National Sports Journalism Center

It wasn’t something I’d considered until HBO’s most excellent Real Sports brought up the question in an episode airing tonight.

But there is, apparently, just one openly gay man playing in a major professional sport anywhere in the world.

And after English rugby star Gareth Thomas is done speaking with correspondent Bernard Goldberg, you find yourself appreciating the service a show like Real Sports can deliver – forcing the world of athletics to face some of its most glaring and unfair inconsistencies.

The plight of gay professional athletes is nothing new, for those who have been paying attention. Despite evidence that gay men and women are likely competing at the highest levels of major sports, athletes tend to reveal their sexual orientation only after their playing careers are done, safely shielded from bigoted fans and unyielding teammates alike.

Thomas, who describes using the angst over his hidden self to fuel his fearless play on the field, soberly described the sad fate of one athlete who came out while still in the game: British soccer star Justin Fashanu, who revealed his sexual orientation in 1988 and killed himself ten years later, after a deluge of criticism from fans and rejection from his own family.

These are the most difficult conversations to have in the world of sports media, where so much emphasis falls on pageviews, ratings figures and maintaining the loyal goodwill of appreciative fans.

If stories on Erin Andrews and Tiger Woods are magnets for runaway page clicks, then what will stories on a gay rugby star who married his childhood sweetheart to hide his secret produce?

As noted by former NBA player John Amaechi – who himself only came out after his playing career was over – when you’re fighting to compete in a league where one team owner brags about keeping the film Brokeback Mountain out of his chain of movie theaters, there’s a mostly unsubtle message about how any declarations of same sex attraction will be received.

“That plunge from being a Superman to being subhuman,” Amaechi tells Goldberg during the story, “you can’t discount the impact of that.”

Real Sports also revisits its 2005 look at racism in soccer, as anchor Bryant Gumbel catches up with members of the U.S. World Cup Soccer team who are black, to hear stories about how they have been spit on, had bananas thrown at them and seen racial epithets shouted at them from fans supporting their own team.

Together, the two stories relate a remarkable tale of the bizarre leaps of logic prejudice often takes in the sports world – where fans passionate to see their teams succeed can still heap abuse on individual players who they have decided are not worthy of their respect.

Which is why I remain amazed that in the 24-7 media universe of Twitter, Facebook, sports blogs and video sites that there aren’t more tales of sports stars and their secret lives. Even in the anything-goes world of the Internet, it seems there are some places fans may prefer not to travel.

Some statistics say the sports world has been ready for a while. According to a 2006 study by Sports Illustrated, more than 61 percent of Major League Baseball players surveyed would be fine playing with an out gay teammate, matched by nearly 60 percent of pro basketball players and nearly 80 percent of National Hockey League players.

Still, Thomas, who came out to family and friends three years ago, didn’t go public until late last year, ending his marriage and speaking out about looking for the right guy to share his life. And there are few signs any American players of major sports are anywhere near taking such a major step – actions which speak louder than any survey results.

At least Thomas’ story has a happy ending; fans and teammates seem to have largely accepted his revelation, with homophobic hecklers shown the door after acting out during a match.

“I was actually put here for a reason,” Thomas tells Goldberg of the relief he felt after realizing his teammates and many fans wouldn’t reject him over the revelation. “I wasn’t just a mistake.”

Best of all, Real Sports has brought this powerful story to a sports world which needs to see it, providing extra incentive to push back against the prejudice. Don’t miss it at 10 tonight (ET) on HBO.

Eric Deggans is TV and Media Critic for the St. Petersburg Times and a 1990 graduate of the Indiana University School of Journalism. His work has also appeared in the Washington Post, Village Voice, VIBE magazine, Chicago Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Chicago Sun-Times and many other publications. He also writes a blog on media, The Feed, at blogs.tampabay.com/media.