While openly gay athletes in the United States are encountering a slow, grudging but increasingly accepting environment on the field for their skills, Australian athletes, especially those in the hypermasculinized world of rugby, face a unique degree of homophobia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “In the largest survey of its kind, Out on the Fields paints a picture of a national sporting environment openly hostile to gay and lesbian participants, with half reporting they have been the direct target of verbal threats, bullying, violence or exclusion from sport. Of those who said they had been targeted, 13 per cent suffered physical assaults.”
The research found the most common form of homophobia was verbal, with 82 per cent saying they had heard, or been the target of, slurs such as “fag”, “dyke” or “poofter” either as players or spectators. Backed by the Australian Sports Commission, Victoria University and the Federation of Gay Games, the study involved almost 2,500 people at all levels of sport and was split evenly between gay and straight participants, aged 15 upwards. It found homophobic jokes and casual comments such as “that’s so gay” were commonplace. One in five gay and lesbian participants had been excluded from social groups because of their sexuality. Gay men were much more likely to be targeted than women. The study also revealed one in four straight men had been the target of homophobia.
Jay Claydon is a case in point. At 18, he joined a rugby club in Christchurch, New Zealand and, despite the fact that he had come out to his family and friends without incident, he quickly paid a price for simply being who he is. “At training one night, people were looking at me funny. Somehow they’d found out. On the Friday night, I got a call from my coach saying the players had taken a vote at a meeting behind my back and they weren’t comfortable having me in the team any more. He said, ‘they don’t want you to come back.’ ”
Seven years later, and in Australia, he encountered the same level of homophobia but to a degree that was not only all-pervasive but socially acceptable. According to the Herald, Channel Seven commentator Brian Taylor called Geelong’s Harry Taylor a “big poofter” live on Saturday night’s pre-game broadcast.
“To all of the people who thought that Brian Taylor’s comments weren’t a big deal, this research shows that homophobic language has a profound impact on our sporting culture,” said Jason Ball, the first openly gay Aussie rules footballer at any level of the game. “Until we create a more inclusive sporting culture, people will feel forced to stay in the closet until their careers are over.”
Since leaving his team, Claydon has gone on to join the Sydney Convicts, an all-gay rugby team that made history recently by becomingthe first of its kind to play as part of a professional match.
