clubchamp98
Journeyman Pro
Couple of lads at my club are gay.
Good players and always Good company.
Its 2017 by the way who cares.
Good players and always Good company.
Its 2017 by the way who cares.
Who will be the first male tour player to come out gay?
- Thread starter scubascuba3
- Start date
- Status
D
Deleted member 18588
Guest
How do you know there are no members who are gay?
Surely they do not have to declare their sexuality
It's just such a non-issue.
Pin-seeker
Well-known member
Couldn't care less.
palindromicbob
Tour Winner
HomerJSimpson
Hall of Famer
Several gay members at our club (male and female). Makes no difference to anyone. Can't see why any high profile golfer should have an issue but there is such a stigma at that level that it's going to be hard to break barriers down
golfbluecustard
Head Pro
Unfortunately can imagine a drunken U.S crowd now, 2017 or not some folks haven't moved on.
D
Deleted member 1740
Guest
I always smirk when I see him on the leaderboard as Gay Brian, childish I know
D
Deleted member 18588
Guest
Well it's unlikely to happen in Europe.
There are no crowds at tournaments, drunken or otherwise.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Well since so many high profile tournaments are held in countries where it's illegal to be gay it might be a bit of a problem. On the other hand it would highlight the issue, especially if it was a high profile player, and maybe force the tours into a bit of a rethink.
Personally, I think it'd be great if any and all gay players felt able to come out but it's a personal thing and I wouldn't blame anyone that didn't.
Personally, I think it'd be great if any and all gay players felt able to come out but it's a personal thing and I wouldn't blame anyone that didn't.
SaintHacker
Journeyman Pro
Maybe would be a good thing then if a few players did 'come out'. Then the big tournaments, and with it the sponsorship money, could be taken away from such countries until they decide to join the rest of the 21st century
Robster59
Tour Rookie
This is a question that shouldn't need to be asked as what difference does it make anyway? To me not a jot. I don't think it matters in golf anyway. Those in other sports have had to make the announcement more to be true to themselves I believe and the more that do it, the less of an issue it will be.
Football seems to be way behind in this subject though. It's so tribal that players are more worried about the reaction. Take someone like Cristiano Ronaldo who has rumours about his sexuality and gets chants and taunts aimed at him.
It's great it doesn't matter to anyone on here. Sadly not everyone is the same.
Football seems to be way behind in this subject though. It's so tribal that players are more worried about the reaction. Take someone like Cristiano Ronaldo who has rumours about his sexuality and gets chants and taunts aimed at him.
It's great it doesn't matter to anyone on here. Sadly not everyone is the same.
Dasit
Tour Rookie
The golf ball doesn't know if you are gay, straight, male, female, black, white, 12 or 92
so why does it matter
so why does it matter
chrisd
Major Champion
It probably has doubts about me when it sees where I manage to land it! 😂
Robster59
Tour Rookie
A lot of my shots definitely aren't straight! 😜
Capella
Journeyman Pro
I don't think an openly gay tour player would run into many problems in the US or most of Europe, nowadays. There are lesbian players openly out on the LPGA and one of their majors, the ANA Inspiration (formerly Dinah Shore) has been a bit of a lesbian "spring break" destination for many years. I am not sure how a male gay player would be received in some countries where heterosexuality is still illegal, though. Maybe that's a concern for any potential closeted gay players on tour and the reason they don't want to publicly come out.
Now, a transgender player would certainly cause more of a debate. Transgender athletes always do. Does a transwoman have a physical advantage over her female co-competitors? From what point in her transformation onwards would she be elligible to compete in a ladies event? And vice versa, would the hormons a transman needs to take count as doping? I am sure we will get those constellations more and more in pretty much any sport and those issues will have to be addresed, if we want to be inclusive and allow transgender athletes to compete.
Now, a transgender player would certainly cause more of a debate. Transgender athletes always do. Does a transwoman have a physical advantage over her female co-competitors? From what point in her transformation onwards would she be elligible to compete in a ladies event? And vice versa, would the hormons a transman needs to take count as doping? I am sure we will get those constellations more and more in pretty much any sport and those issues will have to be addresed, if we want to be inclusive and allow transgender athletes to compete.
Wilf
Club Champion
While it is the 21st century and thankfully we on the forum don't care, unfortunately issues still exist within society. I'm thinking more along the lines of bullying at school, early adult life etc. rather than being accepted by other golfers.
If you look at Rugby and the response Nigel Owens and Gareth Thomas have received then the barriers are coming down. What they have done though is use their stature within sport to highlight the personal issues that being gay brings. Nigel Owens book and recent interviews really pushes these issues to the front of peoples minds and that can only be a good thing
It is sad that in this day and age this sort of action is still required but an opening gay golfer would help young kids realise being gay is "acceptable" if he or she is their sporting hero and an inspiration to them.
It's the same as mental health, the more positive publicity received the quicker the stigmas are removed
If you look at Rugby and the response Nigel Owens and Gareth Thomas have received then the barriers are coming down. What they have done though is use their stature within sport to highlight the personal issues that being gay brings. Nigel Owens book and recent interviews really pushes these issues to the front of peoples minds and that can only be a good thing
It is sad that in this day and age this sort of action is still required but an opening gay golfer would help young kids realise being gay is "acceptable" if he or she is their sporting hero and an inspiration to them.
It's the same as mental health, the more positive publicity received the quicker the stigmas are removed
londonlewis
Tour Rookie
I echo a lot of the responses on here. It doesn't matter to me one bit what the sexual preference is of another human being; whether I work with them, am related to them or watch them play sports on TV.
I think it's better if this all becomes a non-issue and people don't feel like they have to either hide it or specifically tell everyone about it.
It would be pretty weird if players had to hold press conferences to confirm they were straight.
I really liked the response by Martin Williams (and one other, but can't remember who) when Gareth Thomas told them he was gay.
Gareth was apparently worried about how people would re-act and whether he would be an outcast. That couldn't have been further from the truth. They gave him a massive hug and told him that the Welsh Rugby team is a band of brothers, no matter what.
In my honest opinion, it's often the narrow-minded that have an issue with sexuality.
I think it's better if this all becomes a non-issue and people don't feel like they have to either hide it or specifically tell everyone about it.
It would be pretty weird if players had to hold press conferences to confirm they were straight.
I really liked the response by Martin Williams (and one other, but can't remember who) when Gareth Thomas told them he was gay.
Gareth was apparently worried about how people would re-act and whether he would be an outcast. That couldn't have been further from the truth. They gave him a massive hug and told him that the Welsh Rugby team is a band of brothers, no matter what.
In my honest opinion, it's often the narrow-minded that have an issue with sexuality.
I think the point here is why is it such an issue for a gay person to come out in the world of tour golf than it is with any other sport? Its funny cos football seems to have this stigma as well but I cant think of any other sport that being gay seems to be an issue.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
I don't think it's an issue for any particular sport but, in general, I believe the more high profile individuals are open about their sexuality the better. But it's a private matter so I don't feel anyone should be pressured to come out if they're not ready.
londonlewis
Tour Rookie
I agree that having role models is a great thing and removing the stigma is a positive. And I pretty much agree with you.
On the flip side though, it would be weird if sport stars felt compelled to tell everyone they were straight all the time.
Or what if they had really weird fetishes? Like those people that fall in love with cars?
- Status
Similar threads
