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The "Out on the Fields" study conducted by the sports and
entertainment market research firm Repucom found homophobia is
common in athletics in the United States, Canada, Australia, New
Zealand, the United Kingdom and Ireland, with gay and lesbian
athletes often hearing slurs from teammates while spectators
encounter similar language in the stands.
The report, which focuses on amateur athletics, comes out a year
after Michael Sam became the first openly gay player drafted by
a National Football League team, although he was later cut.
The study, billed as the first international report of its kind,
points to the stubborn persistence of homophobia in sports, even
as other sectors of society such as the military take steps to
be more inclusive toward gays and lesbians.
America ranked worst among the countries surveyed on several
measures, with 54 percent of participants saying lesbian, gay
and bisexual people in sports were accepted only slightly or not
at all.
Globally, 62 percent of all respondents said homophobia was more
common in team sports than other parts of society.
"If we believe sports participation is important, then we need
to create a climate where everyone can participate," said Pat
Griffin, professor emerita of social justice education at the
University of Massachusetts, who reviewed the study's methods
and findings.
Susan Rankin, a retired education professor at Pennsylvania
State University, who also reviewed the findings, said it
remained unclear why homophobia was more prevalent in the United
States than other countries.
The report found only 29 percent of respondents in Canada said
gays and lesbians encountered little or no acceptance in sports,
and the country ranked as the least homophobic sports culture
among the six countries examined.
Most of the online survey's nearly 9,500 respondents are gay or
lesbian, but about 2,500 heterosexuals also took part. Academics
from six universities reviewed the study.
Robbie Rogers, an openly gay player with the Los Angeles Galaxy
of Major League Soccer, said in an email he has encountered
similar attitudes in the United States as in Europe.
"I think when you hear homophobic chants or slurs in stadiums,
the people behind that aren't always homophobic but just part of
a culture that is all about the 'pack,'" he said.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Diane Craft)
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