in the media. When we’ll get a publicly gay player, though, is still anyone’s guess.
Hat tip to Towelroad.
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 5:34 PM
[...] poll is unscientific, so it’s difficult to gauge the vailidity of the responses. Additionally, Outsports.com points out other [...]
on Aug 17th, 2009 at 10:18 PM
It’s important to note that the wording on the survey was something like “do you believe you may have a gay teammate” not if in fact that they KNOW they have one… big difference…
on Aug 18th, 2009 at 8:28 AM
I believe that to be very close to correct or if not higher! Having dated a few college football players, that stated they weren’t the only ones on the team. These players were from the Championship Divisions. I have to give props to ESPN the Magazine for even asking the question in the first place!
on Apr 28th, 2011 at 9:38 AM
Unfortunately (for me) the question does not match the response given.
The question was perfectly simple “Do you have any gay teammates?”
The survey result “Almost half of those surveyed (49.4%, to be exact) said yes, “”they believe”" they have at least one gay teammate. In the Pac-10, 70% of those surveyed said yes.”
The question as reported did not ask do you “think” you have any gay teammates. Would be nice to read the actual survey and results.