Athletics program challenged in homophobia discussions

Author: Seth Miran

Two anonymous suggestions for eliminating homophobic hate speech at Middlebury by changing the athletics program were removed from a College display last week after student athletes criticized the suggestions and a college administrator acknowledged that posting the recommendations was a "major mistake."

The suggestions that raised controversy proposed that Middlebury should "stop recruiting athletes" and "better educate its athletes about homophobia."

At the conclusion of last month's town hall meeting held to address homophobia at Middlebury, attendees had been asked to write down anonymous suggestions of ways that the College community could eliminate hate speech on campus. Given the breadth of interesting proposals, Dean for Institutional Diversity Shirley Ramirez said she and her staff wanted to display the comments for all to see. They chose to compile a number of the unedited suggestions in a display that was set up in the entrance of the library.

The controversial suggestions stemmed from a line of discussion first raised at the town meeting by Nathan Zucker '10, who proposed that reducing the role of athletics in admissions was one of three potential solutions to the problem of hate speech on campus. Zucker drew upon the broader history of homophobia in athletics as a means for understanding homophobia at Middlebury.

"I emphasized that I did not want to single out athletes as the sole source of homophobia, in that I did not believe that all or most athletes were homophobic," said Zucker. "However, I remarked that there is a long history of relationships between homophobic attitudes and sports because of the ultra masculine, competitive atmosphere of athletics. A decrease in recruitment and emphasis on athletics might help create a more balanced college with more respect and less hate speech."

Zucker's other suggestions included harsher penalties for those caught engaging in hate speech and Residential Life staff taking a more proactive role in the lives of their dorm mates.

At the town meeting, several students were critical of those who linked homophobia to Middlebury athletics, but the issue was lost in the larger discussion. On paper and in the display, however, the suggestions sparked another debate. While expressing solidarity with and support of the intent of the display, student athletes said they were disappointed to find a project addressing how to eliminate hate speech, in fact containing hate speech of its own.

"I was surprised at how big of a space was allotted to the comments. I had thought that maybe they were hidden in a longer list of ideas, but they held their own spots," said women's soccer player Christine Bolger '07. "I was disappointed that they had found their way into the public as stereotyping other groups because in my eyes, that discredits the overall intention of the display, which I think was a very good intention."

In response to the display, four-year varsity soccer player Dave Lee '07 wrote an e-mail to Ramirez.

"I am personally a firm believer in gay rights and also agree that hate speech should not be tolerated at this college," wrote Lee. "When this fight for enlightenment chooses to degrade and stereotype other groups of people, however, I can't help but be disappointed in the entire cause."

The offensive suggestions were removed from the display by Thursday. Ramirez responded with an apology to Lee and met with other students who felt marginalized by the suggestions. She accepted responsibility for the public display of the suggestions on athletics, calling it "a major, major mistake that I feel terrible about." Ramirez said that the "stop recruiting athletes" comment was removed from the first draft and somehow snuck its way back into the final display.

But some students and faculty said it should come as a shock to no one that there is a stereotype of athletes, particularly male athletes, as being more homophobic than other groups.

Middlebury Open-Queer Alliance Co-President Ryan Tauriainen said that he disagreed with the suggestions regarding athletics, but added "the stereotype of athletes (males in particular) being homophobic is not completely unfounded."

"I think it is often the case that when groups of men get together, especially for sports, some of the sentiments are homophobic in nature," said Tauriainen. "While I have never witnessed nor experienced homophobia at the gym, I see more graffiti there saying "gay" or "fag" than anywhere else."

Assistant Professor of Writing Hector Vila, a faculty affiliate to the football team, addresses the question of athletics and sexuality in his Middlebury course "Sports, Media and Identity." Vila said that the link between homophobia and athletics begins at a young age.

The archetypal athlete-hero is manly, according to Vila. In youth sports, boys are told "Shake it off" or "You're fine." The need to be tough and manly is reinforced by the media, which romanticizes the star who "plays through the pain" to lead his team to victory. Young males implicitly learn that anything not associated with the archetypal male hero - including homosexuality - is "un-manly" and therefore unacceptable.

"All of this exists under an extraordinarily sexually repressive society," said Vila, "making it impossible for us to discuss these things."

President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz, himself a collegiate swimmer, noted that the pressures within sports can lead to unfortunate stereotypes.

"Read the biographies of gay and lesbian athletes who have played at high levels and you will see how the pressures, specifically among male athletes, to conform to an ideal image of what is athletic and manly forces one to overreact to the possibility that there are gays among those playing at such high levels," said Liebowitz. "It is unfortunate that this pressure exists, and that people paint with such broad strokes so as to condemn all athletes by association. This is most unfortunate."

In spite of evidence that explains why some athletes might be homophobic, Vila and Liebowitz cautioned against making sweeping generalizations about any diverse group of people on this campus. While the College community explores the root causes of homophobia at Middlebury, students and administrators said the assumptions of who is homophobic should also be discussed.

The questions about homophobia in athletics come at the end of a year in which College administrators, athletic coaches and faculty members have worked to bridge the classroom and the playing field. Some students, however, said that athletes are still singled out when their athletics intersect with their academics.

Isabel Yordan '07, herself a non-athlete, recalled an instance when a professor quipped to the entire class that he did not want class to run late solely because it would make one member of the class, a football player, late for practice. She said the implication was that this athlete was inconveniencing the professor and the rest of the class with his need to head to practice as soon as class ended.

Lee said that he had also felt the sting of such discrimination, and "usually doesn't wear any Middlebury soccer gear in class just to avoid this."

But other athletes like Bolger said that they had never experienced such treatment.

"I don't think that athletes get stereotyped more or less than other groups of people on campus, but sometimes it is easier to spot an athlete than members of other groups or clubs because of their matching apparel, team dinners etc.," she said. "I have had minor encounters about missing class for games, but overall the professors have been very understanding, accommodating and supportive."

Students and administrators agreed that there was a need for a deeper exploration of the questions raised by the library display and the homophobic graffiti that pro
mpted it.

"Right now there is no forum for our community to talk about these issues," said Vila. "Until we can talk about them openly and honestly, they will not disappear."