Sports Becoming More LGBTQ+-Friendly

Throughout the last couple of years, sports have become more LGBTQ+-friendly. There are a lot of out and proud athletes than there ever were in the mainstream and they act as a beacon for the next generation. They set an example by living their truths while doing what they love, despite who they love.

Professional athletes have always been held to high expectations, as they are supposed to be role models for people meaning they had to act and be a certain way. In the past, this caused a lot of them to suppress true identities because they didn’t want to lose public support in a time when the world was not as open-minded as it is now.

Now there are a lot of athletes across the various sports who are out and act as a spokesperson for the LGBTQ+ community and the issues they face. Athletes have even taken on a more prominent role by partaking in international LGBTQ+ politics to combat the problems people and other athletes may suffer as a result of their sexual orientation.

There are still instances where patrons are homophobic, and sports authorities are looking into ways way to combat that issue. Some stadiums have taken the liberty of issuing penalties to fans who use homophobic slurs. Many approaches have been taken from fines and suspensions to the banning of specific chants or people from games.

There is still a lot of work to be done to fight homophobia in stadiums and sports so athletes’ performances are not affected while they work. Fans seem to accept who athletes are despite sexual orientation, a positive first step in the right direction.