Leading the way, as ever, lesbians are the only out Olympians in Vancouver. Before lamenting why gay male sportsmen still cling to the closet, let's celebrate the six lesbians, all from northern countries:
Renate Groenewold, long track speed skating, Norway Netherlands
Erika Holst, ice hockey, Sweden
Vibeke Skofterud [above], cross-country skiing, Norway
Sarah Vaillancourt, ice hockey, Canada
Sanne van Kerkhof, short track speedskating, Netherlands
Ireen Wüst, speedskating, Netherlands
Wüst, 23, and van Kerkhof, 22, are girlfriends. Understandably, they're a tad tired of the press asking them about dating rather than about being world-class champion athletes. If they're going to go for queer trivia, the media really ought to quiz Vibeke about her clothes, or lack.
Meanwhile, Outsports has a rambling article by an anonymous closeted 2006 winter Olympian on why he thinks gay male athletes don't come out. His main points appear to be avoiding the additional stress and staying attractive to sponsors.
"Athletes who are gay have nothing material to gain by coming out publicly. And as an athlete, you must think about things in terms of their utility, especially because sport is now both financially and athletically competitive. No longer is it just, “What else can I do to get that extra edge?” The mantra now becomes, “What else can I do to appease and win over sponsors?”
"While it may seem from the outside that coming out would generate a lot of publicity, I feel that that kind of media attention would be falsely earned, that it wouldn’t be garnered for my athletic success, but for my sexuality. There is a strong dislike held by many elite athletes for the “human interest” stories that come around every Olympics. I think that this sentiment within my Olympic team made me focus completely on my training and results, so that I could earn that media coverage as an athlete, not as a gay man."
One surprise was his claim that many gay athletes delay confronting their sexuality until after their competitive years by concentrating exclusively on their sport. Also, he says many straight Olympians also don't or can't have relationships because of their extensive training and nonstop traveling.
In a similar vein, former NBA player John Amaechi recently disappointed progressive fans by telling the Telegraph:
"I personally have spoken to 10, 12 current professional footballers who are gay, they exist, I promise you. As it happens none of them have asked me if they should come out. But if they did, I would tell them not to. I'm not a gay right activist. I don't insist that they be a Joan of Arc. Why? Because that is what would happen: they would get burned at the stake. And how does that help anyone?"
One amateur who bucked Amaechi's opinion is Andrew McIntonish, a college lacrosse team captain who recently came out before senior year. He says of washing up with his straight teammates after his disclosure: "Life was normal in the showers. When we talked about our dates, I would comment on the nice arms my date had and they would talk about their girlfriends."
Renate Groenewold is Dutch, not a norwegian
Posted by: Wendy | February 22, 2010 at 06:20 AM