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Now that They’re Out: Experiences of College Athletics Teams with Openly LGBTQ Players

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Journal of Homosexuality
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In recent years, more college athletes have publicly identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ). Our study seeks to move past media celebrations and controversies of “coming out” and examine actual experiences of LGBTQ athletes and their teammates. A survey of 259 LGBTQ athletes and teammates of LGBTQ athletes was conducted. We examined concerns about being or playing with LGBTQ athletes, sources of homophobic language, experiences and observations of discrimination, and perceived impact of being or playing with an LGBTQ athlete. Findings indicate that many fears associated with college athletes coming out are likely overstated. All participants reported low levels of concern, homophobia, and negative impact of being or playing with an LGBTQ teammate. However, there were some differences between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes with non-LGBTQ athletes reporting fewer concerns, but also hearing less homophobic language than their LGBTQ counterparts. programs.
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Now that They’re Out: Experiences of College
Athletics Teams with Openly LGBTQ Players
Katrina Pariera, Evan Brody & D. Travers Scott
To cite this article: Katrina Pariera, Evan Brody & D. Travers Scott (2019): Now that They’re Out:
Experiences of College Athletics Teams with Openly LGBTQ Players, Journal of Homosexuality,
DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2019.1661727
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2019.1661727
Published online: 11 Sep 2019.
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Now that Theyre Out: Experiences of College Athletics
Teams with Openly LGBTQ Players
Katrina Pariera, PhD
a
, Evan Brody, PhD
b
, and D. Travers Scott, PhD
c
a
Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, The George Washington University,
Washington, DC, USA;
b
Department of Communication Studies, University of Wisconsin La Crosse, La
Crosse, Wisconsin, USA;
c
Department of Communication Studies, Clemson University, Clemson, South
Carolina, USA
ABSTRACT
In recent years, more college athletes have publicly identified as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer (LGBTQ). Our
study seeks to move past media celebrations and controversies of
coming outand examine actual experiences of LGBTQ athletes
and their teammates. A survey of 259 LGBTQ athletes and team-
mates of LGBTQ athletes was conducted. We examined concerns
about being or playing with LGBTQ athletes, sources of homo-
phobic language, experiences and observations of discrimination,
and perceived impact of being or playing with an LGBTQ athlete.
Findings indicate that many fears associated with college athletes
coming out are likely overstated. All participants reported low
levels of concern, homophobia, and negative impact of being or
playing with an LGBTQ teammate. However, there were some
differences between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes with non-
LGBTQ athletes reporting fewer concerns, but also hearing less
homophobic language than their LGBTQ counterparts. programs.
KEYWORDS
Bias; college athletes;
discrimination; intergroup
contact; homophobia;
sports; varsity
In the winter of 2014, Michael Sam, a University of Missouri football player and
aspiring member of the National Football League, announced he was gay in
a media event coordinated with the New York Times and ESPN. While many
expressed support for Sam, ample professional athletes (Yan & Alsup, 2014),
members of professional sports organizations (Goldstein, 2014; Greenberg, 2014;
Thamel & Evans, 2014), and sports media analysts (Chase, 2014)expressedcon-
cerns over playing with or employing an openly gay athlete. Even a teammate who
had supported him the previous August, when he had first told the team about his
sexual orientation, was later publicly unsupportive (Breech, 2014).
The brief professional career of Sam is often alluded to as an object lesson in how
coming out can ruin onescareer(Shweky,2018). Adding to the experiences of
Sam, the coming out events and media coverage of Jason Collins, Brittney Griner,
Robbie Rogers, Megan Rapinoe, Elena Della Donne, and others show differing
examples of what happens when US professional athletes come out while actively
CONTACT Katrina Pariera klp@gwu.edu Department of Organizational Sciences and Communication, The
George Washington University, 600 21st Street, NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY
https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2019.1661727
© 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
competing.Forexample,Collinsarticulated that fears of negative reactions not
only prevented LGBTQ athletes from coming out, but also promulgated negative
responses by straight-identified (potential) teammates (Slater, 2013). Griner
reported that while competing in college she was told not to come out because it
would hurt recruiting and look bad for the program(ESPN.com, 2013). Indeed,
social progress is neither uniform nor consistent. Overall, the percentage of
Americans who feel homosexual relations should be illegal has decreased from
43 to 23 percent over the past 20 years (Gallup, 2019). However, this means that
nearly a quarter of Americans still feel that homosexuality should be against the
law. According to the same study, support for same-sex marriage has grown from
27 to 67 percent since 1996; yet, in 2017, 46 percent of the population felt no new
laws were needed to protect the civil rights of LGBTQ persons (Gallup, 2019).
A 2018 Harris Poll found an increase in reported LGBTQ discrimination and, for
the first time in its history, decreases in reported comfort with interacting with
LGBTQ individuals across every personal setting polled. United States courts have
upheld the rights of same-sex couples to wed, yet also allowed businesses to
discriminate against or not provide services for LGBTQ individuals (Liptak, 2018).
Such ambivalence toward LGBTQ Americans supports athletesfear of
unknown outcomes of coming out. Psychologists describe how fear of retaliation
and rejectionmake coming out in the workplace one of the toughest issues that
gay men and lesbians face(Griffith & Hebl, 2002, p. 1191). This common
perception that fear hinders coming out in the athletic workplace is illustrated in
acolumnonOutsports.com, the largest LGBTQ sports website: The fear [of
coming out] could come from the unknown reaction of fans, teammates, sponsors,
coaches, family or a bunch of other places(Zeigler, 2017). Indeed, an analysis of
coming-out narratives at Outsports.com found a pattern of fears and negative
expectations before coming out, followedbyunexpectedlypositiveexperiences
(Morales & White, 2019). One of the motivations for the current study is to
understand the pattern of experiences of out student athletes beyond reactions to
coming out.
Although some academics have found lowering instances of homophobia
within sports (Anderson, Magrath, & Bullingham, 2016), in general, media
representations still support a fear-based, conflict-driven perception. For exam-
ple, news coverage focusing on professional athletesuse of gay slurs (e.g., Kobe
Bryant, Harrison, Floyd Mayweather Jr.) focuses on what McCormack (2011)
describes as pernicious fag discourse,without examining the less- or non-
homophobic forms of gay discourse. News and entertainment focus on fear-
driving conflict with highly scrutinized careers of gay professional athletes and
foregrounding negative reactions to nonnormative sexualities in sports culture,
as in the film Alone in the Game (2018), when a Division I NCAA football player
states he is not ashamed just scaredthat teammates would stop talking to
him and his coaches would see him as inferior. This coverage of athletes is
important as the media plays a major role in shaping and sharing the stories of
2K. PARIERA ET AL.
