Gays in Manly sports?

PostGays in Manly sports? by **freeda** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:50 pm

I am referring to men, not lesbians. I can't think of any high profile sports stars in macho sports like American Football, Boxing, MMA.

Sure there are famous gay men in other sports like diving, tennis, etc, but I can't think of any in really macho sports. Yes there are some lower peg fighters/Baseball/football players but they are never truly elite athletes. No big stars and no it's not because they are gay, it's just because they weren't that good.

Imagine if the world champion heavyweight Boxer came out to be gay or if one of the top NFL players came out of the closet, how would that affect their carrier/team?

Sol Campbell is gay, no? He seems fine.

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Wedgie** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:53 pm

Ashley Cole.

/thread

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Jango** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:54 pm

If there are to be any effects of a top star in a sport not associated with having homosexual stars, hopefully it should only be positive.

Just like their AIDS tests lol

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **GrinWithoutaKat** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:56 pm

Gareth Thomas?

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Kanbei** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 6:56 pm

Gareth Thomas

EDIT: Grin

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **gaminglegend** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:00 pm

John Amaechi NBA

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **freeda** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:03 pm

I'm serious, are there any gay athletes top positions in macho sports? No jokes k?

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Skarjo** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:04 pm

And you know they're not gay how exactly?

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Pedro** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:08 pm

GrinWithoutaKat wrote:Gareth Thomas

/end of thread.

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **freeda** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:08 pm

Skarjo wrote:And you know they're not gay how exactly?

They weren't really into it when I bummed them.

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Spindash** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:09 pm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Shadow** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:13 pm

I heard that there are no openly gay footballers in the top 4 divisions in England.

I don't know of any in any of the top leagues around Europe either, come to think of it..

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Herdanos** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 7:35 pm

It's because there's still an idiot minority of sports fans who are all too content to attach negative connotations to homosexuality, and then accuse their teams' opponents of it.

The vast majority of people I know are generally tolerant of homosexuality in society nowadays (I am neither religious nor elderly) but sports is not and has never been representative of society in general, so this shouldn't be surprising to us. Sports as a whole has always been dominated by the concept of 'macho' and it's why it's still a male-dominated field - male team sports, athletics, boxing etc. have always been more popular than their women's equivalent (consider: football and women's football, as opposed to men's football and women's football) and given the money and the willingness of those with it to maintain that status quo, it's unlikely to change.

It's difficult for us to expect gay sportsmen to be open about their sexuality, too, while those that have gone before them have suffered such a shocking reaction; Spinny's already brought up the likes of Justin Fashanu, who was badly let down by pretty much everyone around him, and the sporting world's odd reaction is to glorify the successes of those responsible while sweeping their contribution under the carpet (Brian Clough is a prime example, who is widely considered England's greatest manager yet in his treatment of Fashanu proved himself to be a reprehensible human being). Hopefully the more considered reaction to players like Gareth Thomas will encourage other players to take the extremely bold step, but I believe the majority of professionals are waiting until someone else makes the first move, and really, who can blame them?

I'm straight, but I can't fathom homophobia - the only reason I can think of why it is still so prevalent is religion's historical dominance and its misguided fierce opposition to homosexuality, and yet the same passage in the bible that condemns gays also condemns those who cut their hair. Madness. I'd like to see a time when a sportsperson's sexuality is irrelevant, but it won't be for a few decades yet.

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Call and Answer** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:08 pm

Nigel Owens, top level ref in Rugby Union.

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Starbreaker** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:13 pm

Dan. wrote:It's because there's still an idiot minority of sports fans who are all too content to attach negative connotations to homosexuality, and then accuse their teams' opponents of it.

The vast majority of people I know are generally tolerant of homosexuality in society nowadays (I am neither religious nor elderly) but sports is not and has never been representative of society in general, so this shouldn't be surprising to us. Sports as a whole has always been dominated by the concept of 'macho' and it's why it's still a male-dominated field - male team sports, athletics, boxing etc. have always been more popular than their women's equivalent (consider: football and women's football, as opposed to men's football and women's football) and given the money and the willingness of those with it to maintain that status quo, it's unlikely to change.

It's difficult for us to expect gay sportsmen to be open about their sexuality, too, while those that have gone before them have suffered such a shocking reaction; Spinny's already brought up the likes of Justin Fashanu, who was badly let down by pretty much everyone around him, and the sporting world's odd reaction is to glorify the successes of those responsible while sweeping their contribution under the carpet (Brian Clough is a prime example, who is widely considered England's greatest manager yet in his treatment of Fashanu proved himself to be a reprehensible human being). Hopefully the more considered reaction to players like Gareth Thomas will encourage other players to take the extremely bold step, but I believe the majority of professionals are waiting until someone else makes the first move, and really, who can blame them?

I'm straight, but I can't fathom homophobia - the only reason I can think of why it is still so prevalent is religion's historical dominance and its misguided fierce opposition to homosexuality, and yet the same passage in the bible that condemns gays also condemns those who cut their hair. Madness. I'd like to see a time when a sportsperson's sexuality is irrelevant, but it won't be for a few decades yet.

That's a fair point, but it does make you a strawberry floating poof.

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **hideous_enigma** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:38 pm

Snowdash wrote:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu

I was just about to post this :lol:

There are plenty of gays in 'Manly' sports but they are closeted for various unfortunate reasons.

Justin Fashanu is a case in point.

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **blackoutHERO** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:39 pm

There is professional macho sports playing gay athletes. They just don't tell anyone or don't act on it because of the stigma in these 'macho' sports. Doesn't matter anyway.

PostGays in Manly sports? by **Dual** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:41 pm

Gary Speed

PostRe: Gays in Manly sports? by **Glowy69** » Mon Dec 19, 2011 9:44 pm

Gays in Manly sports?

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