Sports writer Jason Whitlock writes on Fox Sports:
I’m jealous of gay people. That’s not a joke. I’m not trying to be flippant. I’m legitimately jealous.
To their credit, gay people are using the sports world and celebrity athletes the way we, African-Americans, used to. They’re using sports as a tool to promote tolerance, respect and understanding.
Good for them. I’m jealous. Someone in the gay community deserves an ESPY Award. He or she orchestrated a plan to turn the month of May into the month of Gay.
The president and CEO of the Suns, Rick Welts, came out of the closet. A former Villanova power forward, Will Sheridan, shared his not-so-secret gay life with ESPN reporter Dana O’Neil. Hockey star Sean Avery and NBA star Steve Nash announced their support of gay marriage. Charles Barkley proclaimed on Mike Wise’s radio show that being gay isn’t and wouldn’t be a big deal on a basketball team.
And the biggest storyline from the magnificent end to the NBA season — after LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki redefining and elevating their legacies — has been the debate over gay slurs. David Stern fined Kobe Bryant $100,000 for calling a ref a "f----t." Stern then hit Joakim Noah with a $50,000 fine for dropping a similar F-bomb on a belligerent fan. On the flip side, Phoenix Suns players Grant Hill and Jared Dudley have been starring in a popular PSA asking people to not use the word "gay" as a pejorative.
Keep reading HERE.
Via Outsports, this story about former football great Warren Moon:
Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon told the Victor and Matt podcast show on RadioExiles.com, “Sports has the ability to bring people together regardless of what your race is, what your political affiliation is, what your religious affiliation is.”
Even though only a few players have admitted and openly discussed being gay, the chance that a player today who might have a major role in the success of a team might be gay, but doesn’t want to admit anything for fear of how he will be treated. Asked if would have a problem with an openly gay teammate, Moon responded, “I really wouldn’t. I think I have played with a couple of players who have been gay. I know of a couple of players, who I won’t mention their names because they have not made it public yet. It really doesn’t bother me what your sexual preference is as along as you don’t bring in your sexual preferences to the locker room. I think that should be for homosexuals and heterosexuals. That’s a personal part of your life you should deal with in that way. As long as your coming to the football team and bringing a positive influence, that’s all that matters to me. Rick Welts is a guy I have known for a long time and a good friend to me at one time. I commend him for coming out. It’s too bad it’s taken this long, but if he feels comfortable to do it now, that’s great for him.”
Read in full HERE.
Again via Outsports, news on updated research from Eric Anderson of the University of Winchester on the acceptance of gay athletes:
"The athletes in the 2010 cohort have had better experiences after coming out than those in the earlier cohort, experiencing less heterosexism and maintaining better support among their teammates. I place these results in the context of inclusive masculinity theory, suggesting that local cultures of decreased homophobia created more positive experiences for the 2010 group.
[...]
"None of the other athletes I interviewed had any substantial difficulties on their teams after coming out as gay. Just as with my first study of openly gay male team sports athletes (Anderson 2002), no gay athlete I interviewed was physically assaulted, bullied, or harassed by teammates or coaches."
Read the full study HERE.
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