LGBTQ athletes (Billings & Moscowitz, 2018). These conflicting sentiments
about fear, the unknown, and what acceptance of the LGBTQ community
means to the lived reality of LGBTQ athletes, are the motivations for this
study. Such empirical evidence will be useful for future scholars and practi-
tioners in developing data-driven best practices for LGBTQ integration into, and
support within, college athletics programs.
Being LGBTQ in sports
Studies of LGBTQ athletes have also shown ambivalence toward LGBTQ indivi-
duals. One of the earliest works on this topic examined both professional and
collegiate athletes who were a mix of closeted and out players. Using in-depth
interviews, discourse analysis, and autoethnography, Pronger (1992)found
a sports culture operating under the assumption of universal heterosexuality,
with extensive homophobia and negative experiences for LGBTQ players.
Another early study by Krane (1997) interviewed lesbian collegiate athletes, finding
numerous experiences of disempowering homonegativism. A 2002 study inter-
viewed out gay male athletes and found that homophobic language and a dont
ask, donttellcultureofsilenceonthesubjectwerepersistent:Sport uses
homophobic discourse, the threat of physical violence toward gay athletes, and
the silencing of gay identities to maintain the virility of masculine hegemony and to
prevent the acceptance of homosexuality in general, as well as to prevent the
creation of a gay identity that shows homosexuality and athleticism as compatible
(Anderson, 2002,p.861862). Case studies of high school, Olympic, and major-
league sports have also identified a variety of prejudices experienced by LGBTQ
athletes (Sartore-Baldwin, 2013). In a survey of undergraduates, Gill, Morrow,
Collins, Lucey, and Schultz (2010) found that sexual orientation was commonly
a basis for harassment and exclusion in physical activities. However, Anderson,
Magrath, and Bullingham (2016) conclude that more recent studies have identified
less homophobia in sports than in the past. A 2018 study of non-LGBTQ athletes
found high levels of support for sexual and gender minorities, but low likelihood of
intervening in biases toward these individuals (Toomey, McGeorge, & Carlson,
2018). In a quantitative study, Atteberry-Ash and Woodford (2017) investigated
the nature and support for LGBTQ inclusive policies among heterosexual students
involved in club and intercollegiate sports, finding that most held neutral or
negative attitudes about those policies. Cunningham and Melton (2014)found
varying degrees of acceptance for LGBTQ coaches among parents, while Halbrook
and colleagues found that coaches have positive views of their LGBTQ athletes,
though they are largely unaware of issues they might face on the team (Halbrook,
Watson, & Voelker, 2019). A 2013 study by Fink and colleagues found that out
lesbian and bisexual women athletes commonly reported acceptance from their
teammates, while also noting a lack of structures and policies in place to support
out athletes (Fink, Burton, Farrell, & Parker, 2012). More quantitative research on
JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY 3
the experiences of LGBTQ college athletes and those who play with them is needed
in order to infer broader patterns of challenges for LGBTQ college athletes and
teammates and establish a benchmark from which to compare changes over time.
One major focus area of research has been the role of homophobia within sports
culture (see Aitchison, 2006; Anderson, 2005). Homophobia refers to an irrational
fear of LGBTQ individuals and is manifested as overt acts of bias aimed at LGBTQ
individuals. Osborne and Wagner (2007) explored the ways in which homophobia
is learned and adopted by high school athletes and how the impact of homophobia
negatively affects participation in athletic activities, particularly for male indivi-
duals who avoid such activities because of the homophobic language exhibited in
such settings. Also significant are implicit forms of bias. For example, heterosexist
language, which centers heterosexual experience, and thereby promotes hetero-
normativity, serves to privilege heterosexual relations as the central organizing
principle for social, cultural, political, and economic relations. For LGBTQ per-
sons, some actions and language can communicate hostility and prejudice, even if
unintended (Nadal, Whitman, Davis, Erazo, & Davidoff, 2016). This has been
conceptualized as microaggressions, the constant and continuing everyday reality
of slights, insults, invalidations, and indignitiesvisiteduponmarginalizedgroups
by well-intentioned, moral, and decent individuals(Sue, 2010,p.xv).
Understanding microaggressions within teams is especially important as inclusiv-
ity and non-heterosexist language are associated with more team cohesion (Mullin,
2014). Furthermore, the more straight athletes perceive a sports climate to be non-
heterosexist, the more likely they are to intervene when witnessing bias toward
LGBTQ individuals (Toomey et al., 2018).
This contrast between overt acts of homophobia and more covert hetero-
normativity is especially apparent within the context of sports and sexuality and
the reinforcement of hegemonic masculinity among male athletes. As Connell
and Messerschmidt (2005) describe in their reassessment of the phrase hege-
monic masculinity,its varied and contested use through the decades married
the concept of Gramscis oppression through consent with feminist ideas of
social gender roles, suggesting more than traditional masculine behaviors but,
more specifically, those behaviors which support and maintain mensdomi-
nance over women, and the larger gender system of which it is part. Conversely,
women athletes must contend with the masculinity associated with athleticism
and the marginalization that comes with eschewing hegemonic femininity
(Krane, Choi, Baird, Aimar, & Kauer, 2004). While overt acts of homophobia
may have decreased, research shows that, even when sports fans express pro-
gressive views toward the LGBTQ community, it does not stop them from
participating in anti-LGBTQ behavior (Magrath, 2017). Similarly, when non-
LGBTQ male athletes demonstrate decreasing explicit homophobia by expres-
sing support for same-sex marriage, identifying gay friends and family members,
and performing acts that question traditional male gender norms (such as
wearing pink cleats), they may still have stereotypes about what it means to be
4K. PARIERA ET AL.
gay (Adams, 2011). Athletes may simultaneously resist hypermasculine narra-
tives while still strengthening implicit biases by expecting individuals to shore up
their heterosexuality through hegemonic actsof masculinity, such as denigrating
femininity, expressing homophobia, or embracing stereotypical masculine
values and behaviors (e.g., aggression, rationality, emotional control) (Adams,
Anderson, & McCormack, 2010). Even as journalists explicitly condemn homo-
phobic behavior, their coverage of gay athletes can still implicitly marginalize
their experiences through an entrenchment of hegemonic masculinity (Hardin,
Kuehn, Jones, Genovese, & Balaji, 2009).
