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Journal of Homosexuality
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Sport Fans' Impressions of Gay Male Athletes

Jamonn Campbell PhD , Denise Cothren MS , Ross Rogers MS , Lindsay Kistler , Anne Osowski , Nathan Greenauer PhD & Christian End PhD
a b a a a a a a

Department of Psychology, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA

b

Department of Psychology, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Version of record first published: 29 Apr 2011.

To cite this article: Jamonn Campbell PhD , Denise Cothren MS , Ross Rogers MS , Lindsay Kistler , Anne Osowski , Nathan Greenauer PhD & Christian End PhD (2011): Sport Fans' Impressions of Gay Male Athletes, Journal of Homosexuality, 58:5, 597-607 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2011.563658

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Journal of Homosexuality, 58:597607, 2011 Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0091-8369 print/1540-3602 online DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2011.563658

Sport Fans Impressions of Gay Male Athletes

JAMONN CAMPBELL, PhD, DENISE COTHREN, MS, ROSS ROGERS, MS, LINDSAY KISTLER, ANNE OSOWSKI, and NATHAN GREENAUER, PhD
Department of Psychology, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA

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CHRISTIAN END, PhD

Department of Psychology, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

The purpose of this study was to examine sport fans impressions of gay male athletes. Participants formed impressions of a ctional athlete from their favorite team after reading a short scenario about the player. The scenarios described the athlete as being gay or straight, and either becoming a distraction or not causing a distraction to the team. While males ratings of the athlete did not signicantly differ, female fans formed signicantly more positive impressions of the gay male player than the straight athlete. These results are discussed in terms of the ingroup bias and the shifting culture of homophobia in sport. KEYWORDS sport fans, homosexual, athletes, social identity In 2002, former National Football League (NFL) player Esera Tuaolo revealed that he was gay; a former teammate indicated that if Tuaolo would have revealed his homosexuality while he was still playing, he would have been a hated and targeted player, not only by opposing teams, but by his own teammates and teams fans (Jacquet, 2002). Similarly, when former National Basketball Association (NBA) player John Amaechi publicly revealed in a 2007 autobiography that he was gay, former NBA player Tim Hardaway stated that he hates gay people and would not want a gay player on his team (FoxSports, 2007; Kian & Anderson, 2009). Although Hardaway later issued an apology for his remarks, his statements are thought to reect a common sentiment endorsed by many players and fans of professional athletes
Nathan Greenauer is currently a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Cyprus. Address correspondence to Jamonn Campbell, Department of Psychology, Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA 17257, USA. E-mail: jacamp@ship.edu 597

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(Buzinski, 2002; Vacchiano, 2002). Tuaolo and Amaechi are two of only a handful of retired male professional athletes to ever admit to being gay, and currently there are no male professional athletes in North American sports who are openly gay (Kian & Anderson, 2009). Researchers suggest that many current and former gay athletes remain silent due to concerns about being cut from their teams, verbal harassment, physical retribution, and to protect their livelihood and nancial status (Martens & Mobley, 2005; Plymire & Forman, 2000). Thus, the sports world has been frequently referred to as the last closet for gay individuals (Beylin, 2006). Research suggests that societys prejudiced attitudes toward gay males are exacerbated in the traditionally masculine sports world (Martens & Mobley, 2005). While derogatory racial comments are deemed unacceptable in the locker room, coaches and teammates frequently use homonegative slurs as taunts and forms of motivation (Curry, 1991; McCormack & Anderson, 2010). Although anecdotal evidence suggests that many professional athletes would be resistant to the idea of playing alongside a gay teammate, a relatively unexplored domain is fans impressions of gay athletes. Therefore, the purpose of our research was to examine sport fans reactions of to the presence of a gay male athlete on their favorite team. Fans are dened as any individual who self-identies as being a supporter of a particular team.

A SHIFTING CULTURE OF HOMOPHOBIA IN SPORT?

