Reviewing evidence of LGBTQ+ discrimination and exclusion in sport

Abstract

Sport organisations continue to place a low priority on addressing the exclusion and discrimination experienced by LGBTQ+ people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, questioning/queer, and sexual/gender diverse). It was previously thought this was due to a lack of quantitative evidence of a problem; however, over the past decade, a large body of quantitative research has been conducted, including two international studies, providing strong evidence that discriminatory behaviour remains common in sport and is harmful to this population. In this paper, the authors summarise existing quantitative evidence and consider why sport organisations continue to be slow to address LGBTQ+ exclusion. They argue sport management scholars are in a unique and privileged position to address current resistance to action and drive change through conducting research aimed at identifying pragmatic, practical approaches to end harmful discriminatory behaviours. Finally, the authors describe why such research has the potential to mitigate harm while also advancing the discipline in ways described as being needed by leading scholars.

Experiences of LGBTQ+ individuals in sports in Germany

“…Moreover, one-fifth of all respondents felt excluded from or refrained from participating in sports. These results are within the range of findings identified elsewhere (e.g., Denison et al, 2020;Kavoura & Kokkonen, 2020). However, comparisons of concrete frequencies and percentages are problematic because studies use different designs and time references for the questionnaires.…”

“…At the same time, international research on LGBTQ+ individuals in sports has increased over the last decade, particularly in Anglophone countries. There is growing empirical evidence that LGBTQ+ people regularly experience discrimination and exclusion in sports (Denison, Bevan, & Jeanes, 2020;Kavoura & Kokkonen, 2020). However, there is a dearth of research on the situation of LGBTQ+ athletes in Germany (Krell & Oldemeier, 2018;Schweer, 2018).…”

“I Gave Up Football and I Had No Intention of Ever Going Back”: Retrospective Experiences of Victims of Bullying in Youth Sport

“…This variability, as it occurs in the educational context according to Smith (2019a) , may happen due to the use of different conceptual criteria on the phenomenon and dissimilar methodological elements used in each of the studies ( Vveinhardt and Fominiene, 2019 ). In relation to the risk factors of becoming a victim of bullying in sport, the presentation of some type of disability ( Danes-Staples et al, 2013 ), being overweight ( Bacchini et al, 2015 ), belonging to ethnic minorities ( Kentel and McHugh, 2015 ), the sexual orientation -homophobic bullying- ( Baiocco et al, 2018 ; Denison et al, 2020 ) or having poor sport skills ( Kerr et al, 2016 ; Mishna et al, 2019 ; Vveinhardt et al, 2019b ; Flores et al, 2020 ) stand out. Boys present higher rates of aggression, but not victimization ( Evans et al, 2016 ; Vveinhardt and Fominiene, 2019 ), the typology of verbal bullying is the most frequent and the changing room is the sport space where more bullying situations appear ( Mishna et al, 2019 ; Nery et al, 2019 ; Flores et al, 2020 ).…”

Fostering Positive Communities: A Scoping Review of Community-Level Positive Psychology Interventions

“…It is true that happier individuals are more tolerant and express more gratitude, creating a gentler psychosocial environment, but this is not the same as creating settings based on fairness and equity. There is abundant evidence that many social structures perpetuate discrimination against people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ individuals (Prilleltensky and Nelson, 2002 ; Denison et al, 2020 ; Prilleltensky and Prilleltensky, 2021 ). Some of the barriers to the well-being of these individuals are not interpersonal, but structural.…”