Krystal Prystaloski

English 2100-30
Annotated Bibliography Final Draft
April 24, 2015

Gough, Brendan. Coming out in the Heterosexist World of the Sport: A Qualitative
Analysis of Web Postings by Gay Athletes. 2007: 153-174 Journal of Gay & Lesbian
Psychotherapy: The Haworth Medical Press. Web. 2 Feb. 2015.

As discussed by Brendan Gough in this article, there are many different ways younger
and older athletes decide to come out with their homosexuality around the world. Not only are
they all faced with numerous battles before each of them come out but after, the battles only get
harder. As some of the individuals are accepted by teammates/staff and others, some are judged
by so many as well. In the sports world there is a big difference between coming out to yourself
and coming out to everyone. They each fight the battle of coming out to themselves and the
closest people to them, but when they are faced with coming out to their teammates and the whole
world, a lot does change for them good and bad. Males are usually a lot more judged when
coming out compared to females. The author Gough, provided his information from the authors
Anderson in 2002 and Krane and Kauer in 2007. In this article they also use a chart "Athletes
Features and Their Details" from the authors Smith, 2004; Camic, Rhodes and Yardley 2003.
After reading this article it allowed many people including myself to see all the obstacles and life
changing experiences each of these individuals go through while coming out. Readers are also
given the information that a lot more athletes do come out with being homosexual than what we
think. It is different in every single sport and how it is handled. Not only is it different with every
sport but this article shows coming out is very different for each sex as well. All of the charts and
information are able to open the readers eyes to many facts and details you would not think went
along with the coming out process.

Christian, Bruce. Finding His Voice. 2013: Echo Magazine: Ace Publishing. Web. 10
Feb. 2015.

As stated by Bruce Christian in his article, no one really understands what others go
through when they open up in the sports world. In his words exactly it was very interesting
being openly gay in the sports world. As some people respected him, there were numerous
homophobias and a lot of stupidity. He was rudely asked after interviewing an openly gay athlete
if he washed his hands afterwards. Also a male would not let him edit football stories because he
was gay. There was news that the Brooklyn Nets were looking to sign a gay player but no one
wanted to believe them or even report about it until it actually happened. After his years of being
a sports journalist, he decided to leave ESPN and enroll at Arizona State University and pursue
creative writing. This article was able to show many things many never thought actually went on
coming out in the sports worlds. Individuals are so judged by others they leave, that is a shame.
Not only am I one to believe everyone and their beliefs should be expected but he was constantly

put down daily. If it was not about who and how he interviewed, he was judge by his writing
simply because he was openly gay. Reporters did not want to come out with a player being signed
because behind closed doors they had hope the team did not sign him because he was gay. Being
stated by Christian, it is believed our generation now will be able to change things around and be
a lot more accepting of openly gay players in the sports world and in general. Not only would
Bruce Christian like to see the sports world become more open and accepting, I am sure a lot of
others would agree as well. Athletes should not have to try harder and feel ashamed of themselves
for wanting to be different. Their talent should be the deciding factor in the end. With all of the
information given by Bruce Christian and some by Bob Lind as well, this article really shows the
reality of coming out in the sports world.

Cavalier S, Elizabeth. Men at Sport: Gay Mens Experiences in the Sport Workplace.
2011: 626-646 Journal of Homosexuality: Taylor & Francis Group. Print. 10 Feb 2015.

Author Elizabeth S Cavalier has given valid information stating it is harder on a male to
come out in the sports world. Even though females are judged as well as males, males usually are
faced with harder judgment and not accepted as easily. Numerous people believe professional
male athletes should be straight or at least at straight to teammates and others. Many athletes both
male and females do not come out of the closet because it is heard from others that athletes are
supposed to be role models for others and being gay is not usually okay. Cavalier provided
information given by authors Ziegler and Buzinski in 2007 to show us examples that there is a lot
more media focus on the gay individuals who come out instead of other professional athletes and
their teams. Not only do those authors provide information they also provide columns, message
forums, and resourcing for gay sports fans, athletes and employees stated in the passage on page
630. As stated by many, it is not fair males are judged harder than females because at the end of
the day they are coming out with the same news. Usually males are able to take judgment a lot
easier than females but that does not mean they should be singled out. Not only is it the athletes
being judged, but it is also the openly gay employees as well. Homosexuality should not define
who you are as a person in your work environment. Stated in the article, your work environment
should be a place you love going to and feel welcomed, judgments should not change that. All of
the information provided in the article will be able to make you take a step back and really see
what coming out does in the sports world. It affects way more than just the athlete and teammates
but the employees as well.