Perhaps signaling a shift toward more acceptance of gay athletes in the sports world, numerous recent reports have indicated a marked decline in homophobic sentiments espoused by athletes and fans (Anderson, 2002, 2005, in press; Kian & Anderson, 2009; Mehaffey, 2010; Yorkshire Post , 2010). Cashmore and Clelands recent online survey found that 90% of participants agreed that homophobia has no place in football (soccer) (Yorkshire Post , 2010). Seventy-eight percent of respondents to another online poll indicated that they were ne with openly gay athletes in sport. However, the majority of participants (68%) also indicated that an athlete would hurt her or his career if a player were openly gay (Werthheim, 2005). Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications (2002) similarly found that 65% of Internet users indicated that their opinions of a player would be unaffected if an athlete from their supported team revealed that they were gay. However, 78% of the respondents predicted that other sport fans would have a less favorable opinion of a gay athlete compared to their own attitudes. The researchers suggest that this discrepancy between self and others attitudes regarding gay athletes may result from participants social desirability concerns, which in turn could be masking their true negative attitudes toward gay athletes (Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications,

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2002). Specically, these social desirability concerns could lead participants to report overly positive perceptions of gay players. However, the authors still concede that the actual prejudiced attitudes toward gay athletes may not be as negative as most perceive (Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications, 2002). Lending credence to these survey reports, Gareth Thomas experienced mostly positive support from players and fans when he became the rst openly gay professional rugby player in the United Kingdom to come out while actively playing (McCormack & Anderson, 2010). However, Thomas has also reported being taunted with homophobic slurs by some rival teams fans (Yorkshire Post , 2010). Therefore, it appears as if the sports world has reached somewhat of a tipping point with regard to gay athletes. While there are many examples of malicious homophobia in sport, recent ndings suggest that the culture of homophobia among fans and athletes may be shifting.

SOCIAL IDENTITY AND SPORT FANS

Recent reports of less prejudiced attitudes toward gay athletes can be explained in terms of a general culture shift in the sports world or a demonstration of ingroup bias on the part of fans and players (Branscombe, Wann, Noel, & Coleman, 1993; Wann & Branscombe, 1990, 1993). Social identity theory asserts that individuals receive a boost in self-esteem when a group that one identies with is successful or perceived in a positive light (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Conversely, ones self-esteem may be threatened when ones group performs poorly or is associated with negative events. In order to protect our social identities, individuals may display an ingroup bias by derogating outgroup members (End, 2001), devising socially creative explanations for shortcomings (End, Eaton, et al., 2003), and increasing support for stigmatized ingroup members (Dietz-Uhler, End, Demakakos, Dickirson, & Grantz, 2002; End, Dietz-Uhler, Harrick, & Jacquemotte, 2002). Therefore, it is plausible that individuals who identify with a sports team may increase support for a gay player from that team. For instance, Dietz-Uhler et al. (2002) found that participants who read a description of a recently arrested ctional football player from their favorite team, rated the player more favorably than a noncriminal athlete from either their favorite or rival teams. The authors concluded that participants bolstered their impressions of the deviant player in an effort to protect their team-related social identities, demonstrating an ingroup bias. Although there have been a fair number of interviews reporting professional athletes negative attitudes toward gay players, there has been surprisingly very little research examining fans perceptions of homosexuality in team sports. Thus, the purpose of our study was to examine the impressions of a gay male athlete who plays for a team with which the

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participant identies. Additionally, we employed an experimental design in an effort to minimize some of the generalizability issues (e.g., selfselection and small sample sizes) potentially affecting previous studies on homophobia in sport (Anderson, 2005; Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications, 2002; Wertheim, 2005; Yorkshire Post , 2010). Based on previous research examining the ingroup bias (Dietz-Uhler et al., 2002; End, Dietz-Uhler, et al., 2002) and the shifting culture of homophobia in sport (Anderson, 2002, 2005; Kian & Anderson, 2009; Yorkshire Post , 2010), we hypothesized that a gay player from ones favorite team would be rated more positively than a straight player from the same team. However, if the gay players sexuality negatively impacts the participants favorite team, then this individual would be evaluated more harshly than a straight player who is negatively impacting the team, indicative of a black sheep effect. The black sheep effect is dened as an increased negative evaluation of an unfavorable ingroup member as compared to comparable target (Dietz-Uhler et al., 2002; Marques, Robalo, & Rocha, 1992; Matthews & Dietz-Uhler, 1998).

METHOD Participants
Two hundred seventy six students (167 women and 109 men) from a midsized eastern university in the United States participated in the study in exchange for extra credit in their introductory psychology courses. The mean age of the participants was 18.30 years (SD = 1.16). The majority of the sample was comprised of Caucasian students (91%); 4% were African American, 2% were Hispanic, 1% was Asian, and 1% identied as other.

Design
Participants were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions using a 2 (orientation; i.e., gay vs. heterosexual) 2 (distraction; yes vs. no) factorial design.

Procedure
Upon arrival, students were told that they would be participating in a short study examining the sport fans attitudes. Participants then completed a consent form.