Diminished homophobia through intergroup contact
One theoretical concept that can help understand reductions in homophobia is
intergroup contact theory (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2011). This proposes that pre-
judice toward a particular group is reduced when one has opportunity to
communicate directly with someone who is a member of that group. A meta-
analysis of research on intergroup contact found clear evidence of reduction of
intergroup prejudice and the effects typically generalized beyond the immediate
participantsreduced prejudice and out toward the entire outgroup (Pettigrew &
Tropp, 2006). In a related publication, the authors argued that intergroup
contact should be a critical component of any successful effort to reduce
prejudice(Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006,p.110).
Intergroup contact has been applied specifically to prejudice toward LGBTQ
persons, finding, for example, a reduction in prejudice among adolescents toward
lesbian and gay peers (Heinze & Horn, 2009), heterosexual persons toward gay
men (Herek & Capitanio, 1996), and cisgender attitudes toward transgender
people (Walch et al., 2012). Interestingly, one study found that normalizing
their sexual identity was one of the main reasons lesbian athletes came out to
their teammates (Stoelting, 2011). A meta-analysis of 41 studies related to social
contact and bias found that having contact with lesbians and gay men is
associated with reduced sexual prejudice toward homosexuals by heterosexuals
(Smith,Axelton,&Saucier,2009, p. 187). From an intergroup contact perspective,
comingoutshouldleadtoareductionofprejudiceandgreaterharmonywithin
the group members on a single team. Our study focuses not on motivations for
coming out, but experiences after coming out. To understand what people have
actually experienced as out athletes and those who played with out athletes, we
examine the following research questions:
RQ1: To what extent do LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes have concerns
about LGBTQ athletes?
RQ2: To what extent do LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes recall hearing
homophobic language from various groups?
JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY 5
RQ3: To what extent are LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes who perceive
discrimination bothered by it?
RQ4: To what extent do LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes perceive the
impact of having LGBTQ athletes in college sports?
RQ5: How do LGBTQ men and women differ in their experiences as LGBTQ
athletes?
Methods
Procedures
Upon institutional review board approval, participants were recruited for an online
survey via convenience and snowball sampling. Recruitment took place through
social media and online hubs frequented by current and former student athletes,
such as Facebook pages for athletes, Reddit pages, and Outsports.com. Participants
were encouraged to share the survey with other current and former student
athletes, regardless of sexual orientation. Participants had to be over 18 and had
to have played varsity college sports at a 4-year university since 2006. As a research
strategy, we chose greater uniformity by relying on a single method and solely US
collegiate athletics, but to obtain a robust sample, we allowed for a more extensive
timeframe. This also allowed us to align with the conceptualization of coming out
as an ongoing process, rather than discrete moment. We chose 2006 as a cutoff
because it was the first year a trans student athlete, Keelin Godsey, competed in an
NCAA sport. Participants also had to be either an LGBTQ athlete who had been
out to at least one person on their team, or a non-LGBTQ athlete who played with
at least one LGBTQ athlete. After informed consent procedures, participants
completed the anonymous survey. Participants were asked socio-demographic
questions including questions about sexual orientation. If they identified as
LGBTQ, they received one set of questions about their experience as an LGBTQ
student athlete. If they identified as a teammate of an LGBTQ athlete, they received
a similar set of questions, but with wording changed appropriately. Data was
collected in 2018.
Our use of LGBTQ in our language and research design does not intend to
suggest conflation of the vast variety of gendered, sexual, and romantic experi-
ences, performances, practices, perceptions or representations of persons who
fall under the LGBTQacronym. LGBTQ studies in communication is inter-
disciplinary, multimodal, and multiperspectival; often incorporates queer, inter-
sex, asexual, and other social groups, and should not be falsely presumed as
oppositional to queer studies (Scott, 2016). We chose LGBTQ as the best balance
of inclusivity and operationalizability, as is the precedent in social-science and
6K. PARIERA ET AL.
humanities scholarship across many fields, (for an extended discussion of this
topic, see Nash & Browne, 2016.)
Participants
The population for this study was varsity athletes playing at any division in
collegiate sports. Participants must have either identified as LGBTQ and been
out to at least one person on their team or must have played on a team with at least
one LGBTQ member who was out to some degree. The final sample (N = 259)
consisted of 70 LGBTQ athletes and 189 non-LGBTQ athletes. The sample had
slightly more women (54.4%) than men. Six participants identified as trans men.
Throughout this paper we use the LGBTQ acronym. This is a deliberate decision to
reflect our participants. However, as discussed later in this article, the low response
rate from transgender individuals made it difficult to draw statistical comparisons.
The average age was 27.39 (SD = 6.10). In terms of year, 17.8% last played
20062009, 22.4% played 20102013, and 59.8% played 2014 to 2018. Socio-
demographic information about all participants is in Table 1.
Gender and sexual/romantic orientation were measured with open-ended
questions. For the purposes of quantitative comparisons between men and
women, open-ended responses to gender were coded into a binary: 141 partici-
pants wrote femaleor woman,and were coded as women; 111 participants
wrote maleor man,six participants indicated they were trans men, who were
Table 1. Socio-demographics of participants, by percentage
(N = 259).
LGBQ Non-LGBQ
Women 15.4 39.0
Men 12.4 33.2
Division 1 57.1 43.9
Division 2 25.7 32.8
Division 3 17.1 23.3
Race/Ethnicity
Hispanic/Latino 5.7 3.8
Black/African American 5.7 11.5
White/Caucasian 77.1 74.5
Native American/American Indian 1.4 1.6
Asian or Pacific Islander 4.3 7.1
Vote in last election
Republican 12.9 23.3
Democrat 71.4 50.8
Libertarian 2.9 5.3
Region
West 11.4 20.6
Southwest 5.7 9.0
Midwest 25.7 19.6
South 32.9 30.2
Mid-Atlantic 18.6 15.3
New England 5.8 5.3
JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY 7
coded into the manbinary, and one participant wrote non-binaryand was
included in the study but not in gender comparisons. Sexual orientation was also
coded into a binary of LGBTQ or non-LGBTQ. Of the participants coded as
LGBTQ,14peoplewrotebisexual,threewrotepansexual,onewrotebi/pan,one
wrote open, one wrote gay/lesbian/queer and the remaining wrote gay, homo-
sexual, or lesbian.
