Homophobia In Sports Research Paper

Throughout the world millions of people participate in sports every single day. From gym class, to amateur sports, to the big leagues; homophobia is a very prevalent issue throughout today's sports world. This problem has proved detrimental to many LGBT athletes’ emotions, mental health, and ability to play the sport they love due to their sexual orientation. A study showed, "84% of participants have witnessed or experienced homophobia in sports" (Dennison). Throughout all levels of sports it is extremely likely a LGBT athlete will face some sort of homophobia in sports. Early in an LGBT athletes life they have to distance themselves from their identity in order to participate in the sports world. This can cause emotional distress and force …show more content…
Both youth and school sporting environments have proved to be increasingly hostile to those within the LGBT community. Many children feel forced out of the sporting world at an early age as a result, "The effects of low participation among lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) youth has proved detrimental to their physical health and well-being." ("Sports must do more to fight homophobia, says report"). The LGBT community may be mentally and physically affected due to the fact that they do not feel welcomed in youth and school sports. Hostility can also been seen in physical education class. The results of a study to determine the effects of homophobia in physical education class found that many gay men, "said their experiences in PE class turned them off playing team sports. It would seem that these classes are particularly homophobic compared to other sporting environments" (Denison). Homophobia is a current issue in schools, sports, and in our society as a whole. From a young age the LGBT community needs to feel safe in physical education classes and youth sports so that they have the same opportunity to play professional sports as other Americans. Some students do not even feel comfortable being who they truly are during their early life as seen during Conner Mertens, who was the first openly gay NCAA football player, childhood. He explains that during his childhood he would, ‘“distance myself from anything LGBT related until I was about 18. There was a gay/straight alliance at my school and I was the one that was avoiding that hall. I was so terrified that I would be guilty by association in any way"’ (Bennett). Connor was scared to have any association with being gay because of the atmosphere that surrounded school and youth sports. This shows that homophobia is not just relevant in the sports world it’s also relevant in