Borden, Sam. Female Star Comes Out as Gay, and Sports World Shrugs. The New York
Times: pg 15 New York Edition. Print. 10 Feb 2015.

Author Sam Borden addressed how it was a huge hit to the media on Wednesday when
the athlete Brittney Griner came out for being gay. As Borden wrote many people were surprised
but nobody really made that big of a deal out of it because shes a female. Stated in the article,
Can you imagine if it was a man who did the exact same thing? Everyones head would have
exploded. Now a days, people think not everyone is going to stop judging and homophobia will

not go away completely. With females though in the sports world, people are a lot more accepting
and less judgmental. After reading this article many readers are able to in just two short pages that
the sports world in once again way harder on males (Borden 1). Numerous people are just waiting
for more male professional athletes to come out with being gay in North America. In Griner case,
people are just saying Oh, its just another lesbian. But males would be talked about, and all
over the media. This article really makes me want to find out more why it is that males are judged
so much harder than woman. Why cant they all be accepted or even judged the same for that
matter. As numerous people have a different opinions on this topic, many do believe Griners
coming out will maybe convince males to openly come out as well. Males will get the impression
that more individuals are starting to come out therefore it can be okay but at the same time males
are always going to be judged way harder so would it be worth it. Each of them can hide it and be
happy without being harassed, judged and put all of the media for months or even years. This
article was able to show just how competitive and judgmental the professional sports world is
today. Not only do many think athletes get judged on the physical ability for the sport they chose
to pursue, but males and females should be treated equally. The media and others should not be
able to say Oh, its just another female but everyones head would of exploded if it was a male.
The article will definitely show all readers the truth behind coming out and how it is handled by
society.

Pronger, Brian. Sports Literature: Gay Male. 2009: GLBTQ Literature. New England
Publishing Associates. Web. 11 March 2015.

Stated by author Brian Pronger, numerous people believe homosexuality only takes place
in the United States sports but in reality it is a nationwide topic. For instance in Greece, male
homosexuality was celebrated at the highest form of love. Many athletes and supporters showed
their love for the individuals and their lifestyle choices because they wanted the younger
generation to know that is was okay for them as well to become homosexual if they wanted too.
With that being sad, many of the males who chose to be homosexual had to deal with absence
fathers. The fathers believed that the boys masculine development was endangered by too much
female influence. Also in Greece, it was very normal for males older and younger, to exercise
naked. For the men there, there was so many things that contributed to being homosexual. Books,
practices, sports, literature, anything you could think of was accepted socially. Unlike the United
States, where being homosexual was very wrong and talked about everywhere. It mentions how
different their approach to homosexuality is. If their individuals want to be gay, they can be and
they are accepted like anyone else. If they chose to stay straight, that is perfectly fine for them
too. The only difference really stated is the fathers role in their lives. Here in US, as many fathers
distance themselves from their children, we also have some parents who stick by their childrens
homosexuality and are completely okay with it. But in Greece, it states pretty much all of the
males fathers are absence because it is not something they can live with. In the article it really
shows readers how different each society is with their acceptance of same sex marriage. All
guidelines and how each country deals with homosexuality varies.

Warren Nell, Patricia. Gay Sports- Hanging in There. 2009: Echo Magazine. Ace
Publishing. Web. 11 March 2015.

Author Patricia Warren addresses how the only way she can really describe how LGBT sports are
doing is hanging in there. Since the media would rather not focus on them, they just do their
own things and get through the days the best they can. As she believes each of them are just
hanging in there, she also thinks the sports amongst gays and lesbians are the healthiest they have
ever been. They have been able to develop and grow in the gay landscape. As brought up, rugby
is usually a sport for the gays, mostly lesbians. Rugby is now being accepted in so many places
and is such a huge growing sport. Even if you are not a homosexual, the teams accept anyone to
place the sport. It is all based on the individuals ability to play the sport, instead of their
homosexuality. If you have the passion and love for rugby and are good at it, you are welcome.
By stating it is doing well, this means that many athletes and fans will continue to travel to their
favorite events. Recently, gay rodeo images got a new high scores as well. The author does a well
job at showing how society is really becoming more accepting of the homosexuality in sports and
the positivity is helping the individuals and sports. Pointed out by a publisher, Cyd Ziegler, gay
sports groups have a unique ability to get mainstream publicity and change the face of the gay
community. There is probably no more important role these groups can have than to push for
more visibility. With all of the facts shown in this article, it really shows the readers how the gay
community is going in the positive direction. Even with the negativity brought to them, they each
are doing things to help benefit them in the end and bu