"Then I hit another second serve, huge. And that ball was on the line, was not even close. And that guy, he looks like a fa**ot little bit, you know. This hair all over him. He call it. I couldn't believe he did it." - Former Wimbledon men's champion Goran Ivanisevic
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"Let's see how much Parcells wins this year. I'll make him pay when we play them. The homo." - New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey
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"No. I mean, if I knew there was a gay guy on my college football team, I probably wouldn't, you know, stand for it. You know, I think, you know, they're going to be in the shower with us and stuff, so I don't think that's gonna work." - New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey
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"Fucking fruitcakes. You're nothing but a fucking freak. I hope you get AIDS and die." - Failed pitcher John Rocker (to a gay couple at a Dallas restaurant)
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"I don't like gays. Write that down in your little notebook." - Pro Wrestler Brock Lesnar
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"You fa**ot! Yeah, you heard me. You fa**ot!" Detroit Lions President Matt Millen (to Kansas City Chiefs receiver Johnnie Morton)
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"Aw, hell no! I don't want any fa**ots on my team. I know this might not be what people want to hear, but that's a punk. I don't want any fa**ots in this locker room." - San Francisco 49ers running back Garrison Hearst
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"I wouldn't want a gay guy being around me. It's got nothing to do with me being scared. That's the problem: All these people say he's got all these rights. Yeah, he's got rights or whatever, but he shouldn't walk around proud. It's like he's rubbing it in our face: 'See me, Hear me roar.' We're not trying to be closed-minded, but then again, why be confrontational when you don't really have to be?" - Colorado Rockies Pitcher Todd Jones
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"Why should I care about the fans? They're a bunch of assholes and faggots here." -Chicago Cubs pitcher Julian Tavarez (on San Francisco's fans)
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"Imagine having to take the 7 train to [Shea Stadium in New York] looking like you're [in] Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. It's depressing." - Failed pitcher John Rocker


Professional sports have long been a breeding ground for homophobia and intolerance. Many who are protective of the sports world argue that athletes aren't more homophobic than the general population, but that the media looks for any opportunity to create a story about an athlete's controversial comments. Realistically, there isn't more homophobia in the NFL or MLB than in, say, Texas or Washington DC. Despite the recent advancement of gay culture via such pop culture vehicles as Will and Grace and Queer as Folk, homophobia is still rampant in the United States. Homophobia thrives in sports because of the pressures put on athletes by themselves, teammates, and the public. When professional athletes make comments such as those above, any athletes with dissenting opinions are typically forced to remain quiet for fear of being ostrasized. In today's society, the only people working to defend gay rights are women and gays; straight males simply can not defend gay rights without having their own sexuality questioned. And so, unfortunately, the only voices that are heard are the ones that are not afraid to be heard.

Enter the Boston Red Sox. Once a club known for it's despicable treatment of African Americans and other minorities, the Sox have recently made sincere efforts to diminish their poor reputation. This week, five members of the Red Sox are filming an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in what is a huge step for professional sports. Perhaps with Kevin Millar, Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek, Doug Mirabelli, and Johnny Damon showing that they aren't afraid to spend time with 5 very famous homosexuals, the impressionable youth who idolize athletes will learn that there are opinions other than those expressed by John Rocker.

The Boston Red Sox, in recent years, have shown evidence that the majority of the team does not worry about being ostrasized simply because they show their affection more than the average athlete. There was Manny and Millar arm-in-arm in the dugout. There was Ortiz giving a bearhug to anyone that crossed his path. The handsiness reached an all time high last year in the playoffs, and you'd have been hard-pressed to find a Sox fan, male or female, that didn't love the close bond that obviously existed in that clubhouse. This year, by agreeing to happily appear on Queer Eye, they are taking their new identity one step further and teaching an entire generation of sports fans that it's possible to be cool and masculine and still to treat people equally, no matter what their sexual orientation.

Sure, defeating the Yankees in Game 7 was sweet. And of course, winning the World Series in 4 games was something we'll never forget. But this, a groundbreaking era in the age of the new Boston Red Sox which was described by Larry Lucchino as "not your grandfather's spring training," is truly the best time to be a Sox fan.