For some it is a harmless joke. For others, a pointed insult. Regardless of why it gets said, using homophobic language has gotten a surprising amount of professional athletes in trouble over the last few weeks.
Shortstop Yunel Escobar (now with the Tampa Bay Rays) inscribed the insult on his eye black. San Jose Quakes forward Alex Gordon was suspended 3 games for telling it to Portland Timbers midfielder Will Johnson, while Houston Dynamo midfielder Colin Clark told it to the ball boy of all people. Suso of football club Liverpool was fined for referring to his teammate as "gay" on twitter, as was New York Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire. Philadelphia Flyers right wing Wayne Simmonds called New York Rangers enforcer Sean Avery a homophobic slur on camera, yet conveniently forgot it by the next day when about to be disciplined. Most recently fined was Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert during the ongoing series against the Miami Heat.
The overwhelming majority of the evidence does not point towards anything malicious towards members of the gay and lesbian communities. No one is accusing the players that make these statements of being homophobic. It is simply ignorance of the word, rather than the language behind the word.
As the courts of the United States fight the battles between gay marriage advocates and religious advocates, the debates get heated in every section of living, sports being no exception. If gay marriage is permitted, it is a landmark shift in human rights in the United States. If gay marriage is denied, the United States will have made their views regarding gays and lesbians clear on a world stage. For millions of people, there is much at stake. Hence every use of "gay" gets the media attention.
The point must be made that when Amare Stoudamire called someone "gay" on twitter, he was not fighting that battle for gay rights on either side. He was insulting someone, nothing more, nothing less.
The original origins of gay as a derogatory term come from the 17th century, where promiscuous women were referred to as "gay women" and brothels as "gay houses". The first use of it in regards to homosexuality in particular come from Gertrude Stein's book Miss Furr and Miss Skeene in 1922, while Cary Grant made it famous in the 1938 film Bringing Up Baby. The origins of using the word "gay" as an insult come from the rap music of the 80s and 90s by rappers such as Dr. Dre and Eminem, and became incredibly popular as an insult from the show "South Park". According to a recent BBC report, at the elementary school level, "gay" is the most popular insult among children. 83% of teachers reported students using the word. It has been accepted by many as a slang term for "stupid".
Athletes of this era are not guilty of homophobia (in most cases, players like John Rocker notwithstanding), rather just of poor language choice. All words have meaning, and the meaning of a word to one person may not mean the same to another person. But with the battles over homosexuality still raging in the courts today, perhaps athletes should be a little more careful with how they phrase their insults. Ignorance of a term is no reason to use it.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
