Flawed Study Bolsters Stereotype

A mind-popping headline purports that one-third of former American football players have had gay experiences. But you have to read through the story to find out that the sample was small (47), and that they were picked out of a larger sample of male college cheerleaders. The study does not say what the proportion of those who experienced homosexual encounters were for the larger population, in which there does exist a stereotype that they draw a larger proportion of gay men compared to the general American population. The authors try to draw some feel-good conclusions about prejudices disappearing, but one could draw the opposite conclusion: that gay male athletes congregate toward "safer" disciplines, and that there is no decline at all in biases in the football locker room. Now, allow me to display my own bias here: I immediately distrust any sociological or epidemiological paper published in Britain, and my prejudice here has been borne out again.