Homophobia exists in sports: study
Posted May 10, 2015 8:09 am.
Last Updated May 10, 2015 8:12 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Have you seen someone bullied on the field or in the rink for being gay? A Vancouver man is one of the authors of an international study on homophobia in sports.
Almost 9,500 people of all ages from different countries, including 1,100 Canadians responded to the survey which found four out of five of them witnessed or experienced homophobia in sports and the problem actually got worse with younger generations.
“The good news is more gay people are coming out of the closet, that’s great, but they’re actually experiencing more homophobia, they’re actually being victimized more than ever before.” says Erik Denison.
He’s hoping this evidence will trigger people to meet with sports organizations and schools to find solutions. “I had a horrible time in high school in sports, so bad that it made me leave sports,” he explains. “I got bullied so much in P.E. class the teacher actually said just don’t come anymore.”
“It’s really up to Canadians and particularly, gay and lesbian bi-sexual people to really take up these numbers and demand change.”
People are bullied on the field and in the gym for being gay; a new international study finds homophobia exists in sports
