It’s Neil Armstrong at the moon landing in reverse: one giant leap for Isaac Humphries, one more small step for mankind. This is how movement towards safety and inclusion in sport will succeed.
How long will it take? It’s a project without end, as it is in the wider community. That’s why it’s important to celebrate each milestone. Humphries is not the first pro sportsman to come out. But he is the only openly gay player in professional basketball. So is another foothold on the road to equality gained.
“I have finally come to a point where I know I can reveal myself as a gay man and still play professional sport,” said Isaac Humphries.Credit:Melbourne United
Once, gay men in sport were either non-existent or invisible. Homophobia was so entrenched that it did not even go by that name; it wasn’t a phobia. To gay men then, the day when they would be accepted in any mainstream endeavour was like the moon, impossibly far away.
Gradually, some have emerged: an American footballer, a basketballer, a hockey player. In England, a cricketer ran his colours up the mast. Last year, there was Australian soccer player Josh Cavallo. But it’s hardly a rush. In 1995, rugby league star Ian Roberts came out, but no one in his sport has since. To this day, no man in the AFL has.
How many are there? Is there anyone in the AFL? Honestly, quantum doesn’t matter, nor does the sport. Each individual does. That’s the message that threads through these announcements. Some day, no announcement will be necessary. But we’re not there yet.
The most that can be said is that more have come out lately, each drawing strength from the others. It’s conceivable that the burgeoning of women’s sport with all its diversity has helped.
Unless I’m deceived, the pushback is weakening. No wacky church rushed to the pulpit on Wednesday to denounce Humphries (though it as well he is not American). Margaret Court and Israel Folau feel like yesterday’s anti-heroes. The Religious Discrimination Bill died with the Morrison government.
But no one should undersell the courage it still takes to stand up. Justin Fashanu, the first English footballer to come out, killed himself at 37. That was in 1998. Put yourself in his shoes and others, having to disown your essential self. Jason Collins, the first NBA player to come out in 2013, said it was physically as well as emotionally draining.
Jason Collins, in action for the Washington Wizards.Credit:Reuters
He also spoke of the pain of watching a former straight schoolmate, then in Congress, march in Boston’s Gay Pride parade while he could not. His own twin brother did not know.
“I hated myself,” Humphries told teammates on Wednesday. “I was disgusted with myself.” He said he thought about suicide. Twenty years ago, he might have despaired of finding any other way out.
At least in this time, Humphries could be sure of the empathy of his teammates, his club and his sport. Cavallo also was received with welcome arms and warm hugs.
In truth, pro sport is not the issue. It is so closely monitored that bigotry is soon exposed. In any case, in my experience, sportspeople make a distinction between player and person. You can be whoever you want as long as you can play. After all, their livelihoods depend on it.
At lower, lesser policed levels, it is different. It’s like sledging in cricket, which can be more virulent in the parks than it ever is at Test level. The only slurs directed at Cavallo since he came out were delivered not on the pitch, but from over the fence at a Melbourne Victory game.
Monash University research finds that young gay men are deterred from team sport by homophobic language. “Gay boys play team sports like basketball at half the rate of straight boys because they feel unsafe and unwelcome,” says Dr Erik Denison. This helps to explain the scarcity further up the line.
That’s why Humphries is important. A common reaction at a time like this is that a man’s sexuality is no one’s business but his. You can be certain they all wish it were that simple. “If I had my way, someone else would already have done this,” Collins said in his time.
A-League player Josh Cavallo.Credit:Getty Images
Humphries felt two weights: his secret and his status. “We as pro athletes have a responsibility to set an example for some people,” he said. “I want to represent those people. I’ve discovered that this is my purpose in life and I’m going to give it my best go.”
To the extent that social media is a gauge, most appear to have Humphries’ back. My favourite response was the simplest, from former Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy, who wrote: “Now, there’s a man.”
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