The story of Jen Harris at Penn
State University is not an isolated incident. Discrimination of the LGBT
community has been and continues to be a prevalent issue in the sporting world.
Coaches like Rene Portland create a strict atmosphere with the hopes of having
a disciplined team and a winning culture, but fail to recognize an underlining
issue that can virtually crush a player whose sexual orientation might hamper
this process. This single-minded thought process about ‘winning’ disregards
some extremely important facts; winning is not everything. Jen Harris was a
great basketball player, and had she been able to continue into her junior
year, would have been the teams leading scorer. So why would a coach reject a
player that was a main contributor to ‘winning?’
The LGBT community is now in the
spotlight, but for the wrong reasons. The stigma surrounding those of the LGBT
community has not been created by their actions, but rather the actions that
have been done onto them. These human beings are not some deviant culture
hell-bent on destroying our world; they are just people trying to be a part of
an already disfigured society. Before we can properly assimilate these people
into society, we need to change the perception of them—not theirs…ours!
I have lived in the San Francisco
area my entire life, so my perception of the LGBT community has been formulated
by the already present nature of acceptance. I have never seen the issue in
discriminating anyone, so for my to write about how to ‘change’ society is an awkward
activity. I see nothing wrong. I am straight, and have several gay friends. Who they go home with at the end of the night
has never concerned me, and I still don’t get why it still concerns other
people. One day I hope to see every athlete follow in the footsteps of Michael
Sam (Mizzou), Jason Collins (NBA), and now UMass’ Derrick Gordan. It will take
a continued effort from every culture to integrate another one. It will happen.
I know it.
