SOCI 5309 Term Paper

Running head: MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF LGB ATHLETES’ COMING OUT 1
“Some sort of hero”: Mainstream Sports Media Representation
of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Athletes’ Coming Out
Sarah Walters
Texas State University

“Some sort of hero”: Mainstream Sports Media Representation
of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Athletes’ Coming Out
Generally speaking, acceptance of the gay, lesbian, and bisexual (GLB) community
and its members has rapidly increased within American culture throughout the last decade.
In a Gallup poll conducted in May 2015, just one month before it was legalized nationwide
by a Supreme Court ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, 60% of Americans believed
that same-sex marriage should be legally valid (Ball, 2015; Gallup, 2016). Just five years
earlier, in May 2010, only 40% of those polled supported same-sex marriage, up from 37%
a full decade earlier in August 2005 (Gallup, 2016). Current levels of support are even
higher among Americans under 30 – some 80% according to a Washington Post poll
conducted in 2013 – which suggests that support for GLB rights and acceptance of GLB
individuals will only continue to grow (Kian, Anderson, & Shipka, 2015a, p. 619).
One major facet of American culture, however, has seemed to lag behind: the
institution of sport. A perceived climate of compulsory masculinity and widespread
homophobia in men’s locker rooms, particularly those at the highest levels of competition,
has kept gay male athletes “in the closet” (Anderson & Kian, 2011). Likewise, fearing
damage not only to their own images but to their sports’ in perpetuating the stereotype of
women’s leagues as “’filled with lesbians,’” lesbian female athletes have been unwilling to
come out publicly (Chawansky & Francombe, 2011, p. 474). Unsurprisingly, then, coming
out stories have been few and far between for much of modern history – while retired NFL
player David Kopay’s coming out in 1975 was followed in 1981 by the announcement of the
first lesbian professional athlete, tennis star Martina Navratilova, it was not until 2003 and
2014, respectively, that a female and a male athlete active in a major US sport came out

(Buzinski, 2011; Ziegler, 2011; ESPN.com News Services, 2003; ESPN.com News Services,
2014b).
The climate in professional and collegiate lockers rooms, though, is warming to
match that of American society at large. Coming out announcements are still sparse, but it
seems more have been made in the last three years than in the previous thirty years since
Kopay made history. Several Olympians, an NFL prospect, a handful of NCAA DI athletes, a
WNBA star, and a pair of MLB minor leaguers all made headlines with coming out stories
between 2013 and 2015 (ESPN.com, 2015; Bucholtz, 2014; Bromberg, 2014b; Cooper,
2014; Eisenberg, 2014b; Bromberg, 2014a; ESPN.com News Services, 2013a; Kahrl, 2015;
Cwik, 2015). This recent acceleration in willingness of GLB athletes to come out has pushed
sports media to cover these stories more extensively and has increased visibility of
acceptance of homosexuality in sport; that increased visibility has, in turn, buoyed the level
of acceptance (Kian, Anderson, Vincent, & Murray, 2009, p. 898).
The tone of academic literature on the subject of homosexuality in sport and media
representation of GLB athletes has shifted, necessarily, along with the climate in society, in
locker rooms, and in news columns. Historically, researchers have focused heavily on
issues of homophobia and compulsory heteronormativity as keeping gay and lesbian
athletes from coming out and as being reflected in sport media (Kian & Anderson, 2009). As
GLB athletes have begun to come out with increasing frequency and while still actively
competing, however, academics have acknowledged that the prejudice and pressure to
conform continue to exist but are lessening, due in no small part to the way in which
coming out announcements have been handled by the media (Cleland, 2014, p. 1271). Still,
though there have been several studies centered on media representation of the