Measures
All items were developed based on a review of research, athletics policies, and
popular press articles about out athletes. After the survey was developed, we
engaged in cognitive interviewing with three LGBTQ individuals to establish
validity of the items. To measure concerns about LGBTQ athletes, LGBTQ
participants were asked Did the following worry you with regard to being out
as LGBTQ while you were a student athlete?Non-LGBTQ participants were
asked Did the following worry you about the LGBTQ athlete you played with?
Eight items were included (see Tables 26for all items) on a scale from 1 (Not at
all)to4(Alot). To measure experiences with homophobia, LGBTQ and non-
LGBTQ athletes were told Homophobic language includes terms such as dyke
and/or fagetc.then asked, How often did you hear homophobic language from
the following?on a scale from 1 (Notatall)to4(A great deal). Six groups were
assessed including fans, teammates, coaching staff, etc. This scale was developed
based on a review of literature (see Atteberry-Ash & Woodford, 2017). To under-
stand the extent to which participants perceived and were bothered by discrimi-
natory practices toward LGBTQ athletes, they were asked Did the following
happen to you, and, if so, how much did it bother you during your time as
a college athlete?(for LGBTQ participants) or Think about the LGBTQ athlete
you played with. Did you observe the following happen to them, and, if so, how
much did it bother you?(for non-LGBTQ participants). Six items were included.
If participants indicated an item had happened, they then answered on a scale from
1(It did not bother me) to 5 (It bothered me extremely.). Finally, to understand
perceptions of negative impacts of having LGBTQ athletes on a team, all partici-
pants were asked, To what extent do you disagree or agree with the following
statements about LGBTQ athletes?followed by eight items reflecting various
concerns on a scale from 1 (Strongly disagree)to6(Strongly agree). All
analyses were conducted with SPSS 25, using chi-square and t-tests. To avoid
Type I error and to gather more nuance in our participantsexperiences we
analyzed individual items, rather than overall means and overall t-tests.
Results
Our first research question assessed the extent to which student athletes were
concerned about being or playing with an LGBTQ athlete. Overall, concerns
8K. PARIERA ET AL.
were low. The biggest concern of both LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes was
alienation from the team, although LGBTQ athletes were more concerned
about this (see Table 2). LGBTQ athletes were more concerned than their
non-LGBTQ teammates on five of the eight items.
Table 2. Concerns about being or playing with an LGBQ athlete.
LGBQ Non-LGBQ t-test
Your/their chances of getting recruited 2.09 (1.06) 1.49 (.86) 4.52***
Alienation from team 2.81 (1.13) 1.67 (.92) 8.31***
Loss of scholarship 1.43 (.88) 1.34 (.76) .83
Loss of playing time 1.70 (.97) 1.38 (.78) 2.74**
Distracting the team 2.21 (1.10) 1.49 (.85) 5.59***
Alienation from coaching staff 2.36 (1.19) 1.54 (.88) 5.94***
Alienation from fans 1.71 (.92) 1.60 (.88) .89
Getting outedby the media 1.77 (1.00) 1.60 (.89) 1.35
Note.**p< .01, *** p< .001.
Table 3. Experience with homophobic language from various sources.
LGBQ Non-LGBQ t-test
Fans 1.83 (.93) 1.68 (.84) 1.25
Teammates 2.14 (.97) 1.61 (.79) 4.50***
Coaching and team support staff 1.34 (.63) 1.25 (.57) 1.32
Athletes on opposing teams 1.96 (.97) 1.73 (.92) 1.75
Athletes on other teams at my university 2.16 (1.03) 1.74 (.90) 3.23**
Members of the media 1.30 (.62) 1.29 (.69) .10
Note.**p< .01, *** p< .001.
Table 4. Percent of participants who reported experiencing (LGBTQ) or witnessing (non-LGBQ)
discrimination.
LGBQ Non-LGBQ X
2
Prevented from forming an LGBQ student athlete group 15.7% 34.9% 24.48***
Being treated unfairly as an athlete for being LGBQ athlete 20.0% 36.0% 14.60*
Being harassed for being LGBQ athlete 30.0% 47.6% 21.86**
People laughing at me or making jokes at LGBQ athlete 41.4% 48.7% 18.85**
Prevented from talking about LGBQ issues with other athletes 28.6% 36.0% 25.06***
Prevented from talking openly about my LGBQ identity 34.3% 37.0% 30.04***
Note.*p< .05, ** p< .01, *** p< .001.
Table 5. Extent participants who witnessed/experienced discrimination were bothered by it.
LGBQ Non-LGB t-test
Prevented from forming an LGBTQ student athlete group 3.00 (1.00) 2.12 (1.07) 2.34*
Being treated unfairly as an athlete because I am an LGBTQ
athlete
2.29 (1.07) 2.46 (1.19) .51
Being harassed because I am an LGBTQ athlete 2.43 (.98) 2.87 (1.40) 1.32
People laughing at me or making jokes at my expense
because I am an LGBTQ athlete
2.34 (1.14) 2.87 (1.25) 1.92
Prevented from talking about LGBTQ issues with other
athletes
2.65 (1.04) 2.17 (1.15) 1.51
Prevented from talking openly about my LGBTQ identity 3.00 (1.14) 2.52 (1.23) 1.49
Note.*p< .05.
JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY 9
The second question asked participants about the extent to which they heard
homophobic language from various groups (see Table 3). Overall, means were
low, meaning they heard homophobic language rarely or never. Only two items
differed significantly between groups. LGBTQ athletes were more likely to have
heard homophobic language from teammates and from athletes on other teams
at their university. Participants reported hearing homophobic language least
often from coaching and team support staff, and members of the media.
The third research question was about the extent to which participants observed
and were bothered by discriminatory practices toward LGBTQ athletes. First, we
compared the responses of participants who reported that the discriminatory
practices happened (Table 4). Chi-square analyses revealed that there were signifi-
cant differences between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes on all six items, with
fewer LGBTQ athletes reporting that they experienced discrimination than non-
LGBTQ athletes reporting that they witnessed their LGBTQ teammate experiencing
discrimination. The most commonly reported discriminatory practices for both
groups was having people laugh at LGBTQ athletes, being prevented from talking
openly about ones LGBTQ status, and being harassed for being LGBTQ.