Social Identity Classication

Similar to methods used by Wann and Branscombe (1993, 1995), participants were asked to think of their favorite sports team as a way of activating their

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fan-based social identities. The team could not be one that the participant was playing for currently or had played for in the past. They were then instructed to write down the name of their favorite team and what type of sport this team played. Individuals who did not indicate having a favorite team were excluded from the analysis.1 Following the social identication component, participants read one of four short news articles about a ctional athlete, while imagining that the player described was a member of their favorite team. All the scenarios stated that the player had been a member of the team for ve years, he was considered to be a hard worker who was respected and well liked by his teammates and coaches (see the Appendix). Scenarios in the orientation condition included either a sentence that stated the athlete had recently revealed in a press release that he was gay or made no mention of his sexuality (i.e., by excluding a reference to his sexuality it was presumed that the participants would assume the player was heterosexual). In the distraction condition the scenarios indicated that the media attention surrounding the player was either becoming a distraction for the team or there was no mention of the player distracting the team. The information regarding why the player chose to reveal his homosexuality and the nature of the distraction were left purposefully vague in order to allow participants to form their own attributions regarding the situation (see the Appendix). As a manipulation check, participants completed a reading comprehension and retention quiz that required them to indicate the players name and whether or not a press release had recently been issued about the athlete. Every participant answered these questions correctly indicating they understood and accurately recalled the content of the scenarios. Participants then completed a series of impression items by indicating their agreement with positive and negative characteristics regarding the player (e.g., likeability, trustworthiness, goodness, successfulness, considerateness, etc.) using a 7-point Likert scale (Dietz-Uhler et al. 2002). Participants also indicated whether the player was right for the team and whether or not they thought the player should be traded, using a similar 7-point scale. After reversing the negative items, the 15-item impression scale was summed to create an overall impression index ( = .86). Higher scores indicate a more favorable impression of the athlete. After completing the impression ratings, participants completed a brief demographics form indicating their sex, ethnicity, age, and academic standing. The participants were thanked for their participation and debriefed.

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RESULTS
The impression data was analyzed using a 2 (orientation; gay vs. heterosexual) 2 (distraction; yes vs. no) 2 (sex of participant; female vs. male) analysis of variance (ANOVA). As expected, the data revealed main

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effects of orientation, F (1, 264) = 22.39, p < .001, 2 = .08 and distraction, F (1, 264) = 7.36, p < .01, 2 = .03 on participants impressions of the athlete. Overall, participants rated the gay male player signicantly more favorably (M = 89.53, SD = 11.86) than the heterosexual team member (M = 83.18, SD = 10.29). Participants also reported a signicantly more favorable impression of the athlete who was not disrupting the team (M = 87.91, SD = 10.37) compared to the athlete who was reported to be causing a disruption (M = 84.22, SD = 12.29). The data also revealed an unexpected main effect of participant sex for the impression ratings of the athlete, F (1, 264) = 17.41, p < .001, 2 = .06. Overall, females had a signicantly more positive impression of the player (M = 88.25, SD = 10.35 vs. M = 82.94, SD = 12.36, respectively) than did the male respondents. This main effect was subsumed by a signicant sex of participant by orientation interaction, F (1, 264) = 4.13, p < .05, 2 = .02. As seen in Figure 1, males ratings of the athlete did not signicantly differ regardless of whether the rated athlete was a heterosexual or gay. Females ratings, on the other hand, were signicantly higher for the gay player (M = 93.10, SD = 8.96) than for the heterosexual player (M = 84.31, SD = 9.74), F (1, 161) = 35.33, p < .001, 2 = .18. In other words, male participants impression ratings were unaffected by the sexual orientation of the athlete or the distraction manipulation, while female participants formed more positive impressions of the gay athlete compared to the heterosexual player, regardless of whether his sexuality caused a distraction to the team or not.

94 92 90 Impression Ratings 88 86 84 82 80 78 76 74 Men Participant Sex Women Heterosexual Player Homosexual Player

FIGURE 1 Effects of participant sex and athlete sexual orientation on impression ratings. (Color gure available online.)