experiences of athletes who have come out while playing, there is a need for an increase in
literature that addresses this emerging phenomenon in order to build upon the theoretical
base constructed around the stories of retired athletes who came out in the 1990s and
2000s (Cleland, 2014, p. 1271). This study seeks to do just that.
The purpose of this study is to focus on the experiences of professional and
collegiate athletes that came out while still competing, as represented in the media. It
identifies and analyzes patterns in the media’s representation of these GLB athletes and
speaks to the way in which that representation reflects broader issues of homosexuality in
sport. In considering the stories of both gay and bisexual male athletes and lesbian and
bisexual female athletes, the study also addresses differences and similarities in the
experiences of gay males and lesbians and in the way they are represented by the media. As
such, this study will address the following research questions:
RQ1: What are patterns in representation of lesbian, gay, and bisexual athletes’
coming out in mainstream sports media?
RQ2: Are there differences in media representation of the coming out of gay or
bisexual male athletes and lesbian or bisexual female athletes?
Masculinity and Homosexuality in Sport
Academics have long framed sport as a culture that enforces hegemonic masculinity
(Anderson & Kian, 2011). In hegemonic masculinity theory, “one hegemonic archetype of
masculinity is esteemed above all other masculinity types, so that boys and men who most
closely embody this one standard are accorded the most social capital” (Kian et al., 2015, p.
898). The masculinity type produced and desired within sport is this hegemonic and “most
esteemed version of masculinity,” one that emphasizes the achievement of power through

peak physical fitness and skill as well as characteristics such as aggression, and therefore
the oppression of those who do not or are not identified with this type of masculinity is
acutely felt (Cleland, 2011, p. 1270). For some time, due to the culturally compulsory
nature of this hegemonic masculinity in sport, gay athletes were so utterly invisible that
some argued there were simply not gay athletes competing in professional and collegiate
sports. Instead, it seems that institutionalized silencing and a perceived climate of
dangerous homophobia kept gay athletes from publicly acknowledging their homosexuality
(Kian et al., 2015).
More recently, however, as Cleland explains, the archetype of the male athlete is
slowly changing as “metrosexual” and homosexual athletes establish themselves as
talented and worthy of both roster spots and the respect of fans (2011). As a result of this
identified shift, as explained by Anderson and Kian, a theory of inclusive masculinity within
sport has been developed (2011). This theory is based on the idea that, as cultural
homophobia has declined, so has homophobia within sport, and that this decline in
homophobia has allowed different types of masculinity to coexist in both the general and
sport cultures (Anderson & Kian, 2011; Cleland, 2011). This inclusivity, along with the
advancing understanding that presentations of homosexual men are varied and the
stereotype of the effeminate gay man is ungeneralizable, has disrupted the lens of
decidedly hegemonic masculinity utilized by the sports media and has opened the door for
both the coming out of gay athletes and the media representation of those comings out
(Cleland, 2011).

Sports Media on Homosexuality
Kian, Anderson, and Shipka correctly note that there is limited research related to
the representation of homosexuality in sport media as, until recently, issues related to gay
and lesbian athletes were largely ignored by the media (2015). Rather, sport media has,
historically, reinforced “traditional masculinity, gender-specific roles, and implicit
homophobia” and held to a “’don’t ask, don’t tell’” policy in regards to allegedly gay or
lesbian athletes while regularly reporting on the personal lives of heterosexual athletes
(Kian et al., 2015, p. 621). As society at large has progressed toward a more widespread
acceptance of homosexuality, however, sport media has adapted to match. Not only have
journalists recently taken the side of gay and lesbian athletes in harshly criticizing
homophobic comments from within and outside the media on multiple occasions, but they
have also begun to pen positive stories about GLB athletes with increasing frequency (Kian
et al., 2015; Kian & Anderson, 2009). Still, a lens of heteronormativity and a lingering
insistence that locker rooms are not prepared for openly gay athletes tend to be the norm
(Hardin, Kuehn, Jones, Genovese, & Balaji, 2009; Kian et al, 2015; Kian & Anderson, 2009).
Lesbian Stigma in Women’s Sport
General and popular culture have long reinforced the stereotype that female locker
rooms are filled with lesbians, particularly at higher levels of competition (Chawansky &
Francombe, 2011; Chawansky & Francombe, 2013). This stereotype stems from the
hegemonic masculinity of sport discussed previously – all athletes who are to be accepted
as sufficiently talented athletes, even women, must display the physical and personality
characteristics of power and therefore must be masculine (and therefore lesbian). Female
athletes and the leagues in which they compete have been attempting to dismantle it for as

