Dave Londres

Glenn Burke, former Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics from 1976 to 1979, was touted as the next Willie Mays by many scouts as he started his baseball career. He is said to have invented the high five. Burke was also the first openly gay man in MLB during his professional career, presenting him with difficulties which eventually caused him to leave professional sports permanently at the age of 27. Burke wrote in his autobiography, Out at Home, “Prejudice just won out.” A legitimate fear exists that a team will ostracize anyone who does not fit its norms. And the cost of not conforming is more than becoming a social outcast. Athletes could lose scholarships, endorsements, or even a continuing pro-career. While this could be true for some teams, it is not as common now as it was in the days of Burke.

Sheryl Swoopes, a professional basketball player for Seattle Storm of the WNBA, recently publicly announced she was a lesbian, becoming one of the most high profile athletes to come out, risking her job and public support in the process. However, Swoopes gained public support and did not lose her job. She might have been weary of coming out, but she didn’t let that stop her. Says Swoopes, “It doesn’t change who I am. I can’t help who I fall in love with. No one can.”

Swoopes is not the only modern professional player to come out. A former player for the Australian Rugby League (and one of the highest paid rugby players of all time) also came out late in his career. That athlete goes by the name of Ian Roberts, and was generally highly supported by the rugby world. Several players said it was important to be “true to yourself,” and many in the rugby world assisted in a campaign against homophobia conducted by the Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project. Roberts was later awarded the Australian Sports Medal, and appeared in the 2006 film, Superman Returns.

Based on conversations with several RIT student athletes who are openly gay, the general attitude at our college is seems to be mostly non-discriminatory. For instance, Cory Gregory, an electrical engineering student, was openly gay in high school and had no trouble joining the track team here. He would have continued to run, but was unable due to an injury.

In another example, ex-RIT Crew members, Jackie Nieves and Caity Carter, said they never had a problem being openly gay, and left the team for unrelated reasons. However, Carter did mention that she felt the need to keep it quiet, fearing that her teammates would be uncomfortable.

Another former Crew member, Patrick Villaume, mentioned that the coaches did pay attention to the fact that he was gay. Swimmer Eric Stevens expressed similar sentiments: “I’ve had coaches where, initially, there were a lot of misunderstandings...but it evolves like any other relationship.” Michael Muska, an openly gay athletic director at Oberlin College, said that the biggest misconception about gay male athletes is that he “can’t be as tough” as a straight male athlete. While this is a prejudice that more modern athletes have to deal with, Burke had to face statements from his team manager saying that he did not want a gay man in his clubhouse. That manager traded Burke to a minor league team the first chance he got.

Stevens pointed out, “I think RIT is a very accepting place because of the diversity of the student body...Sometimes people say things they shouldn’t, and other times people do things they shouldn’t. It is like that on all teams and not limited to just gay people.” Stevens continued, “I guess that once people get to know me, there isn’t an issue with the whole ‘gay’ thing.” While there are still many stereotypes facing homosexuals today, in athletics or otherwise, the situation is becoming less hostile. In 1994, a year before his AIDS-related death, Burke said in People, “My mission as a gay ballplayer was to break a stereotype...I think it worked.”