Are Sports Gay?
EPISODE 352: Locker-room talk with Jay Jurden.
One reason to listen to this episode with comedian Jay Jurden is that he’s hilarious. And a generally overdue addition to the PTFO universe.
Another reason is because sports and comedy are our prisms for manhood. And Jay happens to be a queer sports fan who went to Ole Miss and can smell the lies.
In the locker rooms of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB — where the number of openly gay professional athletes is, precisely, zero.
In the homoeroticism of Joe Rogan’s Octagon.
And in the walls of testosterone we put up all around us.
Plus: Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Patroclus, Caleb Williams, Derek Jeter, Timothée Chalamet, RFK Jr., butt-scouting... and the Cerebro of hook-up apps.
YOUTUBE SPOILER ALERT:
Sincerely,
Pablo
As an athlete. This has always bothered me. I never cared about who was gay. I welcomed it. Our locker room is community. I genuinely like being around gay people. I love gay people. It doesn’t bother me. I think we have to get away from the insecurity. And I’m heterosexual. For me it was refreshing being around gay guys who weren’t trying to get on my girls. lol. You can learn alot when you talk to people about experiences. I think in sports circles we know who’s gay but we protect it. Homophobia is driven by reaction from other people. I was proud of Jason Collins and Michael Sam. Trailblazers. Hey it’s alright if your teammate is gay. You can still put your arm around his back and say I got you. That’s what teamwork is all about.
Growing up in Australia in the 1990’s I walked down Oxford Street (the Parade Route for the Mardi Gras) and watched the first openly Gay Rugby League player play for my team. The story of Ian Roberts needs to be explored by Pablo, some of the stories he recounted when his former Coach Bob Fulton passed away showed the issue shouldn’t be as big as it is made out to be in this modern world.