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DISCUSSION
Despite mainstream cultures stigmatization of homosexuality (Martens & Mobley, 2005; Menec & Perry, 1998), recent research has suggested that homophobia in the sports world may be on the decline (Anderson, 2005, in press; Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications, 2002; Kian & Anderson, 2009; Werthheim, 2005; Yorkshire Post , 2010). The purpose of our study was to specically examine participants attitudes toward a ctional gay male athlete from a team with which they identify. The data revealed that participants had a more favorable impression of the gay male player than they did of the heterosexual player. These ndings could be indicative of an ingroup bias on the part of participants who identied with a particular sports team (Branscombe et al., 1993; Dietz-Uhler et al., 2002; End, Dietz-Uhler, et al., 2002). DietzUhler et al. (2002) similarly found evidence of an ingroup bias as their participants indicated more liking and support for a ctional player from their favorite team that had committed a stigmatized act (i.e., a crime), than for a noncriminal player from either their supported or rival teams. On the other hand, our ndings also indicate a cultural shift in attitudes toward gay athletes in sport. Recent research suggests a marked decline in homophobia in the sports world on the part of athletes and the general public (Anderson, 2005, 2009; Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications, 2002; Kian & Anderson, 2009; Werthheim, 2005; Yorkshire Post , 2010). It may be the case that an ingroup bias is responsible more so for the positive attitudes of individuals who strongly identify with a team (Branscombe et al., 1993), and the shifting cultural zeitgeist may account for the general publics more positive attitudes toward homosexuality. Future research will need to explore in more detail the underlying causes of this apparent reduction in prejudiced attitudes toward gays in sport. We also hypothesized that when a player was perceived to be a liability to a team, fans would form more negative impressions of the gay athlete compared to a heterosexual player. This hypothesis was not supported. Participants formed generally favorable impressions of the gay male athlete overall, regardless of whether his sexual orientation caused a disruption to the team or not. These ndings were primarily driven by the ratings of our female participants. Females impressions of the gay player were signicantly more positive than ratings of the player in all other conditions combined t (274) = 6.52, p < .001. Whereas males impressions of the player were unaffected by his sexual orientation, females formed more positive impression of the gay athlete than of the heterosexual athlete. Past research has found that females tend to be more accepting of homosexuality and demonstrate less anti-gay attitudes than males, especially younger men (Harry, 1995; LaMar & Kite, 1998).

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There are a number of explanations for why participants did not view the disruptive gay player less positively than the nondisruptive athlete. The rst reason relates to the target of comparison. Past research on the black sheep effect (Branscombe et al., 1993; Dietz-Uhler et al., 2002) has compared fans ratings of a player from their favorite team to those of a rival player; whereas, our participants only evaluating an athlete afliated with their own favored team. It is possible that a black sheep effect may have emerged had our participants rated a comparable player from a rival team as well. Furthermore, Branscombe et al. (1993) only found evidence for a black sheep effect among individuals that were strongly identied as fans of a team. The weak identiers demonstrated an overall ingroup bias toward a player who acted in a disloyal fashion toward the team, which is similar to our participants overall positive impression of the gay athlete. These individuals whose identities were not strongly allied with a particular team formed positive impressions of a loyal player from their favorite team and tended to derogate a rival teams player that was disloyal to the group (DietzUhler et al., 2002). It is possible that the participants in our study only weakly identied with their teams, thus, explaining the observed ingroup bias effect for the gay player instead of the expected derogation. One limitation in our study is that we only examined fans reactions toward gay male athletes in team sports. Unlike professional male sports, there are a growing number of professional female athletes who are publicly gay. Furthermore, research has found that women are signicantly more tolerant of gay athletes than men (McKinney & McAndrew, 2000). However, research on womens athletics has reported high levels of prejudice and stigmatization toward lesbian athletes as well (Barber & Krane, 2005). Therefore, our results may not apply equally to both gay male and lesbian athletes. Also, it would be interesting to examine whether the type of sport impacts fans reactions to gay players. While our sample primarily identied with teams that participated in contact sports, fans of noncontact or individual sports (e.g. gymnastics, ice skating, track & eld, boxing, etc.) may have very different reactions to gay athletes. Thus, further research should focus on fans reactions to gay athletes in both men and womens, as well as noncontact and individual sports. Our ndings appear to be consistent with recent research that suggests that athletes and fans may in fact be supportive of gay professional athletes, and this may very well be the case (Anderson, 2002, 2005, in press; Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications 2002; Kian & Anderson, 2009; Werthheim, 2005; Yorkshire Post , 2010). Most of the negative comments regarding gay athletes in professional sports stem from select interviews with coaches and players, rather than reactions from the fans. These interviews, although sensational and attention grabbing, may only represent the

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attitudes of a small portion of individuals in the sports world. Although the sports domain has been referred to as the last closet for gay men, it may be more open than previously thought, at least from the perspective of sport fans.

