Small Talk: Do Tell

Just 10 days ago, the historic "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy of the United States military was repealed by the government. Finally, it seemed, sexual preferences weren't going to be viewed as a road block preventing you from serving your
country. Even today, our country's tolerance seemingly leapt over another hurdle as military chaplains got the OK to conduct same-sex marriages in states that allow the practice.

But the world of athletics still remains somewhat homogenous when it comes to sexual preferences. Many athletes, both male and female, feel pressured to hide their identities. Maybe they're afraid of a major media firestorm (unlikely), their teammates turning against them (more unlikely), or even being benched (most unlikely). But very few athletes have come out, and even fewer professional athletes fit into this category. Sure we remember Martina Navratilova's famous breakups with her girlfriends, and former Phoenix Suns owner Rick Welts rocking the sports world by announcing he was gay just a few months ago. But famous athletes such as Esera Tuolo and John Amaechi coming out after their professional careers ended didn't help the cause much.

Look at college sports. There are practically no openly gay Division 1 coaches (there are definitely fewer than 5, and 2 of them just so happen to be here in the great state of Oregon) and even fewer openly gay athletes. It seems to me that in order for gay athletes to have fewer trepidations about coming out, it needs to come from the top down. More gay coaches need to come out. Or maybe quite simply we just need more gay coaches. They need to show their athletes, and then ultimately high school athletes, that you can be successful in the sports world and be gay.

The topic just seems to be salient this week in the wake of the DADT repeal. But also because the sports world is taking great steps to combat bullying in the LGBT world. The Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners have all lent their support to the It Gets Better Project over the past few months by making videos. But just this week a new frontier was eclipsed.

The Northwestern University Wildcats became the first college athletic department to join the It Gets Better Project. And what a great idea that is! It's a unique and fun way for student-athletes to truly make a positive benefit on their university communities. There is absolutely no reason why every single NCAA athletic department shouldn't pledge to do the same.

I think big changes are in store for the LGBT community. If the U.S. military has no problem with gay service people, then it's only a matter of time before the trickle down effect happens. Until that time, we can all aspire to do a better job of ignoring "coming out" announcements and focusing more on the on-the-field brilliance we care more about anyway.