For those who reported that these practices did happen, we compared the
extent to which they were bothered by it (Table 5). On a five-point scale the
responses from all participants were near or below the mid-point. The only
significant difference between groups was that LGBTQ athletes were signifi-
cantly more bothered by being prevented from forming an LGBTQ student
athlete group than were their non-LGBTQ teammates.
The fourth research question was about the perceived impact of being or
playing with an LGBTQ athlete. All participants were asked the following
To what extent do you agree with the following statements about LGBTQ
athletes?with eight items on a scale from 1 (Strongly disagree)to6
(Strongly agree). On the six-point scale all responses were below the mid-
point with one exception. Non-LGBTQ athletes were less likely to think that
out athletes would improve perceptions of the university as diverse and
Table 6. Perceptions about the impact of LGBQ athletes.
LGBQ Non-LGBQ t-test
An out athlete would damage relationships with alumni and
donors.
2.00 (1.25) 2.01 (1.22) .03
Out athletes would hurt recruiting efforts. 1.99 (1.27) 1.92 (1.18) .41
Out athletes would improve perceptions of a university as
diverse and welcoming. (Item is reverse coded)
2.31 (1.60) 3.31 (1.82) 4.04***
Out athletes would complicate showers and hotel rooms. 1.86 (1.29) 2.16 (1.36) 1.61
Out athletes take the focus off a team and make it about an
individual.
1.63 (1.04) 1.96 (1.12) 2.14*
Out athletes would sexually harass straight athletes. 1.43 (.96) 1.69 (1.27) 1.83
Out athletes will get negative media attention. 1.96 (1.27) 2.11 (1.29) .83
Out athletes will hurt team bonding. 1.52 (1.09) 1.81 (1.16) 1.83
Note.*p< .05, *** p< .001.
10 K. PARIERA ET AL.
welcoming. Non-LGBTQ athletes were also more likely to be concerned that
out athletes would take the focus off the team and make it about an
individual, although the mean was low for both groups (see Table 6).
Finally, we explored gender differences among LGBTQ student athletes.
Independent samples t-tests were run on each variable. Only five of the 34 total
items showed significant differences between men and women. Regarding con-
cerns about being an LGBTQ athlete, women were less concerned (M=2.58,
SD =1.20)thanmen(M=3.18,SD = 1.02) about alienation from their team
(t(64) = 2.14, p= .03). For homophobic language, women (M=1.76,SD =.88)were
less likely than men (M=2.64,SD = .87) to hear it from teammates (t(64) = 4.03,
p< .001), and less likely to hear it from athletes on opposing teams than men were
(womensM=1.68,SD =.81,mensM= 2.25, SD = 1.04, t(64) = 2.49, p=.02).
There were no significant differences in discrimination experienced. Regarding
negative perceptions of being an out LGBTQ athlete, women (M= 2.34, SD =1.32)
were more likely than men (M=1.50,SD = .96) to believe that LGBTQ athletes
would damage relationships with alumni and donors (t(64) = 2.86, p= .006).
They were also more likely than men to believe out athletes would hurt recruiting
efforts (womensM= 2.27, SD =1.28,mensM=1.50,SD = 1.04, t(6) = 2.60,
p= .01), although means for both items were low overall.
Discussion
ThegoalofthisstudywastogathertheexperiencesofoutLGBTQcollege
athletes and their teams in order to provide empirical balance to media narra-
tives, word of mouth, and misperceptions. The results from the first research
question revealed that concerns about being or playing with an LGBTQ athlete
were low overall. However, concern for alienation from the team still exists,
especially for the LGBTQ athletes themselves. While concerns about being or
playing with an LGBTQ athlete were low, they were still present among both
groups of athletes, suggesting that there remains room for improvement in
integrating openly LGBTQ athletes into college athletic programs. This supports
Morales and Whites findings of predominantly positive stories of coming-out
experiences on Outsports.com (2019). However, this just come outstrategy is
not unflawed, and may ignore social contingencies such as race, gender, and
class (Billings & Moscowitz, 2018,p.76;Brody,2019,2016).
This is further illustrated by the second research question which found that
frequency of hearing homophobic language was low, but, again, not absent.
These findings support previous research that has found that while cultural
homophobia has decreased over time, LGBTQ acceptance has not universally
accelerated (Poll, 2018; Pew Research Center, 2017). LGBTQ athletes were more
likely than non-LGBTQ athletes to have heard homophobic language from
teammates and players on other teams. It may be that LGBTQ athletes report
hearing more homophobic speech because they are more attuned to a wider
JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY 11
variety of forms of speech that are used to promote heterosexuality and may
recognize language that non-LGBTQ athletes use casually, but nonetheless
contributes to negative social effects. One additional explanation of the relatively
low reports of homophobia in this study is the reverse relative deprivation thesis.
This idea argues that in the absence of severe expected intolerance,athletes
may artificially boost their sense of how well their experience went or ignore the
homophobia they did experience because they compare today to yesteryear
and when one expects to be treated hostilely, a little prejudice, or a few mean-
spirited gay jokes, doesnt seem so bad(Anderson, 2005,p.90).Although
McCormack (2011) presents a framework for explaining this it specifies that,
in order for language to be homophobic, it must be said with pernicious intent
and have a negative social effect and is also dependent on cultural context. This
is not how we defined homophobia in our survey, but future studies should
reevaluate the notion of homophobia in sports to see if these two necessary
elements must still be present. It also suggests the need for LGBTQ sports
scholarship to move beyond the issue of homophobia.
