<blockquote class=“Quote” rel=“joshua_segal”>
I like to think that by this time in the 21st century, sexual orientation has become irrelevant, but I guess people still want to talk about it. </blockquote>
I can appreciate where this sentiment comes from, but the fact is, as a society we’re not here yet. Everyone thinks that with the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage that gay rights issued are settled. Not true. Joshua, are you aware that in the MAJORITY of the states in the U.S., it is still 100% legal to fire an employee strictly because he/she is gay? You might think this doesn’t happen in 2015, but do some searching online and you still see story after story where employees are fired when they are “discovered” to be gay, or denied a promotion, or a raise, or what have you.I looked it up, and the only states where there is 100% protection for employees are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and WisconsinOther states have some degree of protections but largely just for public employees, not private ones.But take a look at the list of states where there are NO protections for gay employees at all: (it reads like a Who’s Who of red states): TX, FL, NC, SC, GA, AL, TN, MS, AR, LA, OK, KS, NE, SD, ND, WY, ID. And then throw in the states where the only protections are for state employees, and you have the MAJORITY of the country where in the private sector it is 100% legal to discriminate against gay and lesbian employees.Now let’s talk about pro sports. Does anyone have any idea how many closeted gay athletes there are? I won’t pretend to know all of them, but to quote Dave Pallone, the retired gay baseball umpire, you could field an all-star team of gay baseball players. Ditto in hockey. I don’t know so much about other sports. Yet all these people are closeted, even in their retirement. What does that tell us? Closer to home, how many gay Boston Red Sox players have come out? None. And trust me, there are more than a few gay players who have put on Red Sox uniforms (and Boston Bruins ones too).Gus Kenworthy’s comments in the ESPN article are interesting. He notes that for a sport that considers itself “non-conformist,” the amount of conformity in skiing that is in effect required is shocking. That’s obvious. His relating the homophobic comments he has heard ad infinitum in the skiing world strikes a chord. I remember an experience a couple of winters ago when I was skiing with a group of people in VT and someone in the group made a snide homophobic comment in the liftline. I didn’t hear it myself (I would have said something), but one of my friends did, and informed the guy who made the stupid comment that he should be aware there was a gay skier in the group, without specifying who it was. And then later that day, after watching me ski a bump run flawlessly, the same skier marveled at how strong a skier I was. So anyway…Gus Kenworthy coming out is not a small thing. I’m glad to hear he has had such a positive experience doing so. Hopefully others will be aware of his experience and feel safer to follow in his tracks.
