Focus On The Rainbow

According to an article published Monday in the Belfast Telegraph, popular GAA hurler, Donal Og Cusack has written what the the newspaper describes as ”an explosive autobiography” in which Cusack discusses his bi-sexuality and coming to terms with where he fits into the LGBT community.

The Cork hurler from the small village of Cloyne is a legend in GAA circles after winning three All-Ireland finals.

Yet in what may shock the sporting establishment, he admits to sleeping with both women and men before accepting his sexuality as a gay man in his autobiography ‘Come What May’ published by Penguin Ireland and due out this month.

In an honest and down-to-earth account of his life as one of the GAA’s most high-profile players, he reveals how he tried to date women as a young man even though he knew from the age of 13 or 14 “that I was a bit different”.

He also reveals how coming out to his family was one of the hardest things he has ever done.

He was 6,000 miles away from home in South Africa when his sister Treasa rang him at his hotel to inform him that rumours were swirling around at home that he was gay.

He flew home to tell his family personally knowing that his father in particular would take the news very hard.

And in a related article, The mother of hurling star Donal Og Cusack has been forced to stop attending his games because of the stress of hearing homophobic abuse shouted at him from the terraces.

The Cork player has revealed that heckling bigots have ruined match days for his mother, who now stays at home.

Donal Og, who spoke publicly about being a gay sportsman this week, has admitted that while he never lets the abuse get to him, he hates what it does to his family and team-mates.

Meanwhile EDGE has a lengthy article written by EDGE’s Great Lakes Regional Editor, Joesph Erbentraut, who takes a look at homophobia in the world of sports and “the search for a gay quarterback”.

So-called “masculine” sports have been woven into the fabric of defining the ideal American man since the late 19th Century, as reported by Dave Zirin in a recent article for The Nation. They were seen as a way to “toughen up the youth” in the midst of building the ever-expanding American empire. Theodore Roosevelt trumpeted “virile virtues” that “make up a race of statesmen and soldiers, of pioneers and explorers … qualities which are fostered by vigorous manly out-of-door sports.”

“Sports is really still an arena where it is still somehow OK to say things that are blatantly homophobic,” explained Marie Hardin, an associate professor at Penn State’s College of Communications who studies sports media. “Sports in our culture are a powerful mechanism by which gender norms are reinforced, and those gender norms in our culture are always wrapped up in heterosexuality. Because of that, homophobia is more accepted.”

Both of these articles are worth your time to read, one, the courage of an athlete to “come out” and the consequences it may bring, and the continuing homophobic attitude in professional sports in the United States which makes it all but impossible for a man or woman to “come out” while still being a participant, being “paid to play” and the potential loss of money through endorsements.

While there are those who criticize athletes, members of the Media, actors and others for not “coming out” and give the LGBT community and “average people” who are still in the closet, shining examples of LGBT membership, I would say to the critics, walk a mile in the shoes of those you criticize before you make your presumption of how “easy” it is to “come out” for all the world to see.

Writer’s Note – this article was posted on Focus On The Rainbow – Hearst Newspapers on October 20, 2009 with the original title “Irish Athlete Donal Og Cusak “Comes Out” In His Autobiography”.