NOTE
1. Based on their overall popularity in college settings, we expected that most if not all of the participants would identify with a college or professional male sports team. Only four participants selected teams that were not clearly identiable as a male sports team. The data from these participants were excluded from the analyses.

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FoxSports.com (2007, Feburary 14). Tim Hardaway: I wouldnt play with a gay man. FoxSports.com. Retrieved from http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6473866? MSNHPHCP&GT1=9131 Harris Interactive/Witeck-Combs Communications. (2002). Americans may be more accepting of gay athletes than even they expect. Harris Interactive. Retrieved from http://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=489 Harry, J. (1995). Sports, ideology, attitudes towards women, and anti-homosexual attitudes. Sex Roles, 32, 109116. Jacquet, S. (2002, November 4). Sexuality shouldnt matter. Massachusetts Daily Collegian Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailycollegian.com/ media/storage/paper874/news/2002/11/04/Opinion/Sexuality.Shouldnt.Matter1551604.shtml Kian, E. M., & Anderson, E. (2009). John Amaechi: Changing the way sport reporters examine gay athletes. Journal of Homosexuality, 56 , 799818. LaMar, L., & Kite, M. E. (1998). Sex differences in attitudes toward gay men and lesbians: A multi-dimensional perspective. Journal of Sex Research, 35 , 189196. Marques, J. M., Robalo, E. M., & Rocha, S. A. (1992). Ingroup bias and the black sheep effect: Assessing the impact of social identication and perceived variability on group judgments. European Journal of Social Psychology, 22, 331352. Martens, M. P., & Mobley, M. (2005). Straight guys working with gay guys: Homophobia and sport psychology service delivery. In M. B. Andersen (Ed.), Sport psychology in practice (pp. 249256). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Matthews, D., & Dietz-Uhler, B. (1998). Negative political advertising and the Black sheep effect. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28 , 19031915. McCormack, M., & Anderson, E. (2010). The re-production of homosexually-themed discourse in educationally-based organised sport. Culture Health & Sexuality, 12, 913927. McKinney, B. A., & McAndrew, F. T. (2000). Sexuality, gender, and sport: Does playing have a price? Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research, 5 , 152158. Mehaffey, J. (2010). Culture of secrecy still surrounds gay footballers. Reuters. Retrieved from http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6882HZ20100909. Menec, V. H., & Perry, R. P. (1998). Reactions to stigmas among Canadian students: Testing attribution-affect-help judgment model. Journal of Social Psychology, 138 , 443453. Plymire, D. C., & Forman, P.J. (2000). Breaking the silence: Lesbian fans, the internet, and the sexual politics of womens sport. International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies, 5 , 141153. Tajfel, H., & Turner, J.C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. Austin (Eds.), Psychology of intergroup relations (2nd ed., pp.724). Chicago, IL: Nelson-Hall. Vacchiano, R. (2002, September 27). Shockey makes a stern apology. New York Daily News. Retrieved from http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/22180p20964c.html Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1990). Die-hard and fair-weather fans: Effects of identication on BIRGing and CORFing tendencies. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 14, 103117.

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Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1993). Sport fans: Measuring degree of identication with the team. International Journal of Sports Psychology, 24, 117. Wann, D. L., & Branscombe, N. R. (1995). Inuence of identication with sports team on objective knowledge and subjective beliefs. International Journal of Sports Psychology, 26 , 551567. Werthheim, L. J. (2005). Gays in sports: A poll. SI.com Magazine. Retrieved from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/04/12/grifth_poll0418/ index.html Yorkshire Post . (2010, July 5). Ellis Cashmore and Jamie Cleland: Why is there still no level playing eld for gay men in UK football and rugby? Yorkshire Post . Retrieved from http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/opinion/Ellis-Cashmoreand-Jamie-Clelland.6400937.jp

APPENDIX Fictitious Athlete Paragraphs

Mike is a member of your favorite sports team. He has been playing on the team for ve years. Mike is well liked and respected by both his teammates and his coaches. Likewise, Mike has a reputation for being a hardworking contributor, who is dedicated to the teams success. He fullls his obligations to the team and plays to the best of his abilities in each game. Last week, in a press release, Mike stated that he was gay. No comments have been issued, as of yet, by his coaches, teammates, or the league.
Since

the announcement , there has been a recent increase in media attention regarding Mike, which has become a distraction to the team. This constant media attention has begun to interfere with the teams practice and game performance.

Italics indicate the sexual orientation manipulation. Bold content indicates the distraction manipulation.