Sheryl Swoopes made a very courageous statement when she came out to the public in 2005 that she was a lesbian. This statement was very shocking to many people all over the country, but is it really that big of a deal and should she actually be praised for her efforts?
Prior to Swoopes, there have not been very many people who have come out and confessed to being gay or lesbian while still playing within their sport. I think that this really speaks for what Swoopes did because she is a rarity. She is comfortable with her life choices to tell the world and still be able to participate in her sport. There have been multiple males that have come out after they have left the sport that they love, but it really is not the same. The males that have done this simply appear to be afraid of what others will think of them and think that the view of them within the locker room will not be acceptable. Swoopes however, did not care at all what others would think because she wanted everyone to know. She was able to continue her playing career.
Swoopes also made the statement that she thinks it is harder for males to come out and admit to being gay, but why should this be? It really does not make much sense because women often are just as bad as men when it comes to things that happen in the locker room. Straight men are often teased even when they are straight. This makes it appear as if it would be harder for men to come out, but to my knowledge, girls are teased just as often as what men are, which would make it hard for them as well.
I personally believe that it would be very hard to be the person to come out to the public while in a nationally recognized position and tell the world that you are gay or lesbian. To think of how that would ruin your reputation and relationships with people that you have known your whole life would make it hard to have any interest in telling the world. I believe that is why males do not come out because of the way they will be treated or talked about in the media.
Which would you think would be harder?
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I think there are a couple of things that make it different for males and females to come out during their playing careers. For one thing, I am not sure that the locker room is the same kind of environment for females as it is for males. Admittedly, I have never played a team sport, but I don't believe that coaches and players use the same kind of shaming terms as males supposedly use. The other thing that makes it very different is that women's sport is much lower profile than men's sports. In both classes, few students even knew that Sheryl Swoopes had come out. But if a comparable male player in the NBA had come out, I can assure you that almost everyone would have known about it.
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