On Homophobia in MMA

I just read all 400+ comments to this post on BE. Oy. It was good to note that the majority of the guys posting were in agreement with you (as am I). The others would have been funny if they hadn’t been serious.

was epic. EPIC I SAY!!!

Why is it Ok to be openly gay (whatever that means) but its sexist to be openly straight?

Thanks for posting it.

It’s sad that even today gay people are treated by some with disdain purely because they are attracted to members of the same sex. It’s embarrassing that people can dislike someone, say offensive things to them or campaign for them to have less human rights purely because they’re homosexual. Unfortunately there have been many cases in MMA of MMA fighters and personalities using homophobic slurs to make a point (Dana’s infamous rant about Loretta Hunt comes to mind) and to my knowledge there aren’t any openly gay MMAsts. I find it sad and embarrassing that people still think that it’s wrong for 2 people of the same sex to be together and I hope that this sort of attitude is eliminated during my lifetime.

It’s a problem that exists in many sports, in England Castleford RLFC just got fined after their sports made homophobic chants at the only openly gay active British sportsmen rugby player Gareth Thomas. Very few gay sportsmen come out of the closet at least during their pro careers and those that do face a homophobic backlash from moronic “fans” when they do. That to me is wrong and I really hope that this problem doesn’t linger in MMA.

As for the article, good point on it taking courage to come out of the closet, this should be commended by society in general and it must be difficult for any gay person to openly admit their sexuality when there are so many people telling them that it’s wrong to be gay. I can’t even imagine what my gay friends went through when they came out of the closet, all I can do is admire their bravery and continue to support them with my friendship.

Being an openly gay fighter… man talk about balls! The sheer hate from the casual “boo” fans in tapout shirts would be fuckin bad. You know a few drunkswould throw bottles during the walk out. Then finding opponents might be tough. Finding a gym and workout partners would be the worst (probably the hardest part)

Itcould be very detrimental to ones career. I wish I had internet, id refind a video about a bjj artist from the south who had a very promising career. Was winning tons of circuit tourneys thenword got out he was gay…. to be continued.

But to be fair on why you hear stuff like “fag” and not “dyke”, its not necessarily a homophobic thing. Sure, the word can be used as a homophobic slang. But often calling someone a fag or gay or something has absolutely nothing to do with sexual preferende in guys minds. Agree with it or not, it is what it is. I’ve said “that’s fuckin gay” to something that’s not about sexual orientation before.