“Tennis is ripe for an active player to come out.”
“I still say that tennis is ripe for an active player to come out. It’s an individual sport, so athletes need not worry about homophobic teammates freezing them out of the offense or razzing them on bus rides. The top players, from whom the rest of the field takes a cue, are non-cavemen. (Do you think, for instance, that Roddick, who invites Elton John to his wedding, is really homophobic?) There’s already a sizable gay contingent on the tennis caravan — coaches/officials/tour employees/journalists/hangers-on. Any smattering of disapproval or ugliness would be offset by support.”
Sports Illustrated writer Jon Wertheim, responding to a reader question: “When is a high ranked men’s player going to come out of the closet? Is the world that close-minded that one can admit to illegal drug use, but being openly gay in an individual sport is still going to ruin one’s career? Why can’t a gay dude be ‘out’ in the top 20?”
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