long as they have existed. Academic literature on this topic has centered on the case of the
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the most prominent women’s
professional sports league, which has made a concerted “attempt to thwart the association
of women’s sports with lesbianism by marketing it as appropriate entertainment for
(heterosexual) families” (Chawansky & Francombe, 2011, p. 470). This effort, and similar
efforts in other women’s leagues, has made coming out decidedly difficult for lesbian
athletes and has left a “discernible tension between [the leagues] and [their] lesbian
athletes” (Chawansky & Francombe, 2011, p. 470). Unlike for their male counterparts, the
hesitancy of lesbian athletes to come out based on this issue does not seem to have
decreased along with the sharp decline in homophobia within sport and society at large.
Methods
In this study, I conducted a qualitative directed content analysis of major US sports
media websites’ representation of various gay, lesbian, and bisexual athletes’ coming out.
Qualitative content analyses are unobtrusive and nonreactive methods that, in contrast to
statistically based quantitative analyses, allow researchers to interpret not only explicit but
also more nuanced meanings within studied content (Anderson & Kian, 2012, p. 8; Kian et
al., 2015, p. 623). More specifically, directed content analyses rely on existing research to
focus research questions and coding categories and can be used to validate or expand upon
existing frameworks (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005, p. 1281).
The Sources
I examined all accessible articles related directly to an individual athlete’s coming
out published on the two most popular US sports media websites. Throughout the first
quarter of 2016, those two most popular US sports media websites – based on eBizMBA’s

compilation of unique monthly visitor averages as estimated by Compete, Quantcast, and
Alexa – were Yahoo! Sports and ESPN (eBizMBA, 2016). While Yahoo! Sports’ existence
initially centered upon providing fantasy sports games and leagues, the site has grown its
news content to the point of surpassing ESPN, the self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader in
Sports,” in monthly visits (Kian et al., 2015, p. 624). ESPN, still ubiquitous in the sports
media world, is widely recognized for its 13 broadcasting channels and round-the-clock
coverage of both the world’s most eminent and more obscure sports, but is also a heavy
producer of written sports news content both online and in its printed monthly, ESPN The
Magazine (Kian et al., 2015, p. 624).
The Sample
Both ESPN and Yahoo! Sports were searched for stories about gay and lesbian
athletes’ coming out announcements using the search terms “come out gay” and “come out
lesbian.” Searches were conducted over two days in April 2016 and, as all relevant
accessible articles were considered, the range of publication dates of articles included was
fairly broad; the most recent was published in October 2015 and the earliest published in
July 2003. All types of news articles were considered, including features, columns,
commentaries, and interviews, but other content such as reader comments and scouting
profiles was excluded. Articles were included in the analysis if they were directly related to
an individual, active professional or collegiate athletes’ coming out and were published
within six months of the original announcement. Articles on broader topics related to
issues of homosexuality in sports were not included, nor were reflection pieces published
more than six months after the date of an athlete’s original public announcement.

A total of 48 articles met the criteria stated above and were included in the analysis.
Of these 47 articles, 52.08% (n=25) were published on ESPN and the other 47.92% (n=23)
on Yahoo! Sports. Stories specific to gay or bisexual male athletes made up 79.17% (n=38)
of the sample. Of the 10 articles specific to lesbian or bisexual female athletes, 80% (n=8)
were published on ESPN and 20% (n=2) on Yahoo! Sports.
Coding and Analysis
In collecting and analyzing the data in the 48 articles sampled, I used a qualitative
directed content analysis method as described by Hsieh and Shannon (2005). As such, I
used a coding protocol based on thematic categories identified in my review of the
literature. These thematic categories included homophobia and heteronormativity,
compulsory masculinity, respect and support of locker rooms and/or the general public,
negative reactions of locker rooms and/or the general public, framing of GLB athletes as
inspirational or heroic, comings out as momentous or historic, and lesbianism as
overrepresented. I began coding immediately with these predetermined categories by
developing a list of keywords related to each and using ATLAS.ti data analysis software to
identify each instance of these keywords throughout the sample. I then read through each
article more thoroughly to verify and analyze these instances of each code, compile
descriptive examples, and identify and analyze text that could not be categorized under the
initial coding scheme.
As explained by Carpenter in a study using similar methods, the reliability of this
single-coder analysis technique, while arguably idiosyncratic, is supported by the well-
established use of the method by qualitative researchers for producing trustworthy
analysis of patterns and themes in content (2001, p. 41). The substantial use of direct

