Homophobia in Sport: The rise of homophobic slurs in elite sports

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Studies conducted have found that most male athletes have heard teammates recently use homophobic slurs.

80% of both the LGBTQ+ community and straight people have witnessed or experienced homophobic behaviour in sport.

Nearly half of the male athletes involved in sport have recently used homophobic language against fellow athletes and recent investigations suggest it is actually increasing.

A recent investigation into the use of homophobic language in multiple sports and countries found more than 40% of the male athletes who play traditionally male associated sports such as football or rugby union have recently used homophobic language.

However, a recent study found this language seems to be disconnected from negative attitudes. Athletes with positive attitudes toward gay people were just as likely as those with negative attitudes to use slurs and researchers believe this language is supported by the unique culture and social norms in sports settings.

“Studies have found sport organisations and governments largely ignore discrimination experienced by LGBTQ+ people in sport.” – Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

What must be concerning for organisations to hear is that most female rugby players in England and Scotland say people automatically assume they are lesbians for playing the sport.

The stigma and discrimination that young girls and women have experienced when they play sports such as rugby, cricket or ice hockey has been extensively documented in hundreds of studies by researchers over the last half-century. However, recent studies suggest little has changed.

In a recent BBC documentary, the show highlighted how this stigma is particularly challenging for women and girls from Non-Anglo backgrounds in developing countries. However, researchers have also found this to be the case in western countries for girls with cultural backgrounds that have outdated norms related to gender.

“80% of both gay, bisexual and straight people have witnessed or experienced homophobic behaviour in sport.”

In the last 20 years, there have been numerous academic studies carried out and it was revealed that they found strong resistance and little progress in stopping the discrimination that LGBTQ+ children and adults experience in sport.

The LGBTQ+ community have been going round in circles on this issue for several years. It is clear there are many people in sport who desperately want to do the right thing but may be unaware of everything done in the past. This suggests that the same ineffective approaches have been repeated.

“We have serious concerns over the effects of low participation among LGBTQ+ youth on their mental and physical health and well-being and we note that, in the long-term, it is very likely that a number of sports have been robbed of talent by the fact that promising young players have not felt accepted or supported in the sport they play.”

As an example, we have had peer-reviewed scientific evidence for at least a decade that the policies in sport that ban homophobic behaviours are ineffective and need to be completely redesigned.

They are complaint-based which means a child would have to file a formal complaint about their teammates using homophobic slurs that are often brushed aside as banter.

The one thing that is clear for many of the victims of homophobic abuse within sport is no one seems to take it too seriously, and unless highlighted by an elite sports personality, it is often ignored or simply brushed under the carpet.

Politicians who conducted a recent UK Parliamentary Inquiry into homophobia in sport found the discrimination that gay and bisexual boys/girls experience and the continued use of homophobic language in youth sport was deterring many from participation.

“There is ample data to suggest the prejudicial nature (of sport environments) can serve as a deterrent for athletic participation for gay males, in particular, as this population appears to be targeted harshly.”

A recent report published by the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee, found that sport, in general, is not doing enough to address homophobic abuse and they went further by suggesting that sports bodies should introduce extensive and lengthy bans for offenders.

It is all about education and training for coaches, players, teachers and indeed supporters at an early age. However, to encourage equality within our sporting establishments, we must first accept that there is a serious problem.

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