2012; the year of the Olympics! What a summer for sport! However, in such an arena of masculinity I want to question whether homosexuality has a place in sport today.
My search for answers unfortunately began by discovering a web page titled “A Recent History of Homophobia in Sports” containing 25 examples of homophobic sporting incidents. One example explains how the former "soccer team coach" of Nigeria kicked all of the "lesbian players" out of the team.This is particularly saddening because sport should unite people and shouldn’t be used as an arena for discrimination.
Olympic diver, Matthew Mitcham, experienced discrimination regarding his sexuality after winning a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. NBC infamously didn’t “mention Mitcham’s orientation.” This subsequently caused a huge back-lash. Mitcham, despite all critics, proved that gay athletes could compete just as well. Additionally, Mitcham is proud of who he is, his Twitter reading “Yes, I'm that gay, Olympic-gold-medal-winning diver dude.” This level of pride could have been the perfect opportunity to inspire kids who may have been in the same situation as he once was.
However, I also believe the support Mitcham received helped raise the number of ‘out’ Olympic athletes for the 2012 games. Check them out if you’re interested; http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/the-14-openly-gay-athletes-of-the-2012-olympics. Finally, Mitcham continues to inspire people today through social media sites. Check these out;
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| Mitcham holding his gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. |
However, I also believe the support Mitcham received helped raise the number of ‘out’ Olympic athletes for the 2012 games. Check them out if you’re interested; http://www.buzzfeed.com/jpmoore/the-14-openly-gay-athletes-of-the-2012-olympics. Finally, Mitcham continues to inspire people today through social media sites. Check these out;
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/matthew_mitcham
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MatthewMitchamOlympian#!/MatthewMitchamOlympian
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MatthewMitchamOlympian#!/MatthewMitchamOlympian
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| Gareth Thomas on the front cover of gay magazine 'Attitude'. |
For me, the most inspiring thing in these clips is how Thomas states “sport can change the world”. I agree. I also believe he has inspired numerous athletes (one of whom is Steven Davies, below) to accept who they are, as well as young kids to not give up on their dreams even if they are "different".
Here are a few more articles on sporting athletes 'coming out', if you're interested;
- Steven Davies
- Orlando Cruz
- Rosie Jones
These clips and articles all emphasise pride. These athletes, like Thomas, want to inspire future generations to not be ashamed of whom they are, Cruz specifically saying he wants to be a “role model”.
What do you think? Do you agree with Gareth Thomas and that ‘sport can change the world’? Do you think this will encourage gay kids to get involved in sport? Or do you think that gay sports athletes make things too complicated?
Hi, I found this blog really interesting, I just have a few questions;
ReplyDelete1. Is it not better that Mitcham's orientation wasn't mentioned because surely this is just adding to the discrimination?
2. Are there any examples of sporting activities for only gay people? E.G are there gay rugby teams etc? Surely it would be better for homosexuals to only enter these?
Hi there Clare, glad you found the blog interesting and thanks for your questions, which I will now try to answer for you
ReplyDeleteYou're right, definitely to some extent it is better to not mention Mitcham's orientation, because ultimately that shouldn't be the main thing about his sporting achievement. I think the major backlash came from the fact that5 the American News Channel outright rejected any ideas of it, i.e. they stopped filming when Mitcham went and kissed his boyfriend in the stands after he had one his gold medal, they equally stopped filming when he kissed his partner whilst being interviewed afterwards. Moreover, they only called his partner his 'friend'.
Whilst, I do agree therefore agree that it shouldn't be the sole focus of his victory, what is so inspiring about Mitcham is that his sexuality really is part of his Olympic journey! At this point he was really proud of who he was and (as far as I'm aware) was keen for it to be a known thing so that he could inspire younger generations that even if you're 'different' this doesn't mean you can't achieve your goals! Additionally, Mitcham's sexuality led him into depression which he fought through and which ultimately makes his gold medal even more amazing!
If you want to read more about his depression struggles, check out this article
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/laurence-watts/matthew-mitcham-talks-addiction-depression-and-openly-gay-olympic-gold_b_2165232.html
As for gay sports team, I think they have gay sports teams in most places. As I live in Birmingham I've quickly googled what gay sports teams they have here. There's a list in Zone Magazine olnline of you want to check it out
- http://www.midlandszone.co.uk/default.asp?Id=33&sC=page11&cName=Gay-Directory&pName=sports-and-fitness-groups
Doing a bit more research for you now, I've just come across something called the 'Gay Games'. This is incredible! It started in San Francisco in 1982 and has been going ever since! Here's a link to its website here
- http://gaygames.org/wp/
The thing that most inspired me on this page is their mission which is to "promote equality for all, and in particular for lesbian, gay, bi and trans people* throughout the world. We believe that the Gay Games and the movement they created and nurture are among the greatest forces for community empowerment and social change." Isn't that brilliant?! It's a shame I've only just found this otherwise I would have discussed it in my actual blog but please check out the website!
To answer the second part of your final question, I think it ultimately comes down to the individual. Personally, (as I do rowing) I wouldn't like to be part of an 'all gay rowing squad' because the fun of sports is that you can meet people who are completely different to you and yet be united by one single passion(which is why I find the Nigerian soccer coach incident I mentioned above so upsetting!). However, if people feel they would be happier on an all-gay sports squad that's cool too!
Hope that helps! :)