Homophobia in Sports Continued

Whether we want to admit it or not we know that a person's sexuality can have huge effect on not only their daily lives but in their sports' careers. I have seen and heard of all the negatives that have and can come from coaches or players coming out of the closet, but lets now focus on the posotives that can result from a player or coach openly admitting they are in fact gay. Take Oregon State's softball coach Kirk Walker for example. ESPN.com:NCAA, Graham Hays reported that after being engaged in a gay relationship for ten years, Walker and his partner decided to adopt a child. Walker then felt it was the right time to break the news to his softball team not only about his decision to adopt but that he was also a homosexual. Walker didn't want his players to find out from the internet or by another source so he addressed his team at their first fall meeting in 2005. He felt it was very important that he be the first to tell them. Instead of the team turning against him or judging their coach they embraced and rallied behind him. Walker's players were very happy and excited for their coach that he was going to be a father soon. This was the reaction and support Walker was hoping for. Now it was time for the hard part.Walker stated that a couple of weeks after the fall meeting there was a school alumni game at the university and his player's parents would be in attendance.He admitted he was very nervous of what the parent's responses or reactions would be. To Walker's surprise they were very supportive and congratulated him on becoming a father. Walker's honesty to his team indicates that there must be a tight bond and a great trust Walker has for his players for sharing such a personal decision. This trust and tight bond paid off tremendously. Due to the players taking the news so well and being so supportive of their coach ,the Oregon State softball team went on to making history the next season. They made an appearance in the College Softball World Series in the fall of 2006 for the first time.(http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2915201&type=story ) This is a case where the coach was completely honest with his team and they became supportive of him immediately and the end result was success. There needs to be more cases in athletics like this one to inspire other coaches and players to be honest and not be ashamed of their sexuality. There also needs to be more cases like this one where the athletes/ coaches who do come out aren't rejected or criticized but rather their decision is accepted and they are supported. If more teams had the close player/coach relationship like the O.S.U. softball team maybe they would share similar success and atheltics as a whole would be better off.