quotations in supporting interpretation also contributes to the argument for this method’s
trustworthiness as readers are able to draw their own conclusions and corroborate initial
analysis of the sample (Carpenter, 2001, p. 41). Finally, while it could be argued that using
predetermined codes biases the identification of relevant text, this can be assured against
so long as a thorough reading and denotation of the articles in analysis of initially
uncategorized text is also performed (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005, p. 1282).
Results
As mentioned earlier, the purpose of this study was to explore patterns in media
representation of GLB athletes’ coming out stories as well as the broader implications of
these patterns. In that the method used was a directed content analysis, the results of this
study fall closely in line with those of recent studies with similar research questions and
samples. A total of three primary themes emerged from my analysis, two related to RQ1
and one to RQ2.
Each Coming Out is Momentous for Sport and Society
The 48 articles in the studied sample covered the coming out stories of 17 different
professional and collegiate athletes still competing in their sport at the time of the
announcement. The overwhelming majority of those 17 athletes were, in some way, framed
as a first to go public with their non-normative sexuality. Michele Van Gorp was the first
WNBA player to come out, but Sheryl Swoopes the first high profile WNBA player
(ESPN.com News Services, 2003; Associated Press, 2005). The first collegiate football
player to come out was Willamette’s Conner Mertens, but Arizona State’s Chip Sarafin made
headlines as the first in the NCAA’s Division I (Bromberg, 2014a; Cooper, 2014). Sean
Conroy was the first professional baseball player to announce he was gay, but David

Denson the first in an MLB affiliated league (Cwik, 2015; Kahrl, 2015). This pattern of
assertion that each athlete is first in his or her own right was perhaps the most obvious and
frequent example of the media’s emphasis on the historical nature of coming out
announcements – headlines such as “UMass Guard Derrick Gordon Becomes First Openly
Gay Male DI Basketball Player” or “Brewers Minor Leaguer Comes Out as First Openly Gay
Player in Affiliated Ball” are the first thing readers see upon approaching these articles –
but arguments for the momentousness of these announcements were prevalent throughout
the bodies of the articles as well (Eisenberg, 2014b; Townsend, 2015).
Within the studied sample, coming out announcements were described by sports
journalists as “landmark moment[s]” and those coming out as “historic figure[s]” and
“history-changing trail blazer[s]” (Connelly, 2014; Torre, 2014; Dwyer, 2013a). One author
wrote of Jason Collins:
Collin’s decision to come forward is significant, despite efforts to diminish it by
pointing to his low career scoring average or the six teams he has played for since
entering the league. But Collins now owns a stat that matters. Seriously, if you're
wondering why you should care, here's why: because no one has done this before.
(Devine, 2013)
Quoting Outsports columnist Cyd Ziegler, another writer heralded Michael Sam’s
announcement as “’the most significant coming out ever in our outside of sports’” (Watson,
2014). UFC fighter Liz Carmouche’s coming out was touted as equally historic to fight it
proceeded, the first ever between women in the history of the Ultimate Fighting
Championship (Cofield, 2011). Furthermore, these announcements were lauded as being
monumental not only for sports but for American society at large – White House

spokesman Jay Carney is quoted as having told Jason Collins that he “views [Collins’]
decision as another example of progress and evolution in the U.S. as Americans grow more
accepting of gay rights and same-sex marriage” (ESPN.com News Service, 2013b). As in
other recent studies, the journalists whose articles were sampled here were eager to
portray these athletes as figureheads and establish sport as at the forefront of society’s
progressive movement towards acceptance of the LGB community (Kian et al., 2015).
GLB athletes, on top of their status as historical figures, were also depicted as heroes
and inspiratory forces for those who might follow in their footsteps. One journalist wrote
that Derrick Gordon’s “’fearless desire to be his authentic self and his personal story of
triumph will inspire others and continue to expand consciousness’” related to gay rights
issues (Fagan, 2014b). Similarly, another journalist wrote that “[Jason] Collins' bravery
today has made him an historically significant figure” and made note of “his humble
heroism” (Devine, 2013). Andrew Goldstein is quoted as having said that “his primary
reason for coming out so publicly was to inspire others to follow his course” (Garber,
2005b).
Several articles did touch on the sentiment that the real news indicating full support
of the GLB community will be when coming out publicly is no longer necessary and these
stories no longer make the news. One journalist quoted a prominent gay rights activist as
asserting that Jason Collins’ announcement was a watershed moment not in and of itself
but because it might allow society to “get off this ride of having to worry about being the
first, and these stories about who’s going to come out first” (Dwyer, 2013b). Another writer
wrote that David Denson’s “announcement was . . . greeted by the familiar plurality refrain
of ‘Why is this news?’ and ‘Who cares?’” (Baumann, 2015). It can certainly be argued that,

