I don't know if this has already been posted or not, but... Personally, I don't think this is a big deal. Most people don't give two craps about whether someone is gay or not. But homophobia seems to be pretty rampant in the sports world, the writer said. It will be interesting to see how the testosterone-heavy, machismo-driven athletic world handles his announcement. Or at least Garrison Hearst. http://www.boston.com/dailynews/273/sports/Boston_Herald_sportswriter_ann:.shtml Boston Herald sportswriter announces he's gay, decries homophobia in sports By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press, 9/30/2003 15:15 BOSTON (AP) A Boston Herald sportswriter, saying he could no longer tolerate the ''unabashed homophobia'' in professional sports, revealed he was gay in a column and called on teams to crack down on what he called the last acceptable prejudice in the sports world. Ed Gray, a 55-year-old reporter who has worked at the Herald for about two decades, said in an interview Tuesday that he was compelled to reveal his sexual preference because he believes homophobia has gotten pervasive. ''I just got to the point where I didn't want to be silent anymore,'' he told The Associated Press. ''In the sports world, homophobia is tolerated. It's the one minority that seems to be fair game.'' In his column, Gray cited as examples recent comments by New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey, who called Dallas Cowboys coach Bill Parcells a ''homo,'' and San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst, who said, ''I don't want any faggots on my team.'' Neither was sanctioned by the league. Shockey said he was misquoted, and Hearst apologized. His hope, Gray said, is ''that major league sports address the issue of homophobia and people who make overt homophobic remarks or actions be held accountable.'' Gray whose primary beat is horse racing, but also has written about the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots said he wasn't worried about how athletes would treat him after his column. ''I just don't have any concern,'' he said. ''My concern is about homophobia, not about the way athletes may or may not treat me.'' The column, headline ''Out and Proud,'' was displayed prominently on the back page of the Herald, a tabloid. ''We support Eddie and we just thought it was the right thing to do to give him the platform to express his views,'' said Herald sports editor Mark Torpey. The column was discussed at length on local sports talk radio Tuesday morning, where opinions were divided on whether Gray's column would cast him as a pariah, but Torpey said, ''We haven't had much reaction one way or another.'' Gray declined to detail the personal reasons he decided to publicly reveal his homosexuality, but said in his column that he decided to come out because ''the silence of a closeted gay man only serves to give his implicit approval to bigotry.'' ''I'm out because I can't come up with a single logical reason why I should have denied myself the right to live and work as openly and freely as everyone else,'' he wrote. ''Nor should anyone find a reason why an openly gay athlete should be denied the right to play a team sport without fear of becoming a target of prejudice or physical harm.'' He noted that no active player on a major sports had announced he was gay, though some have after retirement. ''Somehow, a gay teammate is only regarded as a threat if he is honest and a stand-up guy, qualities that are usually valued in team sports,'' he wrote. He added that any frenzy caused by an athlete announcing he's gay could be quickly diffused. ''How long would a gay player be such a distraction if all of his teammates rallied around him for the whole world to witness?'' he asked. Few sportswriters are openly gay, and L.Z. Granderson, a gay sports columnist for ''Access Atlanta,'' the entertainment tabloid of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, said the machismo that's part of the professional sports culture extends to journalists. Granderson said there's been no negative reaction by athletes to his homosexuality. He revealed his own sexual preference by writing about competing in basketball in the Gay Games, and also in response to a group of Atlanta Thrashers hockey players he was with at a bar who asked why he was showing little interest in the women there. But Granderson said he knows the prejudice against gays exists in locker rooms, though he added it may seem more pervasive than it is because other athletes refuse to stand up to those who say negative things about gays. He said Gray's column can help dispel the stereotype that gay people don't fit into the sports world. ''The more visible, everyday, average, non-'Queer Eye for the Straight Guys' who come out, the more the diverse (the gay community) appears,'' he said. On the Net: Boston Herald: http://www.bostonherlald.com
I think it's very important for gay and other queer people to be out. And I think that the constant use of stereotypes, even if they are seen as positive, hurts us in the long run. The queer community (ies) are extremely diverse. It is important to recognize and celebrate this diversity instead of confining ourselves to small boxes. Ultimately, gay and queer people are just human like anyone else.