The results from the third research question showed that the most commonly
reported discriminatory practices observed by LGBTQ athletes were being
prevented from talking openly about their identity, forming LGBTQ athlete
groups, and being prevented from talking about LGBTQ issues with other
athletes. The finding that LGBTQ athletes were bothered by not being able to
form an LGBTQ group is especially important, since research shows that sexual
minorities in schools with support groups report less victimization and fear
(Goodenow, Szalacha, & Westheimer, 2006;Marx&Kettrey,2016)and
increased empowerment (Russell, Clarke, & Clary, 2009), across different racial
categories (Snapp, McGuire, Sinclair, Gabrion, & Russell, 2015). Programs that
distance themselves from a political third rail of sports and non-normative
sexual orientation are doing a disservice to the health and well-being of their
students and their program, given that as healthier, happier athletes compete at
higher levels. Non-LGBTQ athletes most commonly reported witnessing har-
assment and people laughing at LGBTQ athletes andwere actually more likely to
have witnessed discriminatory practices. It may be that some acts of discrimina-
tion occur away from the eyes and ears of LGBTQ athletes. Additionally, it may
be that the immense amount of media portrayals of athletes encountering
discrimination is a contributing factor. The theory of negativity bias suggests
that a negative event is subjectively more potent and of higher salience than its
positive counterpart(Rozin & Royzman, 2001, p. 298) and that individuals
learn from, and use, negative information far more than positive information
(Vaish, Grossmann, & Woodward, 2008). Given the media portrayals of LGBTQ
athletes, many individuals may understand the experiences of athletes with
nonnormative sexualities as antagonistic. In other words, it may be that non-
LGBTQ athletesperceptions are colored by these highly publicized negative
experiences of athletes since they cannot draw on the personal experience of
12 K. PARIERA ET AL.
actually being an LGBTQ athlete themselves. LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ athletes
were both bothered by these acts of discrimination. This may be due in part to
sampling bias, as participants with highly antagonistic views toward LGBTQ
teammates may not have taken the survey, although we were careful to avoid
mentioning that the study was about LGBTQ individuals in our recruitment
material. This finding also may reflect a desire, real or driven by social desir-
ability, to express support of LGBTQ people and anger toward discriminatory
practices. While participants in this study were only asked about the extent to
which they were bothered by discrimination, further research should also
examine how those feelings manifest in actions taken.
The fourth research question found that the perceived negative impact of
being or playing with an LGBTQ athlete was low overall. Non-LGBTQ
athletes were less likely to think that LGBTQ athletes would improve percep-
tions of the university as diverse and were more likely to think LGBTQ
athletes would take the focus off the team and put it on an individual, but,
again, averages were low overall. This generally confirms that, while there is
much concern over what might happen when an out LGBTQ player engages
in the highest levels of collegiate sport, the reality is that these concerns are
generally unfounded. However, this evokes our previous discussion of impli-
cit bias. For example, sports organizations use fear of distractionto justify
distancing from polarizing issues (Brody, 2019), making the distracting
influenceof an LGBTQ athlete a reason for exclusion (Khan, 2017,
p. 335). Distraction is the greatest concern non-LGBTQ athletes had con-
cerning playing with an LGBTQ athlete, showing the need for research
calling attention to how distractions is deployed strategically to prohibit or
contain nonnormative sexualities. This finding also furthers the argument
that, while overt acts of homophobia might be declining, microaggressions
toward the LGBTQ community still occur.
The final research question found that of all the measures, only five
differed significantly between men and women. Women were less concerned
than men about alienation from their team and reported hearing less homo-
phobic language from teammates and from athletes on opposing teams than
men did. Women were more likely than men to believe LGBTQ athletes
would damage relationships with alumni and to believe out athletes would
hurt recruiting efforts, but averages were low overall. These findings are
consistent with findings that women, and women athletes, are more accept-
ing of nonnormative sexualities than men (Herek & Capitanio, 1996; Lim,
2002; Roper & Halloran, 2007; Smith et al., 2009). In fact, for some women
teams may offer a safe space to explore gender and sexual identity (Petty &
Trussell, 2018). Furthermore, anti-gay language is often bound up in under-
standings of masculinity: men often reject those who violate norms in order
to reinforce their masculinity (Herek, 1988) and homophobic language relies
on masculinist gender biases (Pascoe, 2005).
JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY 13
Women being more likely than men to believe LGBTQ athletes would damage
relationships with alumni and hurt recruiting is noteworthy because homophobia is
still used as a recruiting tool in college womens sports, both blatantly and subtly
(Griffin, 2012,p.8).AsmentionedinthecaseofGriner,anti-gaylanguageisused
both in recruiting efforts and to situate openly gay athletes as detrimental to their
universitys image (see also Wolf-Wendel, Toma, & Morphew, 2001). Moreover,
women may already be more concerned with negative portrayals that might affect
alumni relations, since they are already marginalized and/or undervalued with
regards to institutional support, scholarships, media attention, and campus
emphasis.
We infer from intergroup contact theory that more exposure to out
LGBTQ athletes may have helped decrease negative assumptions held by
straight individuals. Our findings suggest that this phenomenon may have
been at play, as fears about playing with LGBTQ athletes, and witnessing
homophobic language toward them were relatively low for athletes who had
an LGBTQ teammate. A comparison of non-LGBTQ athletes who have and
have not played with LGBTQ athletes would confirm this possibility.
Intergroup contact theory, in particular the Common In-group Identity
Model, suggests that a superordinate identity,such as athlete or team
member, can possibly reduce anxiety about previously perceived outgroup
members, such as LGBTQ persons (Gaertner, Dovidio, Anastasio, Bachman,
& Rust, 1993, p. 6), including LGBTQ coaches (Cunningham & Melton,
2014).
Athletes coming out has been a fear for teams, schools, and players our
study shows that many concerns about LGBTQ athletes are not borne out in
actuality. LGBTQ athletes are able to compete within collegiate sports. Their
teammates are supportive of them and have found positive experiences from
playing with them. Our study demonstrates an urgent need to highlight the
range of experiences of LGBTQ athletes so that the public narrative is more
in line with experiences. The early 21st century saw rapid social and legal
acceptance of LGBTQ individuals. While our study found somewhat low
levels of homophobia and negative perceptions of playing with out athletes,
these have not been erased from the college sports arena. As a complex,
ongoing process, varying by sport, institution, and other contexts, coming
out is an issue that is a starting point for athletics programs to address. Better
understanding the experiences of players, coaches, and staff on teams with
LGBTQ members goes beyond a feared coming out disruption. In order to
nurture healthier, better-adjusted athletes, and more effective, robust, and
efficient athletics programs, better understanding of changing identification
experiences within LGBTQ communities is essential.
14 K. PARIERA ET AL.
Limitations
There are several limitations to keep in mind when interpreting these results. One
is that we had too few trans individuals to conduct quantitative comparisons.
