BY MARIE-JO PROULX
As part of the April 22-23 Weekend of Champions, a two-part fundraising event for Gay Games VII, a select group of national and international sports figures took part in three panel discussions on the challenges gay and lesbian athletes face in both recreational and competitive sports. The moderated exchanges touched on a variety of issues during the Breakfast with Champions (on April 23), which welcomed approximately 500 guests to Soldier Field’s Cadillac Club.
The first panel was moderated by sports journalist Jim Provenzano, and it focused on gay identity in professional sports. Panel members included former NFL players David Kopay, Esera Tuaolo, and Roy Simmons (with each having written a book about their experiences); original member and now-assistant coach of the U.S. Rugby Women’s National Team Candi Orsini; former U.S. National Champion in-line skater Ryan Allen Carrillo; 10-time All-American gymnast Graham Ackerman; and former U.S. Equestrian Team member Jim Graham.
While acknowledging that the NFL has made some progress in how it deals with issues of discrimination, Kopay pointed out that the San Francisco 49ers are the only team with a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation—which is because a city ordinance requires it of local employers. Although the three footballers did not come out until they had retired from the sport, they now hope their books and personal testimonies will encourage others to follow their lead. ‘After a life of deceitfulness and on the down low, I am now happy with who I am as a gay man and a gay athlete,’ Simmons said.
Ackerman and Carrillo, perhaps because they are of a slightly younger generation, or maybe due to the fact that theirs are individual sports, did come out while still competing and neither encountered prejudicial treatment from fellow athletes. Ackerman has even appeared in Instinct and Out magazines.
Asked about the marketing of gay athletes, Orsini mentioned that it used to be difficult for women’s rugby teams to get coverage as most people assumed that the sport only featured lesbians. ‘They used lesbians as an excuse not to market us,’ she said. Today, the International Rugby Board and U.S.A. Rugby are integrated, which helps a lot in promoting women’s rugby at all levels.
The next panel covered Olympic and international sports. Robin Robinson of Fox News Chicago moderated. She is the recipient of a HIV education award named after her brother Gregory, who died of AIDS complications. Participants were Olympic gold medal diver Greg Louganis, Olympic gold medal-winning soccer goalkeeper Saskia Webber, Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Petra Roessner from Germany, Olympic volleyball player Leigh-Ann Naidoo from South Africa, sprinter and Dutch national record holder Martje Hoekmeijer, and U.S. National Skeleton Team member Courtney Yamada (who is ranked second in the country).
Commenting on his own experience as a recognized and admired athlete who hid his sexual orientation from the public, Louganis said he was out to his friends and family back in the ’80s, at the height of his career. The U.S. National Diving Team was small, he added, so when they went away to training camps or at international competitions, other divers would ask who was going to ‘room with the fag.’ Louganis confided that he used to think ‘they should be so flattered’ which got a laugh and applause from the audience.
For their part, the other members of the panel reported no problems after identifying as gay athletes. Webber admitted agents can sometimes exert pressure and try to discourage top athletes from coming out, but she said this had not been the case with her. ‘I don’t have any nightmare stories. My soccer team was very supportive,’ she affirmed.
While she first kept her sexual orientation private, Naidoo said she soon opted to be open about it when she considered starting a family with her partner. She said she could not imagine being a role model unless she was honest about herself. Now, with Google carrying multiple pages of stories about her being a Gay Games VII Ambassador, there is no turning back and she is very proud of her decision. Speaking of the many interviews she has given as a gay athlete, she noted, ‘At first, I was afraid people would ask difficult questions. Now, I’m glad when they do.’
Roessner and Hoekmeijer, who have signed sponsorship deals with Saturn and Nike, respectively, spoke of the greater openness around sexual issues in most European countries today. Referring to her personal development as a lesbian in Eastern Germany, Roessner declared, ‘When the wall fell, the world opened up to me.’ Hoekmeijer stated that, as the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, Holland has long embraced diversity. She added that the road has been paved for gay athletes and that being out was not a detriment to her either on or off the track.
Yamada, who came out in college and later to coaches and fellow competitors on the U.S. National Skeleton Team, also reported that all were very supportive of her.
The last panel, moderated by LeeAnn Trotter of NBC-5 Chicago, explored a number of legal battles. Sara Waddell Lewinstein recounted the protracted legal struggles Gay Games founder Dr. Tom Waddell (whom she married and later cared for before he died of AIDS) encountered when he named his event the ‘Gay Olympics.’ The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the International Olympic Committee won the right to prevent the use of the word ‘Olympic’ in association with ‘Gay.’ In spite of the defeat, the controversy served to educate the public about the importance of equal rights for all, Waddell—a lesbian athlete herself—declared.
Gymnast Matthew Cusick then told the story of how he was fired by Cirque du Soleil several months after they had learned of his HIV status. Claiming he presented a danger to other performers and spectators, the company informed him that it was terminating his employment only a few days before he was scheduled to start rehearsals in Las Vegas. He sued for wrongful dismissal and, with the help of Lambda Legal, was awarded $600,000 in compensation. Cusick said he is still in contact with a handful of Cirque gymnasts, but he has mixed feelings about returning to Montreal, where the company is based. ‘I love the city and want to go back, but it has always been so tied to Cirque in my mind.’
Registered domestic partners and golfers Birgit Koebke and Kendall French explained how they had taken their country club to court when they were refused membership privileges granted to married couples and to some unmarried opposite-sex partners. French highlighted the absurdity of the situation, saying the club had ‘four to five attorneys working to keep me from playing golf.’ After Lambda Legal won its case in the California Supreme Court, the women chose to stay at the club ‘to let them stew in the mess they made,’ French quipped. On a more serious note, Koebke added, ‘We are making more of a difference than if we had walked away.’