Forget the Riders when you talk about pride

The Leader Post, along with The Calgary Herald, ran a story about Saskatchewan Roughrider fans planning to wear bras to the game in order to "taunt" Calgary Stampeders QB, Henry Burris. It seems photos of Burris wearing a bra have surfaced on the internet.

"Who better to welcome to town for a big game than that cross-dresser from Calgary?" joked Riders fan Natalie Hanson, referring to Burris.

It seems like the one time our media still chooses to attempt to remain "objective" and report "just the facts" is when it is trying to pass off ignorant homo/transphobia as nothing more than a little healthy sports rivalry. Totally harmless, right?

I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure of sitting in or near the University section on the East side of Taylor Field. I have. It's full of drunk fans who reek of their own B.O. and their own special brand of homophobia. Perhaps my ignorance shows when I tell you that the one time I had to sit in that section, I was shocked to hear the immature, poorly rhymed, pathetic chants of the crowd that attempted in vain to shake the confidence of the opposing team with sickeningly homophobic overtones. Each chant included "homo" or "fag" or some other allusion to gay sex.

It was beyond hostile. It was hateful.

So who cares if a few twenty-somethings go get drunk and shout homophobic remarks for three hours? If you don't like it, sit somewhere else.

Sure. And if you're a player, don't be yourself. The persistent, harmful myth that men who play rough sports aren't gay (because they're all dancing or figure skating, of course) is allowed to carry on because the culture of sport isn't safe for athletes who are gay, bi, or trans. Don't ask, don't tell, goes far beyond the American military. For these athletes, to come out of the closet would be career suicide. All you have to do is sit in on one peewee football practice to figure out why and how deep it runs.

The use of emasculation as a coaching technique is alive and well. Granted, while there are many coaches who manage to lead teams without this method, it is no secret that many still employ it as their first line of offense in grooming these young athletes. I’ve heard it many times with my own ears. It can’t take long for boys in any football or hockey league to figure it out: Straight guys good. Everything else bad.

This attitude damages people to the core. Even those boys not involved in sport are shunned from high school locker rooms if they dare to come out. Those who do choose to play but can't "handle" it, drop out of a sport they love, just so they don't have to be ashamed. Those who hide it well enough are forced to do just that-- for their entire sporting careers and sometimes beyond. A lifetime spent unable to be yourself.

Because some “fans” think it's "harmless" and in "good fun" to spew hate at a significant portion of the population.

Oh-- and because this newspaper thinks it's cute, too.

So seriously—there is not one single writer or editor who found that story as careless and tasteless as I did? No one thought for a second about the hate they were perpetuating by attempting to demoralize the competition by calling him... gasp... a cross-dresser?

Apparently. Because the story ran with nary a hint of critical analysis.

But that's not what the sports pages are for, right? Real news? Because, see, real news would be getting more than one side to a story-- showing people a perspective they may not have been exposed to otherwise and letting them make up their own minds. Instead these "journalists" carry on the charade of homophobia in sport being perfectly normal and a swell way to show your Rider Pride.

Hopefully there are at least a few of us out there who think other kinds of pride are more important. As allies, it is our responsibility to speak out against ignorance like this. It isn't our careers or our physical well being that is on the line, just our integrity.

*Edit-- I have replaced the original with the one that will be published. Although I realize my anonymity is precarious at the best of times, the public nature of this particular post may lead more people here who know my name. Should any of those readers be young and impressionable, I feel that this edited version will serve the same purpose without damaging their young psyches.