Gays fight baseless animosity in sports, life

Gays fight baseless animosity in sports, life

Chris

Schreiber

Let’s just it over with, right from the get-go. Let’s start this
whole thing by debunking one of the longest-standing myths in the
sports community. Cover your ears and close your eyes, sports fans,
because it is a fact: Gays exist in our sheltered little world of
sports, and moreover, they succeed with the best of them.

And not only do they succeed, but they succeed at the highest
levels of competition. Yes, we all know about four-time gold
medalist Greg Louganis, the best diver in history, and Martina
Navratilova, the best women’s tennis player ever. But what seems to
be ignored by the masses, and denied by the macho, is that gays and
lesbians are participating in sports ­ succeeding in sports
­ at every level of competition, all over the world.

And you need not look further than this campus to find examples.
Last weekend, in the hallowed halls of Pauley Pavilion, 240
athletes on 34 teams ­ some from as far away as New York and
Boston ­ all gay, took to the court for competition and
charity.

They wore uniforms and scowls, jump-served aces and threw down
40-mile-an-hour spikes. And guess what? They did it just like
everyone else.

So there you have it. Testimony that gay athletes exist, succeed
and are no different than their straight counterparts. If only that
were enough.

Sadly, it isn’t, and every gay athlete knows it. They fight a
battle against prejudice, hate crimes, slurs, condemnation and then
they step onto the field of competition to get away from it. But
sometimes they get more of the same.

Still, it hasn’t ruined the resolve of the athletes who continue
to play because for many, sports provide a battleground to
de-stereotype the stereotypes and de-myth the myths that plague the
gay community.

Doug Walters directed the tournament that came to campus last
weekend, the proceeds of which will help fund five, $1,000
scholarships for gay and lesbian students.

"Sports offer a tremendous opportunity to break down those
myths," said Walters, 31, who sits on the board of directors for
the UCLA Alumni Association. "Because I’m gay, I’m supposed to be
weak, effeminate, not supposed to be virile and strong because
society says we can’t be. Sports proves this is wrong."

Comments like that echo through the words of every gay athlete.
Ask Suzanne Shriner, coach of the West Hollywood water polo team
­ a team founded by former UCLA water polo player Tom Martinez
that won the gold medal at the Gay Games, held in New York last
July.

"There is a big stereotype that gays and lesbians can’t be
successful athletes," Shriner, 27 said. "Those two words ­
‘gay’ and ‘athlete’ ­ don’t come together very often, so when
they do, it causes you to look at these people in a more humanistic
way. By playing, it’s not our main purpose (to defy stereotypes),
but that’s certainly something that’s accomplished. And if it
breaks down barriers, that’s great."

Shriner’s squad was on campus Tuesday night at the Men’s Gym
Pool for a game against a team of UCLA lifeguards. But that’s a
story in itself.

You see, one of the most ridiculous yet enduring myths is the
notion of "gay by association." I’ve estimated that a significant
percentage of the people who read this will assume me to be gay,
and more will condemn me for "condoning gay behavior."

Sadly, understanding this phenomenon oftentimes leads its
perpetuation. Too often the fear of being labeled as gay proves to
be too much pressure for someone to act rationally. Being secure in
your sexuality, as the saying goes, obviously doesn’t apply when,
egad, someone might think you are gay.

That was the case Tuesday night. West Hollywood’s water polo
team was supposed to play the intramural water polo champion ­
a team that shall remain nameless ­ during the day. The team
refused to play for fear of being labeled "gay."

So the game was moved to the evening, sparsely publicized and an
ad hoc team was put together. In lieu of the IM champs, a more
rational team of UCLA lifeguards, including several from the
intramural champion team, took the water against West
Hollywood.

Leading 9-6 at the end of the third period, team UCLA cruised in
the fourth and won 13-7. And to my knowledge, none have "turned
gay" yet.

The team that took the water should be commended, despite some
of the players’ apparent reluctance. They might have had doubts or
fears, but they didn’t cower to them. And it’s that kind of
open-mindedness that helps end discrimination of any kind. As one
of the lifeguards put it, "I mean, it’s just a game, and all of us
like to play water polo."

Voltaire Tinana, director of Coming Out Week at UCLA and a
sprinter on Team L.A. for the Gay Games, agreed.

"(The team’s refusal to play) strikes at the heart of
homophobia. A good game is a good game."

Unfortunately, most don’t look at it that intelligently. Among
those who do, however, is Bruce Hayes, a UCLA graduate who starred
on UCLA swim teams during the early 1980s and has been openly gay
since 1990.

Hayes, 31, helped UCLA win a 1982 NCAA Championship, the only
swimming title the school has won. He scored all four years at
NCAAs, and in 1984, he won an Olympic gold medal as a member of the
800-meter freestyle relay team.

"My teams compete all the time," said Hayes, who set an
age-group world record in the 500 freestyle in July. "If people are
afraid to play, it reflects worse on the team that refuses to play
us. What would they be afraid of?"

That doesn’t seem to be an easy question to answer, but Shriner
offers up one theory.

"Normally, we don’t have problems," she said. "But we do come
across people who don’t want to ‘lose to fags.’ It’s just part of
the daily battle."

The battle rages on, and sports has the opportunity to play a
key role.

"The icons that we have, the stereotypes we have of masculinity,
in the straight community, are based on athletes," Tinana said.
"The assumption then is that being gay is the opposite. It means
you’re feminine or swishy. These athletes are not. And there lies
the breaking of the stereotype: when you don’t see the
difference."

* * *

Some have tried to compare the struggle for gay and lesbian
rights to the 1960’s African-American civil rights movement. The
comparison misses the mark in some key respects, most notably that
homosexuality isn’t as obvious to those apt to discriminate as skin
color. I would agree.

But of the similarities, several are striking. Discrimination,
after all, is discrimination. And as is the case with all kinds of
discrimination, it’s usually rooted in irrationality, fear and
ignorance.

Take for example a typical homophobic or racist, generally one
who would deny the label. Ask them if they know any racist or gay
jokes. "Sure," they’ll tell you. Then ask them if they have any
minority or gay friends. "Sure," they’ll tell you again. Now ask
them how they can tell jokes like that if they have friends who
belong to the group they’re bashing. "It’s just different," they’ll
conclude. Finally, ask them to tell the joke to their friend. Hmmm,
silence. That’s the irrationality.

It’s compounded when you hear phrases like, "He/she isn’t like
the rest of them. He/she doesn’t count." Tell me then, just who
does count?

The reality is that they all count the same ­ the same as
me, you and every other human being.