Fair Play: How LGBT Athletes Are Claiming
Their Rightful Place in Sports
by Cyd Zeigler
Akashic Books. 288 pages, $15.95
A DECADE AND A HALF after a spate of homophobic incidents on the courts, on the fields, and in the locker rooms of American sports, LGBT athletes are beginning to enjoy a certain amount of acceptance. So argues Cyd Zeigler, founder of Outsports magazine, who points out that fans want their teams to win and largely don’t care about its players’ choice of bed partners. Even as far back as 2005, over three-fourths of fans questioned said they were okay with gay athletes. Lack of acceptance, argues Zeigler, is more likely to come from teammates, owners, and others inside sports organizations. Using his access to athletes, managers, and coaches—something that teams often go to absurd lengths to restrict—he picks apart the homophobic inner worlds of amateur and professional sports.
