# I Hate Gay People **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 15, 2007, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312 "2007-02-15T04:29:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/41 "2007-02-16T11:23:16Z")
[QUOTE=fetus] Same with those who called for an end to rock and roll in the 50s and decried it as “nigger music” (that’s a quote I saw in a documentary a couple of months ago; I think it was some government official from Alabama). Doesn’t make it right. [/QUOTE] Uh, OK. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/42 "2007-02-16T14:42:10Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] So, homosexuals are about 10 to 15% of the population. That mean that if you have a team of 30 guys, you have at least three gay guys on the team (statistically speaking). [/QUOTE] I think that number has been discredited, and it’s really something like two to five percent. Your average NBA team has about 12 players, and athletes are a self-selecting population. Anyway, it’s not a rational thing for people like Hardaway, it’s just the “ick” factor. Like you said, I think they are really bothered by the idea that a gay guy could look at them sexually, and of course they’d never believe any gay man doesn’t _want_ them. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/43 "2007-02-16T15:11:41Z")
Shaq is no dummy, especially when it comes to the media. The selection of the word “outsiders” to describe homophobic attitudes is pitch-perfect. It doesn’t reflect reality, but it’s the right way to handle it. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/44 "2007-02-16T16:52:06Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I think that number has been discredited, and it’s really something like two to five percent. Your average NBA team has about 12 players, and athletes are a self-selecting population. Anyway, it’s not a rational thing for people like Hardaway, it’s just the “ick” factor. Like you said, I think they are really bothered by the idea that a gay guy could look at them sexually, and of course they’d never believe any gay man doesn’t _want_ them. [/QUOTE] I guess we really have no way to put exact numbers on how many gay athletes are currently on any professional sports team, since none of them are volunteering the information. I would be comfortable saying that my general point still stands; I believe there are many closeted athletes currently playing on professional sports teams. At least one on every pro team wouldn’t surprise me. And a double handful on the football teams - you can’t tell me those guys aren’t gay. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/45 "2007-02-16T17:32:04Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I guess we really have no way to put exact numbers on how many gay athletes are currently on any professional sports team, since none of them are volunteering the information. I would be comfortable saying that my general point still stands; I believe there are many closeted athletes currently playing on professional sports teams. At least one on every pro team wouldn’t surprise me. And a double handful on the football teams - you can’t tell me those guys aren’t gay. [/QUOTE] Well.. actually the negatively self selecting aspect does have some credibility if the general tenor of the team is anti-gay or not gay friendly, as it would be in many (if not most) male sports teams. If approx 3% or so of the at large population is gay (or gayish) then at best (IMO) 1-2 % of a male sports team is likely to be gay. The self selecting argument also works the other way re female sports & sports teams. There are certain female sports, like pro golf, where the professional levels have a far greater percentage of gay players than would occur by random chance in the at large population. This is obviously self selection at work. If it works positively for female sports teams there’s no reason it can’t work negatively for male sports teams. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/46 "2007-02-16T17:34:53Z")
I don’t normally click on the ads at the bottom of threads - well, to be more exact, I have never clicked on an ad until this thread, but was intrigued by one and clicked on it. Seems at least one casinos here in Las Vegas has developed a new marketing campaign targeted to Gays: [Gay Paris Las Vegas](http://www.harrahs.com/casinos/paris-las-vegas/glbt/). ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/47 "2007-02-16T17:35:18Z")
> [@](#): > > ''If he was on my team, I guess I would have to protect him from the outsiders," O’Neal said in Boston on Wednesday night. ‘‘I’m not homophobic or anything… I’m not the type who judges people. I wish him well.’’ Cool. He always struck me as a guy with a good heart. > [@](#): > > **astro** wrote: > So … well… you queers make yourselves scarce! Pronto! But we were about to do our big Hawaiian number! :sadly puts away her grass skirt: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/48 "2007-02-16T17:46:55Z")
[QUOTE=featherlou] I would be comfortable saying that my general point still stands; I believe there are many closeted athletes currently playing on professional sports teams. [/quote] I agree. > [@](#): > > And a double handful on the football teams - you can’t tell me those guys aren’t gay. American football, or soccer? :dubious: 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/49 "2007-02-16T19:20:09Z")
[QUOTE=stolichnaya] Shaq is no dummy, especially when it comes to the media. [/QUOTE] While I agree with you about Shaq’s current comments, [I beg to differ](http://espn.go.com/nba/news/2003/0110/1490645.html) with your initial statement. ---
**Author:** ![stolichnaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@stolichnaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stolichnaya)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2007, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/50 "2007-02-16T19:34:09Z")
Heh. I missed that. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2007, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312/51 "2007-02-17T10:20:09Z")
> [@Pixiesnix](#): > > Cool. He always struck me as a guy with a good heart. He is–first off, he can’t stand Kobe Bryant, which is always a good sign in my book. Also, I read a story a while back (in Sports Illustrated) about how Shaq was playing a game in Phoenix and one of the Suns camera crew–this was when he was playing for the Lakers and Phoenix was one of his biggest rivals–mentioned that his son had a birthday and a hockey game that weekend, so Mr. O’Neal showed up at the game to wish the kid a happy birthday, meet and greet the players and parents and give a little speech where he said “I don’t know much about hockey, but I know we’ll get 'em in the fourth quarter!” 😃 > [@Marley23](#): > > American football, or soccer? American, of course. But then again, soccer players make their living by kicking balls and grabbing sweaty men by the shirt to yank them to the ground. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-gay-people/392312.md?page=2)