High School Coaches’ Experiences With Openly Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Athletes

ABSTRACT

Despite reports that there has been a positive trend in perception and treatment of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals in recent years (Griffin, 2012; Loftus, 2001), sport, in general, is still an uncertain, and sometimes even hostile, environment for LGB athletes (Anderson, 2005; Waldron & Krane, 2005). To gain more information on coach understanding and perceptions of the team environment, 10 high school head coaches in the United States were interviewed to explore their experiences coaching openly LGB athletes. Qualitative analyses revealed four primary themes associated with coach experiences: team environment dogmas and observations, fundamental beliefs contributing to perceptions of LGB athletes, types and timing of sexual orientation disclosure, and differential LGB athlete characteristics. Future research should examine these primary themes in more detail through interviews with LGB athletes, as well as high school coaches in more traditionally masculine sports, such as football, men’s basketball, and wrestling.

KEYWORDS:

• Lesbian
• gay
• bisexual
• high school
• athletics
• coaches