Whilewedidtrytorecruitpeople who identify as trans, we received few responses.
Future research must include a broader range of sexual and gender identities to
generate a better understanding of the experiences of these differing identities.
Similarlywedidnothavealargeenoughsamplesizetoanalyzeintersecting
identities with race and other identities and statuses. We do not expect that the
experience of out athletes is uniform. More in-depth analyses of the interplay
between race, immigration status, nationality, and other axes of inequality are
needed. Another limitation is that we did not examine paired dyads of LGBTQ
athletes and the teammates they were out to. Significant differences in our study
cannot be attributed entirely to differing perceptions but could be the result of
differences of teams and schools. Finally, as with survey research in general, some
nuance is lost. Qualitative research in the form of in-depth interviews would help
illuminate the results from this study. Despite these limitations our results show
that in general, negative repercussions of LGBTQ athletes are low, but improve-
ment of integration and fair treatment of LGBTQ individuals remains a priority.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge that this research was supported by a grant from the
Robert H. Brooks Sports Science Institute
ORCID
Katrina Pariera http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8341-4388
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... Denison et al. found that SMSAs who disclose their identity to their teams may face increased discrimination [21]. Pariera et al. also observed deep-rooted fears among SMSAs of being marginalised by their teams upon revealing their sexual orientation [22]. Consequently, the hostile environment led to lower participation rates among sexual minority youth compared to their heterosexual counterparts [23]. ...
... Notably, male student-athletes exhibited higher levels of homophobic attitudes compared to their female counterparts and non-physical education students [15,16,62]. Conversely, female athletes reported experiencing less fear of exclusion and a more inclusive team environment [22,63,64], highlighting significant gender disparities in homonegativity in sport. ...
... The results show that SMSAs are a recognised reality in Chinese intercollegiate sport, consistent with findings from Western countries. While precise figures of sexual minorities in sport may vary across countries, it is acknowledged that they are present at all competitive levels, from school and college sport to the professional sphere [22,[86][87][88][89][90][91]. Although no national census on sexual minorities in China or in sports environments exists, related research indicates that many college and university students self-identify as sexual minorities. ...
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Background Sexual minority student-athletes (SMSAs) face discrimination and identity conflicts in intercollegiate sport, impacting their participation and mental health. This study explores the perceptions of Chinese SMSAs regarding their sexual minority identities, aiming to fill the current gap in research related to non-Western countries. Methods A qualitative methodology was adopted, utilising the Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach with self-categorization theory as the theoretical framework. Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling, and data were collected via semi-structured interviews, documents, and field notes. Sixteen former and current Chinese SMSAs participated in this study. Results The study reveals four themes: hidden truths, prioritisation of athlete identity, self-stereotyping, and attempt. The results revealed that while SMSAs were common in intercollegiate sport, their identities were often concealed and not openly discussed. The predominant focus on athlete identity in sport overshadowed their sexual minority identities. Additionally, SMSAs developed self-stereotypes that influenced their thoughts and behaviours. The non-heterosexual team atmosphere in women’s teams led to the development of intimate relationships among teammates. Conclusions The findings from this study could be incorporated into existing sport policies to ensure the safe participation of SMSAs in Chinese intercollegiate sports. This research offers valuable insights for the development and implementation of inclusive policies. Future research in China could investigate the attitudes of coaches and heterosexual student-athletes toward sexual minority identities to inform targeted interventions.
... Although a subset of scholarly works indicates an emerging positive trajectory in attitudes toward LGBTQ entities within sports (Gaston et al., 2018;Mann & Krane, 2018;Piedra et al., 2017;Roberts et al., 2017), nuanced discriminatory undertones persist (Munro et al., 2019;Rollè et al., 2022). In school and collegiate sports, LGBTQ student-athletes reported hearing more homophobic language than their non-LGBTQ peers, experiencing discrimination by their teammates, and feeling unsafe due to the inaction of athletic staff (Anderson et al., 2023;Greenspan et al., 2019;Kulick et al., 2019;Pariera et al., 2021). Additionally, LGBTQ student-athletes are less likely to be open about their LGBTQ identities compared to LGBTQ youth who do not play sports (The Trevor Project, 2022). ...
... Women tend to be more supportive of LGBTQrelated protective policies than men (Atteberry-Ash & Woodford, 2018). Lesbians on women's teams were less fearful of being alienated and heard less homophobic language compared to their male counterparts (Pariera et al., 2021). Similarly, after surveying 279 Spanish footballers, Velez and Piedra (2020) found that lesbians adapted more easily to teams due to higher tolerance in women's teams, whereas male teams were less tolerant of gay men. ...
... LGBTQ athletes are often the targets of harassment or assault in school sports settings, which is where stigmatisation often starts (Knoester & Allison, 2021) [16] . LGBTQ collegiate athletes frequently experience an identity crisis as a result of the pressure to adhere to heteronormative standards, as shown by the researchers Pariera et al. (2021) [26] . In another study of LGBTQ+ athletes participating in collegiate sports, Krane et al. (2010) discovered that a significant number of them had increased amount of stress as a result of prejudice from coaches and teammates. ...
... LGBTQ athletes are often the targets of harassment or assault in school sports settings, which is where stigmatisation often starts (Knoester & Allison, 2021) [16] . LGBTQ collegiate athletes frequently experience an identity crisis as a result of the pressure to adhere to heteronormative standards, as shown by the researchers Pariera et al. (2021) [26] . In another study of LGBTQ+ athletes participating in collegiate sports, Krane et al. (2010) discovered that a significant number of them had increased amount of stress as a result of prejudice from coaches and teammates. ...
... However, coaches' behaviour can also contribute to felt stigma, for example by accepting the use of antigay slurs (Petty & Trussell, 2018) or by being the source of non-verbal or verbal harassment (Kokkonen, 2019). Pariera et al. (2021) found that the fear of being alienated from the coaching staff is a major concern among LGB + college team athletes who came out in their sport. As Rankin and Merson (2012) showed, other athletes-in this case, teammates-can also urge LGBT student athletes to conceal their sexuality and keep quiet about it. ...