until it is not news, homosexuality is not truly accepted in sport and society but merely
tolerated.
Supportive Responses are the Norm in and outside of Locker Rooms
In touting the historic nature of coming out announcements, sports journalists
emphasized the overwhelmingly positive nature of responses to those announcements.
Outsports columnist Cyd Ziegler is quoted as having said:
“’Let me put it this way, for 15 years, Out Sports has done the coming out stories of
probably 200 athletes in high school, college and the pros in various different
sports, including football . . . Every single one of them said the same exact thing:
They were afraid of coming out, they heard homophobic things in the locker room
before they did and when they came out, not only were they embraced fully by their
team and the coaching staff, but the same people who had said homophobic things
before they came out, went to them and apologized and embraced them. So, people
are afraid of what they don’t know. It’s going to be just fine like it has in any other
locker room for anybody to come out.’” (Watson, 2014).
Ziegler’s statement is bold and expansive, but the sentiment was echoed by other writers
and the athletes themselves: come out and you will be supported by your team, your
league, and your fans. Sean Conroy’s teammates wore rainbow socks and other gay pride
symbols as part of their uniforms (Cwik, 2015). After David Denson came out, Major League
Baseball was quoted as having released a statement that it “backs Denson’s decision ‘to
share his personal story and wishes him continued success with his goal of becoming a
major leaguer’” (ESPN.com News Services, 2015). Olympian Eric Radford was quoted as
saying, "Everyone's super supportive. It's a total non-issue” (Bucholtz, 2014). Fans reached

out to marathoner Matt Llano via “Facebook, Twitter and email, voicing their support,
sharing their own stories and confiding in Llano for inspiration” (Chaves, 2014).
While most article acknowledged that each athlete would face some negative
backlash, mostly from the public through social media but potentially from media members
or other athletes, only two articles made that backlash their focus. The first was a short
piece on the reaction of Michael Sam’s father to his son’s coming out, a mix of pride and
discomfort “with the idea of a gay NFL player” (Schwab, 2014c). The second was a piece on
Brittney Griner’s revelation that her coaches at Baylor University had demanded she keep
her sexuality a secret, which the writer derided as “a sad testament to the pervasiveness of
homophobia in America and to the pressure on college coaches to win” (Eisenberg, 2013).
Lesbians are Faced with Perpetuating a Stereotype
The key difference in media representation of gay male athletes and lesbian athletes
was in that lesbians were forced to grapple with perpetuating the stereotype that all female
athletes are lesbians and, therefore, damage the hard-fought effort by the female sporting
community as a whole to dismantle said stereotype. This struggle and perceived pressure
not to come out were mentioned in all but one article specific to a lesbian athlete. One
writer sums up the pressure on lesbian athletes not to come out quite compellingly:
“As Swoopes herself points out, there are plenty of heterosexual women in the sport
who are very happy, unconflicted and quite sure they want just Brad Pitt and not
Angelina Jolie or both. A lot of them are going to see the Swoopes story, roll their
eyes and say, ‘Oh, please, isn't it hard enough already for me to get guys to ask me
out? Do we have to talk about the 'gay thing' again?’” (Voepel, 2005).

