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View Full Version : Sheryl Swoopes comes out


Burr
10-27-2005, 02:35 AM
Three-time MVP 'tired of having to hide my feelings' (http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=2203853)

And before you "HAR HAR BIG SURPRISE"

"The talk about the WNBA being full of lesbians is not true," Swoopes says. "There are as many straight women in the league as there are gay. What really irritates me is when people talk about football, baseball and the NBA, you don't hear all of this talk about the gay guys playing. But when you talk about the WNBA, then it becomes an issue. Sexuality and gender don't change anyone's performance on the court."

She's right. Think it doesn't happen in other major professional sports leagues among males? Think again..

One Athlete's Story: An NHL Player Talks About Being Gay in Hockey (http://outsports.com/entertainment/20050218gumbybookexcerpt.htm)

Aaron struggles to lead some semblance of a normal romantic and social life away from the prying eyes of his teammates. He has a boyfriend of several years, gay friends, and he permits himself to visit gay clubs when he is on the road—which is often. On rare occasions, he even runs into other professional hockey players when visiting gay establishments.

“You know, hockey players have this sort of look to them. It just screams, ‘I’m a hockey player’, so when I go to the bars, I dress like a professional and tell people I work with computers.” Still, on the few occasions when another professional hockey player enters the bar, he grows distressed. “It’s like, holy shit. You can spot them from a mile away, and its just like, oh my god, what am I going to do?”

Most of the time the other player is equally willing to avoid discussing the situation. “A few times the guy has just said like, ‘Aaron Barnes, huh?’ Then I’ll say, ‘We will talk about this later.’ But I never do.”

He informs me that he has seen about a dozen players in gay bars over the years. “One time, I ran into another player from my own team.”

Anyhow, things to think about, ya know..

All-Night John
10-27-2005, 03:08 AM
I was wondering how long it would take you to post this.

SageClaw
10-27-2005, 03:15 AM
Three-time MVP 'tired of having to hide my feelings' (http://sports.espn.go.com/wnba/news/story?id=2203853)

And before you "HAR HAR BIG SURPRISE"

"The talk about the WNBA being full of lesbians is not true," Swoopes says. "There are as many straight women in the league as there are gay." Personally, I never said or thought that the WNBA was full of lesbians. I am surprised that it's a 50/50 split though.

C0lin
10-27-2005, 03:35 AM
Personally, I never said or thought that the WNBA was full of lesbians. I am surprised that it's a 50/50 split though.

People make an issue about that, because 50% gay is so much higher than the national average. And people don't talk about gay guys in the mens sports because I'm willing to bet that the % of male players being gay is right at, or lower than the nation average.

And she's wrong about the fact that no one talks about it. If a gay football player or baseball player came out of the closet, it would be a HUGE story, especially if he's a superstar. A few marginally popular players came out, but I can't fucking think of ONE specifically.

Burr
10-27-2005, 10:22 AM
The baseball player who 'invented' the high five was gay. (Glenn Burke)

We've seen more famous individual athletes come out than team sports athletes though. Greg Louganis for example. Most of the team players wait until retirement before coming out, and by then it's a footnote.

I'm almost certain there's a star player out there who is afraid to come out because he'd probably lose most of his endorsement deals and start being the target of opposing fans.

Also I'm willing to bet that the number of gay men in professional sports is higher than the national average. Just like it is in the military.

SageClaw
10-27-2005, 04:55 PM
Since you both brought it up, I am curious now. What is the national average?

Burr
10-27-2005, 05:08 PM
We'll never know for sure since it depends on self-identification, but there is a rough range at least.

Recent estimates on the number of homosexuals (does not include bisexuals) in Western countries, where egalitarian relationships predominate, range from 1% to 10%, confined to a self-identified subculture.

In the United States during the 2004 elections, exit polls indicated 4% of all voters self-identified as gay or lesbian.

Hendrix
10-27-2005, 06:39 PM
I dunno. I guess I'm just to the point now, where I really don't give a crap wether an athlete, or celebrity is gay. She's gay, yay for her. The WNBA still sucks.

Nitrousoxide
10-27-2005, 07:13 PM
It's all those half naked sweaty men working out that attracts the gays.

Like a moth to a flame.

A flaming moth.