At a discussion about issues facing gay and lesbian athletes on Thursday night in the Driscoll Ballroom, panelist David Farber said the aim of all-gay sports organizations, like Denver’s GForce Hockey Club, is to make openly-gay athletes fully accepted on traditional teams.
“The end goal is for our organizations to not have to exist anymore,” he said.
Farber described a time in the future when openly-gay athletes would be seamlessly integrated into their sports at all levels, from youth to pros.
At this point, he said, a combination of straight and openly-gay athletes on professional teams would be natural, and all-gay organizations would not be necessary for athletes to feel fully accepted on the playing field.
“You can be gay and play sports; these things aren’t mutually exclusive,” he said.
Farber was former captain of the University of Pennsylvania hockey team and is now a member of the GForce Hockey Club, an all-gay elite hockey team in Denver.
The discussion was moderated by Patrick Burke, a scout for the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers.
The panel discussion was sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Government (USG), the Gender and Women’s Studies Department, Athletics and Recreation and the Center for Multicultural Excellence.
It was attended by about 75 students and community members, including the DU hockey team.
Also sitting on the panel were Andrew Goldstein, former All-American goalie of the Dartmouth lacrosse team and current GForce player, and Brandy Ranshaw, former member of the U.S. Ski Team and women’s pro circuit qualifier.
Much of the discussion focused on the negative effects of homophobic talk that often becomes part of culture of locker-room banter for teams.
“You hear words in the locker room, and it makes you feel a little bit less,” said Goldstein. “It can start to wear on you and kill you inside.”
The panelists discussed the role of coaches and management in eliminating homophobic talk in the locker room.
One way to end gay slurs in the locker room is to include sexual orientation as a category in teams’ anti-hazing policies.
“They shouldn’t be tolerating homophobia in the locker room or homophobia on their teams,” said Farber. “There’s a lot of people [coaches and managerial staff] who have remained silent.”
The GForce team has implemented a program called the Athlete Buddy System (ABS), a safe and confidential mentorship program for gay athletes of all ages and of any sport.
Gay athletes can call 1-855-646-1ABS (1227) to be matched with a GForce player who will serve as an adviser and understanding listener.