While negative stereotyping was also mentioned in several articles specific to gay
male athletes, the stereotype mentioned was the notion that gay men are effeminate. As the
individuals considered were collegiate or professional athletes and generally fit the mold of
male athlete as masculine and talented, this stereotype was generally painted as a non-
issue. For Michael Sam, who is quoted as having said, “"If you led the SEC with 11.5 sacks
and 19 tackles for losses? . . . If a gay person did that, I wouldn't call that person weak,”
negative stereotypes were “too absurd . . . even to consider” (Connelly, 2014).
Discussion
Researchers have documented a shift in sport and sport media representation from
a culture marked by homophobia and compulsory masculinity to one that is more inclusive
and accepting of gay and lesbian athletes (Kian et al., 2015). Recent studies have debunked
the contention that locker rooms remain places of prejudice and that sport media
reinforces that prejudice, have uncovered a pattern of praise and respect for gay athletes
within and outside of the media that dominates any negative response, and have identified
a theme of media representation of coming out as historically notable but unfortunately so
for the sake of the gay rights movement (Kian & Anderson, 2009; Cleland, 2011; Kian et al.,
2015). The results of the current study have, effectively, matched these previously
emergent themes. Furthermore, these themes seem to have been even more
overwhelmingly prevalent in the current sample than in previous samples.
While several older articles were included in the current sample, including a few
from the mid-2000s, the vast majority were published between 2012 and 2015. The sample
also included a bulk of articles that were published after even those addressed in the most
recent articles with similar research questions and samples, such as Kian and Anderson’s

2009 study on John Amaechi’s coming out, Cleland’s 2011 study of Anton Hysen’s coming
out, and even Kian, Anderson, and Shipka’s 2015 study of Jason Collins’ coming out. This
focus on more recent stories and above stated increase in prevalence of positive themes
suggest that acceptance of gay and lesbian athletes in sport has only continued to increase
in stride with the level of acceptance in society at large which, as mentioned previously, has
risen 20% in just the last five years.
The influence of these factors on my results also implies that the increase in
acceptance of gay and lesbian athletes in sport and society and in sports media is
happening cyclically. As acceptance of GLB individuals increases within society and within
sport culture, the media increases coverage of stories related to GLB athletes and the tone
of these stories becomes less prejudiced and more positive. Then, as media representation
of GLB athletes becomes more frequent and more positive, acceptance of GLB individuals
increases within society and within sport. The decreases in homophobia and shifts in
archetypal masculinity seem to function in much the same way.
Regardless of the cause of these positive changes in the experiences of GLB athletes,
be they driven by society at large or sporting culture or the media, my results suggest that
it is undeniable that the likelihood that a GLB athlete making a coming out announcement
will be treated poorly by their teammates, their leagues, or the media is remarkably slim.
Similarly, whether you argue that GLB athletes are accepted or merely tolerated, it is fairly
obvious to me based on my results that the level of acceptance and/or tolerance is high
throughout US sport. Yes, there continue to be challenges based for gay and lesbian athletes
and most will continue to hesitate to come out publicly as perceived levels of homophobia
are still high, but their reception upon coming out will tend to be overwhelmingly positive.

More so, they are likely to be heralded as heroes and thrust into advocacy roles as they
inspire future athletes to follow their leads.
As for much qualitative sociological work, the results of this study should not be
generalized to the representation of homosexuality in sport by all media or to the
experiences of gays and lesbians in sport in a broader sense. This study sample was
relatively limited – only 48 articles were considered – and was pulled from only the two
most popular sports news sources. Results are also likely not representative of the
representation and experiences of gay and lesbian athletes outside of the US, as only US
media outlets and stories about American athletes were sampled.
As mentioned previously, there is a need for further research that centers on media
representation of gay and lesbian athletes who are still actively competing. While this study
focused on representation of the coming out announcements of these athletes, studies
considering the representation of GLB athletes throughout their careers, and in particular
those comparing the representation of those athletes before and after they have come out,
could be valuable. Research on the sociological effects of this representation on consumers
and broader society, and on its implications for the GLB community at large, would also be
illuminating. Quite frankly, though, as issues of homosexuality in sport are only recently
being more readily addressed by the media, any quality study related to the subject could
be a valuable contribution to the body of literature attempting to understand the
implications of that uptick in coverage (Kian et al., 2015). I would also suggest an increased
focused upon the unique issues for lesbian athletes presented by the lesbian stigma in
sports.

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