Homophobia in sports is, unfortunately, something that is still a common occurrence. It begins in youth sports, carries throughout high school and college, and into the professional leagues.
The locker-room aspect of the sporting world is a large reason why we see this homophobia. There are undertones of strong homophobia in athletic locker rooms, mostly used by coaches, in order to motivate athletes through the daily grind that makes a sports season.
Homophobic slurs are put in place of words like "soft", "weak", or even "girly" because they're tougher and harsher and they send a quicker message. To heterosexual male athletes, there is nothing in the world that makes them feel more defenseless and insecure about their own bodies than getting compared to a girl. Coaches are able to thrive off this insecurity and, in theory, motivate their teams to supposed victory.
Because coaches are at the top of the hierarchy of any sports team, homophobia trickles down to the rest of the athletes in the locker room. The coach makes it seem OK to refer to homophobic slurs whenever possible to motivate the team, so suddenly it's OK for the captain to say it to the rest of the team, and then it's OK for the sophomore player to say it to the freshman.
Sometimes professional teams make good decisions in promoting homosexuality acceptance. Just last fall, Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson, a talented player who won national awards in Penn State, and has rushed for nearly 6,000 yards in seven years, made several homophobic slurs aimed towards reporters and his head coach after a tough loss.
Within a couple days after the incident, the Chiefs suspended Johnson. There was a petition by the Kansas City community to kick him off the team and, soon after, the Chiefs complied, terminating Johnson's contract and making him a free agent. Johnson is still a fine player, but his personal opinions have gotten in the way of his play; he has yet to be signed.
When former-NBA player John Amaechi came out of the closet a few years ago, the whole situation was poisoned by words that Tim Hardaway, another former player, said on the issue. Hardaway made comments in which he disgraced Amaechi's name and said that he wouldn't feel comfortable playing with a player with that sexuality choice.
Granted, Hardaway is entitled to his opinion. But this is a world where gay and lesbian athletes have been demeaned and abused over time, and his words were hurtful not only to those athletes who he offended, but to everybody who wants to be involved in a positive, professional, respectful sports world.
Homophobia, like racism, is something that is taught. Kids who look up to these athletes have no qualms about repeating everything that their idols say, whether it's hurtful or not.
When athletes portray negative views upon the gay and lesbian community, without penalty, there needs to be firm criticism from the respected members of the sports community. Yes, talking heads on ESPN are respected members; they're on TV, and they are seen by millions of Americans every day. Athletes, especially the ones that carry the huge endorsements - like LeBron James, Peyton Manning or Sidney Crosby - need to speak out strongly against homophobia.
Whenever homosexuality is mentioned in the media, it is always connected with some negative opinion that leaked out the mouth of an ignorant athlete. For someone like Jeremy Shockey, a player who when he made those comments was a star football player for one of the biggest markets in sports - New York - it was inappropriate and astonishingly moronic.
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