{"id":202579,"date":"2016-02-16T11:51:29","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T16:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=202579"},"modified":"2023-08-09T12:25:34","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T16:25:34","slug":"playing-it-out-lgbt-issues-in-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2016\/02\/playing-it-out-lgbt-issues-in-sport\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Playing it Out\u2019: LGBT Issues in Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s the MLB, NFL, or NHL, the world of sports has been cast as a hypermasculine, hypercompetitive environment. While this atmosphere may build toughness and encourage physical fitness, its acceptance toward athletes who identify with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is still in need of practice.<\/p>\n

Neag School faculty member Laura Burton is working to change the athletic world\u2019s perception of LGBT athletes \u2013 starting with her own students. The sport management associate professor says change must be implemented in every level of sport. LGBT issues in sport is a key topic in her Introduction to Sport Management and Management of Sport Services courses.<\/p>\n

From the time children begin playing sports, Burton says, they are often exposed to language that is negatively charged toward LGBT individuals, but unfortunately commonplace in athletics. For example, parents and coaches may find it acceptable to call kids \u201cfags.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to educate parents and coaches to watch their language to make the environment more supportive and welcoming, so it\u2019s safer for kids to come out,\u201d Burton says.<\/p>\n

\"Jenny
Jenny Gobin \u201914 (ED) coaches the UConn women\u2019s ultimate Frisbee team. \/ Photo Credit: Shawn Kornegay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A supportive environment is what Burton discovered to be the winning recipe in the coming out of LGBT athletes. One of her research studies, titled \u201cPlaying it Out: Female Intercollegiate Athletes\u2019 Experiences in Revealing their Sexual Identities,\u201d studied \u201cout\u201d lesbian or bisexual female intercollegiate athletes. The qualitative study, which comprised in-depth interviews with 14 athletes, found it was easier for athletes to come out if other teammates had previously done so. It also discovered that once athletes were out, female teammates were generally accepting \u2013 a reaction that took many of the \u201cout\u201d athletes by surprise, but led to greater happiness afterward.<\/p>\n

Similar research was conducted at Texas A&M University surrounding workplace culture and LGBT employees in college athletics. In alignment with Burton\u2019s study, a 2015 research paper titled \u201cCreating and Sustaining Workplace Cultures Supportive of LGBT employees in College Athletics\u201d concluded athletic departments with more diverse and welcoming climates were more successful. LGBT employees who could express their true identities and had employees who celebrated those identities had a positive and successful work experience.<\/p>\n

\u2018Lean into the discomfort\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

As essential as acceptance is to creating a pro-LGBT environment, Milagros Castillo-Montoya, a Neag School assistant professor of higher education and student affairs, says mere acceptance of LGBT individuals is not enough. In her Leading Toward a Multicultural Educational Environment course, she and her graduate students discuss issues of difference in higher education, including sexual orientation. An early component of the course is analyzing the effect a campus\u2019 culture has on LGBT students.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Laura
\u201cWe need to educate parents and coaches to watch their language to make the [athletic] environment more supportive and welcoming, so it\u2019s safer for kids to come out,\u201d says associate professor Laura Burton. (Photo Credit: Shawn Kornegay)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cColleges need programming that not only celebrate differences, but foster dialogue across differences,\u201d Castillo-Montoya says.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This means individuals should not only be accepting of LGBT peers, but also able to discuss their identity differences in an honest but noncombative manner. Castillo-Montoya encourages students to first become self-aware and consider their own multiple identities \u2013 both the privileged and the marginalized. She uses what is called the LARA Method to teach students the process of effective dialogue: listen, affirm, respond, and ask more questions. With this approach, students can engage in more truthful and meaningful conversations about different identities, such as sexual orientation, race, religion, and ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cI ask students to lean in to the discomfort of having conversations across differences,\u201d she says. \u201cThey learn to confront the idea, not the person. By doing this in a classroom setting, they build the capacity to talk about and through differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming Out in Professional Sports<\/strong><\/p>\n

Transitioning from the classroom to sport, Burton says publicizing one\u2019s LGBT identity can be easier once professional athletes get the ball rolling. When Bryant University men\u2019s basketball coach Chris Burns\u00a0this fall revealed to\u00a0USA Today<\/em>\u00a0he was gay<\/a>, the news was welcomed by the public. As he was already well-regarded, Burns\u2019 image did not change.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople say, \u2018Oh, I like him, he\u2019s a good guy; I know him,\u2019\u201d Burton says. \u201cWhen athletes or coaches at the professional level [come out], it trickles down to the youth level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burton says this trickle-down effect makes the process of coming out seem more attainable and acceptable to college, high school, and youth athletes. She also referenced the U.S. women\u2019s soccer team, which had three players and one coach publicly out at the 2015 World Cup.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cDifferences make us stronger as a team.\u201d<\/h3>\n

