LGBT
Related: About this forumA Brief (Mostly Female) History of Coming Out in Sports
http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/05/04/a-brief-mostly-female-history-of-coming-out-in-sports.htmlAt last a gay athlete has come out! Weve all been holding our breath, havent we? Jason Collins, an NBA center with the Washington Wizards, was brave to take the first step. And celebrities in major-league sports and politics, to their credit, immediately congratulated him and made it clear that hes a hero.
A week earlier, womens basketball phenomenon and number one WNBA draft pick Brittney Griner came out. There was a nationwide yawn. Why no response? Because, duh! explained my wife, the jock and 24/7 sports maniac. I mean, just glance at the girl! Does she look straight to you?
Here's the other reason: Lesbians have been out in major sports for the past 30 years.
It started with Martina Navratilova, who dominated womens tennis in her day. Martina won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 major women's doubles titles (an all-time record), and 10 major mixed doubles titles. She won women's singles at Wimbledon a record nine times. Nine! If womens sports brought in endorsements and advertising deals, Martina should have had her name plastered on every carton of anything. But in 1981, when Martina acknowledged openly what everyone already knew (because, duh!), the reaction was nasty. Back in the Pleistocene, it was just fine to hurl slurs at the homo, and did they ever. She was jeered as queer, as a bad influence on the sport, as the evil player versus the good Chris Evert, the girly-girl tennis star who stood for sugar and spice and everything nice, just like she was supposed to. Martinas endorsement contracts added up to zero. Nothing. Nil. Nada. Arguably the greatest womens tennis player of the 20th century didnt have her name on so much as a shoelace.
rurallib
(62,421 posts)MarianJack
(10,237 posts)...long after her playing on the tour was over?Rosie Casals, too?
PEACE!
rurallib
(62,421 posts)IIRC she was 'outed' during her divorce from Larry King (not that Larry King). She was not ashamed and admitted being lesbian with no qualms.
Read an article on her @ 2 years ago. She and her partner (not sure if they were able to marry) lived a very quiet life in California, I believe. She was mostly still physically tired from heading up the professionalization of women's tennis.
Always felt that every time a woman tennis player wins a tourney and a big check they should call BJK and thank her.
MarianJack
(10,237 posts)...for this clueless almost 58 year old fudd, what does "IIRC" mean? Thanx!
PEACE!
rurallib
(62,421 posts)"IF I Recall Correctly"
meaning the following may be bullshit, but as of right now I am too lazy to look up the true story.
PEACE!