Andrew Prince
Staff Reporter
Homophobia in sports is happening all the time whether you watch sports or play sports. Out on the Fields’ state, “80% of participants have witnessed or experienced homophobia in sport with homophobic language the most common.” Sports are supposed to bring people together but instead, it has become a space where members of the LGBTQ+ community are not comfortable. Out on the Fields website also states “78% believe an openly gay person would not be very safe as a spectator at a sporting event.”, it is not fair for an openly gay person to watch sports and be uncomfortable. 50% of gays and lesbians and 28% of men that are straight have been personally targeted.
Kids who play youth sports also have a hard time coming out in front of fellow teammates Out on the Fields website reports “ Most gay people play team sports although 73% believe youth team sports is NOT SAFE for people 81% of gay men and 74% of lesbians are completely or partially in the closet while playing youth sports. Many fear discrimination from many players and officials. People should be free to come out and be themselves in sports.
Players have been physically assaulted and verbally assaulted based on the way that they feel Out on the Fields has stated “19% of gay men and 9% of lesbians have been physically assaulted.” and “27% of gay men and 16% of lesbians have received verbal threats” and overall “38% of gay men and 18% of lesbians have been bullied.” Overall Out on the Fields states “80% believe gay people are “Not at all accepted” or “Accepted a little” or “only moderately accepted in sporting culture.” We can not change the way all people feel or how they act but people who care about this and the feelings of others can help. You do not have to do a lot of things but what we can do to help with the problem is to be more accepting of others and coaches accepting their LGBTQ+ community. Finally, the gay slurs have to stop while watching and playing sports. We need to start somewhere we can not tolerate anything of this nature. Ultimately, Eagles will not tolerate hate comments or disrespectful comments towards our players and students.
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