Why are there so few gay athletes

But the reality is that as long as locker room and league culture remains homophobic, athletes will remain in the closet. All rights reserved. And it has ripple effects into the locker rooms but also into the front offices. Newsroom Send an email October 12, 5 minutes read.

This new policy comes on the heels of both the NHL and Major League Baseball advising teams to halt the wearing of Pride-themed jerseys for team Pride Nights last season after some players expressed discomfort, saying the jerseys were against their religious beliefs.

There still aren’t really any out gay athletes in the major American men’s sports leagues, aside from American soccer player Collin Martin of the USL Championship League, who came out in Trying to find a reason why There is often much discussion within media about why there are very few openly gay men in professional sport.

Newsroom CNN News delivers the latest breaking news and information on the latest top stories, weather, business, entertainment, politics, and more. Frankie de la Cretaz is an independent journalist whose writing sits at the intersection of sports and gender.

At least 19 transgender and gender non-confirming people have been murdered in the US this year, with the violence disproportionately impacting trans women of color. Some players refused to take part in warmups when their teams wore Pride Night jerseys; some Russian players or their teams have expressed concerns about those players running afoul of Russian anti-LGBTQ laws.

Check Also. That has not been the case. Individual players speaking out against these kinds of bans are important, but they can only do so much.

4 592 active players

The answer is obvious. Two athletes recently coming out has highlighted the dearth of openly gay players in the world of U.S. men's professional sports, often dubbed "the last closet" for its lack of LGBTQ representation. NFL player Carl Nassib came out as gay in but retired before this season.

Some states are attempting to make it a felony to expose children to drag queens. How can we ever expect men to feel safe coming out when even using rainbow-colored stick tape during game warmup is considered controversial? This is the context in which the NHL has decided that allowing players to wear rainbows on their sticks and sleeves is a problem.

Cyd Zeigler, the cofounder of Outsports, wrote in a article that he knows “for a fact that agents have told gay athletes to stay in the closet” and that his “best answer has pointed to the agents and managers whose livelihoods depend on athletes maximizing their earning potential in just a few years.” Weaving agrees.

Read more opinion at CNN. Discovery Company. Viewership numbers of the NHL have been steadily declining. The organist for the Anaheim Ducks is a transgender woman who wondered on X whether or not she had just been banned from the league. Many teams have queer and trans people employed at some level.

Why There are Few

That reality is chilling. Is it conceivable that, of 4, active athletes in major US men's pro sports, there are no gay or bi players? Perhaps, though, it should not be a surprise, as workplaces across the country are cutting the Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives that many of them rushed to put in place following the death of George Floyd and country-wide uprising in This makes the NHL no different.

In recent years, soccer has overtaken hockey as the fourth most popular sport in the US — behind baseball, basketball, and football. Related Articles. The opinions expressed in this article are their own.