\u2013 Jenny Gobin \u201914 (ED), UConn women\u2019s ultimate Frisbee team coach<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Such an inclusive environment has been found in UConn women\u2019s athletics, too. Jenny Gobin \u201914 (ED), a graduate of the Neag School\u2019s sport management program who now works for ESPN, has experienced firsthand the power of supportive teammates in making LGBT athletes feel not only accepted, but normal. As an \u201cout\u201d lesbian, Gobin says she was treated just like any other student while at UConn, where she was a student manager of the women\u2019s basketball team and a founder of the ultimate Frisbee club. Today, as the coach for the UConn women\u2019s ultimate Frisbee team \u2013 a national contender on the club sports scene \u2013 Gobin continues to work closely with lesbian and bisexual athletes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just have to be aware of [differences] and make them seem normal,\u201d she says. \u201cDifferences make us stronger as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, publicizing one\u2019s sexual identity is at times met with varying reactions based on gender. In an environment where a \u201cmacho\u201d mentality is the norm, the process of coming out for male athletes is associated with a legitimate, physical fear of being perceived as incapable or weak. Female athletes don\u2019t face this same fear of ostracization because being lesbian isn\u2019t seen contradictory to being a successful athlete.<\/p>\n

LGBT in Sports at UConn<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although Burton says most athletes wait until after college to come out, she\u2019s found UConn to be a safe, supportive environment for those who choose to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cUConn has become a more welcoming place for LGBT athletes and those who are LGBT in the athletic department,\u201d Burton says. \u201cI haven\u2019t heard of negative responses.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are resources on campus for LGBT student-athletes, as well as those who aren\u2019t athletes, including athletics support groups, the Rainbow Center, and various cultural centers. UConn\u2019s cultural centers, Castillo-Montoya notes, frequently engage with University faculty regarding all forms of marginalized identities, including the LGBT and student-athlete populations, and are intended to better prepare faculty to lead effective dialogues with their students.<\/p>\n

However, Gobin says many athletes prefer to look for support from those they trust most \u2013 their teammates and coaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had an athlete who told me the reason she came out was because of the ultimate [Frisbee] community,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s welcoming, open, and progressive.\u201d<\/p>\n

An area that requires more focus, however, is that of bisexual and transgender athletes. Research regarding these identities is less developed than that of gay and lesbian identities. Burton says bisexual individuals experience a sense of invisibility, as they are caught between heterosexual and homosexual identities.<\/p>\n

For transgender athletes, questions regarding athletic eligibility are at the forefront of discussion \u2013 within the past five years, the NCAA has implemented policies regarding these athletes. Current NCAA policy allows trans male (FTM) athletes to compete for men\u2019s teams, but not women\u2019s teams. Trans female (MTF) must continue to compete on a men\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

Gobin recalls an ultimate game in which UConn was playing Smith, an all-women\u2019s college. Smith\u2019s team had one trans male player; because the game was at the club level, the transgender athlete was eligible to play.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was interesting and enlightening for my players,\u201d Gobin says. \u201cWe had never had that experience before, so it was good to expose that to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tackling LGBT issues that occur both on and off the playing field has allowed Burton and Castillo-Montoya\u2019s students to become more aware of themselves and of others. Castillo-Montoya\u2019s students write reflections throughout the semester, a \u201csatisfying\u201d indicator of their transforming ability to discuss sensitive subjects regarding diversity.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Burton reminds her students they must keep in mind that the LGBT community is one of many groups impacting decision-making when it comes to implementing policies in sport and sport management. By representing this community on a level playing field with other groups, more equitable policies will be made.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s the MLB, NFL, or NHL, the world of sports has been cast as a hypermasculine, hypercompetitive environment. While this atmosphere may build toughness and encourage physical fitness, its acceptance toward athletes who identify with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community is still in need of practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":190,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,1855],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2455],"class_list":["post-202579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-neag"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-04 12:31:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202579"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202583,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202579\/revisions\/202583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202579"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=202579"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=202579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}