2018/01/17 by Meghan K. Halbrook, Meghan Halbrook, Jack C. Watson +1 · 1 citation
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Sports, Gender, and Society #LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy #Sport and Mega-Event Impacts
paper · doi:10.1080/00918369.2017.1423222
Despite reports that there has been a positive trend in perception and treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals in recent years (Griffin, 2012 Griffin, P. (2012). LGBT equality in sports: Celebrating our successes and facing our challenges. In G. B. Cunningham (Ed.), Sexual orientation and gender identity in sport (pp. 1–12). College Station, TX: Center for Sport Management Research and Education. [Google Scholar]; Loftus, 2001 Loftus, J. (2001). America’s liberalization in attitudes toward homosexuality, 1973 to 1998. American Sociological Review, 66(5), 762–782.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), sport, in general, is still an uncertain, and sometimes even hostile, environment for LGB athletes (Anderson, 2005 Anderson, E. (2005). In the game: Gay athletes and the cult of masculinity. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. [Google Scholar]; Waldron & Krane, 2005 Waldron, J. J., & Krane, V. (2005). Whatever it takes: Health compromising behaviors in female athletes. Quest, 57, 315–329.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). To gain more information on coach understanding and perceptions of the team environment, 10 high school head coaches in the United States were interviewed to explore their experiences coaching openly LGB athletes. Qualitative analyses revealed four primary themes associated with coach experiences: team environment dogmas and observations, fundamental beliefs contributing to perceptions of LGB athletes, types and timing of sexual orientation disclosure, and differential LGB athlete characteristics. Future research should examine these primary themes in more detail through interviews with LGB athletes, as well as high school coaches in more traditionally masculine sports, such as football, men’s basketball, and wrestling.