Sex & Society

According to Outsports.com only 10 of the 10,708 athletes at the 2008 Olympics is openly gay, with a single openly bisexual American softball player. And of those 10, only one is a man.

Matthew Mitcham, a diver representing Australia, came out a few months prior to the games. But he doesn't want to be defined as a queer athlete.

“I just want to be known as the Australian diver who did really well at the Olympics,” he said. “It’s everybody else who thinks it’s special when homosexuality and elite sport go together.”

As for other divers: "They don’t seem to mind that I’m a big homo,” he said. “I make jokes about it all the time. I haven’t made an issue of it, so they just reciprocate that attitude.”
 
Of course there are gay and lesbian athletes competing who have chosen to remain mum on their sexuality. Our gaydar has gone off more than a few times during the games ...

Outsports sees the lack of out athletes as a disappointment when one considers how far the gay community has come over the past decade.

“Strangely, this year there are no out riders competing on any team,” equestrian star Robert Dover, who retired in 2005 after competing in six Olympics, said in an e-mail to Outsports. “There is one rider who is married, but is having an affair with a guy, but so far he's not coming forward about it. Sad!” [more]

Athletes who choose to remain in the closet are succumbing to the normal societal pressure all homosexuals deal, and then must also contend with concerns over performance, teammates, fan reaction. and the much coveted endorsement deal. Others have simply thrown themselves into their selected sport and haven't found the time or energy to deal with their sexuality.

Dover pointed out that "you spend a day with these athletes, and it becomes obvious that gay people are everywhere. ... The reason many of them aren't out is because they're focused on their job during this time when sports is the No. 1 thing in their lives."

Outsports mentions at least one yet-to-come-out lesbian competing in Beijing: “She is religious and close to her mother. … She is also somewhat shy and fragile. This Beijing thing is going to be a major cultural shock. She came out of nowhere … and went from nothing to this. … But when she does come out, and she will, she will be an incredible role model.”

And Brandon Triche, an out gymnast, knows of gay peers in the sport, some who have opted for a sham marriage to protect their identity. “I think that those who keep their sexuality secret and act overly heterosexual hinder the sport,” Triche said. “My experience shows there are no more gay men competing in gymnastics than in any other sport. I was on my high school football team and there were many more homosexuals on that team than I ever met who were ever openly gay in gymnastics. I was out on my team and had a gay teammate. But there still has not been an Olympic gymnast that has come out.

“I think that for closeted elite gymnasts, not only are they scared to be a role model for gay youth, they are afraid that coming out will confirm the perception that they compete in a ‘gay sport.’ The misconceptions are so far from the truth. Gymnastics is one of the toughest, hardest and most gruelingly difficult sports in the world.”

Still a very long way to go ...

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