As I mentioned yesterday, three former college football players claim that at least one NFL team asked them about their sexual orientation. The NFL is investigating, and both the league and the NFLPA rushed out with strongly worded statements condemning this outrageous practice. Now, three professors at New York University--Arthur Caplan, Arthur R. Miller and Lee H. Igel--have penned an op-ed for NBC News urging the other North American leagues to follow the NFL's lead and bar their teams from asking recruits about sexual orientation.
(I)f a team official did ask an athlete ‘who do you love?’, let's hope that it wasn't out of a misplaced fear that drafting a player who likes girls, boys or both could become a distraction to the team – either in the locker room, in the press, or in the public sphere. After dealing with criminal acts such rape, spousal abuse, drug addiction and repeat drunk driving in various professional sports leagues over the years, having a gay athlete on a squad should be the least of any manager or coach’s worries.
As the NFL seems intent on doing, all professional sports should make it clear: No probing of any athletes' sexual orientation will be allowed. Any use of such information, however acquired, should result in a severe penalty for the team that does it. Period.
The three professors point out that sexual orientation is not a protected status for private employers in Indiana, where the NFL combine takes place. However, I'm hoping that if the guilty team came from one of the 16 states where it is protected, the team and the person who asked that question face legal action in addition to penalties from the NFL.
They also point out that the mere fact this controversy cropped up is proof that sports need to take the lead on eliminating workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Since homosexuality is still considered relevant to employment eligibility in some states where teams play, these questions point to the need for the NFL and all sports organizations to back change in federal law.
Sports has – admittedly, often grudgingly -- led the way for society regarding race, gender, and disability. However, compared to companies such as Google and Citibank now urging changes through the U.S. Supreme Court, sports leagues and teams have lagged when it comes to helping change outdated perceptions about sexual orientation.
But sports can and should do what is right by making it clear that sexual preference has no role to play in who gets to play.
A-freaking-men.