A positive review

Media coverage of gays and lesbians in sports is improving, said Pat Griffin, a leading scholar and activist on issues of homophobia in sports during a lecture at Penn State tonight. Griffin said media coverage has started to educate people about homophobia and facilitated greater acceptance of gays and lesbians. Griffin and activist Lea Robinson outlined the ways that conditions are improving for sexual minorities in sports, most notably in the willingness of players to accept gay teammates and the support athletes receive from their families in coming out. At the same time, though, they critiqued image of female athletes that reinforced the hetero-sexy ideal for lesbians and noted that coverage of the Don Imus incident last year didn't focus enough on his homophobia.