... Social support from LGB + peers can help in preventing the internalization of sexual stigma and negative stereotypes as well as developing and stabilizing self-acceptance, which ultimately facilitates the coming out (Kauth et al., 2017;Pistella et al., 2019;Vilanova et al., 2020). Qualitative findings underline that a shortcoming of socializing, especially for female athletes, and the anticipation of discrimination inhibits sexual orientation disclosure (Pariera et al., 2021;Petty & Trussell, 2018). ...
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Introduction Sexual orientation disclosure is a complex, multifaceted process and has not yet been sufficiently explored with regard to LGB + athletes. Methods Based on a multilevel model for understanding sexual minority athletes’ (SMA) experiences in sports, we adopt a mixed-method approach, analysing data from a European survey conducted in 2018 with 1749 LGB + athletes to identify factors that influence the decision of disclosure in sports. Results Multivariate analyses include factors at the macro level (legal situation, population density and gender-typing of sport), meso level (composition of friendships, type of sport and performance level) and micro level (age, sexual orientation, education level and athletic capital). The analysis shows that sexual orientation disclosure is less likely when respondents were younger, had a bisexual or other sexual orientation (compared to lesbian or gay), lower athletic abilities, fewer non-heterosexual friends, participated in individual sports (rather than in team sports) and lived in a country with less inclusive LGB + laws and regulations. Responses to open-ended survey questions highlight the relevance of inclusive sport contexts in terms of trust, safety and LGB + visibility. Conclusions Coming out in sports is influenced by manifold factors on macro, meso and micro levels, and only few of them have gender impact. Policy Implications Policymakers, administrators, coaches, and teammates are relevant stakeholders in sports to establish an environment of trust and safety that eventually leads to an upward spiral of LGB + visibility and the coming out of other SMA.
... Due to the heteronormativity and cisnormativity of sport, some LGBTQ+ student athletes are reluctant to "come out" to their teams (Pfeiffer & Misawa, 2018;Scott et al., 2023;Turk et al., 2019). Specifically, LGBTQ+ student athletes worry about being seen as taking attention away from their team or putting their athletics department in an "awkward situation" (Anderson et al., 2023, p. 508; see also Brody et al., 2022;Pariera et al., 2021). Some LGBTQ+ student athletes also fear they will face homophobic slights, experience reduced playing time, or lose their scholarships should they "come out" to their team (Anderson et al., 2023;Denison et al., 2021;Turk et al., 2019). ...
... Yet, despite these ongoing challenges, some athletic departments are taking steps to become more inclusive of LGBTQ+ student athletes by adopting policies and practices that help establish a comfortable and welcoming environment. Indeed, some studies of LGBTQ+ athletes' experiences indicate that LGBTQ+ student athletes' experiences may be improving (Pariera et al., 2021). Since 2017, Athlete Ally has tracked the inclusiveness of NCAA Division I member institutions' athletic departments through its Athletic Equality Index (AEI) (Athlete Ally, 2022). ...
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Introduction Because LGBTQ+ student athletes continue to face significant challenges in college sports, some US college and university athletic departments are implementing policies that protect LGBTQ+ students from discrimination and promote LGBTQ+ inclusion. However, we know relatively little about the characteristics of schools that maintain these policies. Methods The authors analyze a comprehensive dataset on LGBTQ+ -inclusive athletic department policies at 353 US colleges and universities with NCAA Division I programs as of the 2022–2023 school year. The data were collected from July 2022 to May 2023. The authors estimate results from an OLS regression of an overall scale of LGBTQ+ -inclusive athletic department policies, as well as ordinal and logistic regressions of eight separate athletic department policies. Results The authors find that larger student body sizes, larger endowments per-student, and the presence of LGBTQ+ student groups are associated with higher scores on an overall scale of LGBTQ+ -inclusive athletic department policies. Additionally, affiliation with a religious denomination is associated with a lack of certain types of policy. Conclusions The findings underscore the remaining barriers to the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ student athletes in college sports and provide mixed support for social movement theories of LGBTQ+ -inclusive policy change. Policy Implications Most US colleges and universities have more work to do to implement LGBTQ+ -inclusive athletic department policies. State and federal laws could potentially induce more schools to implement LGBTQ+ -inclusive athletic department policies.
... A similar study found less homophobia among 391 North American undergraduate athletes in the Midwest, whereby 19% of participants expressed homophobic sentiment toward sexual minorities (Anderson and Mowatt, 2013). In a more recent study, Pariera et al. (2021) reported that 20% of their 77 participants had been treated unfairly based on their sexual orientation, while 30% had been harassed through homophobic discourse: the dominant form of this discrimination concerned feeling that they could not talk openly about their sexuality. ...
... Analysis of these studies highlights that the type of discrimination seems to have temporally progressed from overt hostility alongside exclusionary social practices, to verbal hostility among teamsport athletes, but not individual sport athletes (Southall et al., 2011); to a lack of overt physical or verbal harassment, but with a minority of athletes feeling less comfortable in speaking about their identities (Pariera et al., 2021). The collective of these studies shows that sporting homophobia is no longer monolithic, the way it was described in the 20th century. ...
Article
North American attitudes are liberalizing toward sexual minorities. This is even found within traditionally conservative, masculine institutions, like fraternities, religion, and the military. However, evidence for Liberalization Theory is mostly derived from attitudinal change of sexual and gender majorities alongside policy changes, with less evidence from sexual and gender minority experiences. Thus, there remain questions as to whether, or to what degree, improved majority attitudes promote sexual minority experiences. To investigate the impact of liberalization of the masculine organizational culture of team sports, we used survey results from 793 openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) high school and collegiate athletes, representing 981 coming out experiences. We find that 92.5% of high school and 97.1% of college athletes’ coming out-of-the-closet to teammates experiences were deemed to be from neutral to perfect. We also found no significant differences in overall experience in being out to teammates in highly masculinized teams sports compared to other sports at either the high school or collegiate level. These results suggest that liberalizing North American sexual majority attitudes do translate into improved LGBT experiences within the socially conservative institution of educationally based team sports.
... For example, in Mann and Krane (2018)'s study, 13 female queer student-athletes (three bisexuals) reported on the inclusive climate and transition inclusive climate in the collegiate sports context. Similarly, Pariera et al. (2021) also found that for concerns about being an LGBTQ athlete, women were less likely to worry about being alienated from their team. However, it is worth noting that these positive findings may come from high athletic capital (Anderson and Bullingham, 2015;Halbrook et al., 2019). ...
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