WBBFanWest

In part, It has to do with opportunities for inner city youth (especially males) throughout the US.

Basically it just shows that you can't make that leap... 10% of the general population being gay has no bearing whatsoever on the percentage of gay athletes. What is the percentage of black people in the USA vs. the percentage of black people in the NBA? Doesn't correlate very closely does it? Or the percentage of black people in the NHL for that matter. No you can't make that leap in any reliable manner. So your point re: stats is correct. But the thing is, sexual orientation is different then race. You don't have a lot of black people in the NHL because there aren't a lot of black people tuned into it or growing up playing it. Or blacks playing lacrosse. Sexual orientation though is different. If you have a pulse, you could be gay. That's why the barriers are going to go down so fast. Thank you for saying this. Yes, there are more Afro-American people in the NFL than in the general population, but the reason for that can be clearly explained. Not so much for sexual orientation, but some people can't quite seem to grasp that.

I agree, most players probably DO have a problem with it. Doesn't make it right though. Fortunately, society is changing very quickly. This will be a non-issue in 20 years. You are exactly right. At one time players had a problem with Jackie Robinson. Anyone care to defend them? And if Sam does end up in Montreal, it's will be more than a little ironic when speaking about Robinson.

Basslicker, if you find homosexuality to be "abnormal" then the solution is simple: don't have gay sex. There, now you need never be troubled again.

Even if they report themselves as straight, they are still gay.... The question is whether or not the same percentage would be applied to professional sports, and why wouldn’t it be? You could argue that it is a small sample size compared to the general population and the stats would be skewed somewhat, but by that rationale, the percentage could just as easily be larger as it would be smaller. Seems people want to believe that the percentage would be smaller because professional athletes should be more “manly”. Its more like, professional team sports -- especially football, hockey, baseball, etc -- are life long pursuits. You start when you can basically walk -- those that make it to the bigs are those whose talent matches their ability to endure 20 years of training, 20 years of locker rooms, 20 years of not so subtle homophobia. Its only logical that many gays -- especially until the last 10 years or so -- would gravitate towards non-team endeavours where their sex life would never come up. Its why many gay men went into diving, rowing, fencing, even martial arts.

You're adorable. Yes, everybody is a human being. Is every group of people represented in pro sports equally to their % of the general population? You didn 't answer the question. Why do you think that pro sports people would be different than the general population? I'm curious. Because they are different from the general population in every other way. Really, "every other way"? That's a rather bold statement to make. How so? Remember, we're not talking about behavioral stuff here, we're talking biological/developmental stuff. So how are they different? How are pro athletes different from the average joe? I'll let you figure that one out on your own. It's not hard, I'm sure you'll get it. I didn't think you had a logical answer and it appears I was right. Let me explain something to you, the speed at which you run or the height that you can jump has NOTHING whatsoever to do with sexual orientation. If you have any research to the contrary, I'd love to read it. Acting like any statistic that applies to the general population also applies equally to any specific group isn't just naïve, it's downright stupid. Take any class in demographics or statistics. Come on. You still can't identify how or why a group of pro athletes would have fewer gay members than the general population, other than to suggest that somehow their demographics are "different". You are correct that not every statistic applies equally to every specific group. But normally, that can be explained. I'm waiting for that explanation and no one can supply it. There might be a reason for that.

Even if they report themselves as straight, they are still gay.... The question is whether or not the same percentage would be applied to professional sports, and why wouldn’t it be? You could argue that it is a small sample size compared to the general population and the stats would be skewed somewhat, but by that rationale, the percentage could just as easily be larger as it would be smaller. Seems people want to believe that the percentage would be smaller because professional athletes should be more “manly”. Exactly right. Well said.

You're adorable. Yes, everybody is a human being. Is every group of people represented in pro sports equally to their % of the general population? You didn 't answer the question. Why do you think that pro sports people would be different than the general population? I'm curious. Because they are different from the general population in every other way. Really, "every other way"? That's a rather bold statement to make. How so? Remember, we're not talking about behavioral stuff here, we're talking biological/developmental stuff. So how are they different? How are pro athletes different from the average joe? I'll let you figure that one out on your own. It's not hard, I'm sure you'll get it. I didn't think you had a logical answer and it appears I was right. Let me explain something to you, the speed at which you run or the height that you can jump has NOTHING whatsoever to do with sexual orientation. If you have any research to the contrary, I'd love to read it.

You're adorable. Yes, everybody is a human being. Is every group of people represented in pro sports equally to their % of the general population? You didn 't answer the question. Why do you think that pro sports people would be different than the general population? I'm curious. Because they are different from the general population in every other way. Really, "every other way"? That's a rather bold statement to make. How so? Remember, we're not talking about behavioral stuff here, we're talking biological/developmental stuff. So how are they different?

You're adorable. Yes, everybody is a human being. Is every group of people represented in pro sports equally to their % of the general population? You didn 't answer the question. Why do you think that pro sports people would be different than the general population? I'm curious.

Probably 10% for sure. I can understand why they'd prefer to wait to come out til after their career is wrapped up though. Probably for sure? I'd don't think the stats for the general population translate equally to pro sports. Not that I think Sam is the only gay football player out there, but do you really think there's an average of four gay players per team in the CFL? The 10% estimate is not borne out by modern research. 3-5% of the population tends to be the high end. But having said that, they did a study a while back and found that virtually 100% of the people who play pro sports are human beings, which is exactly the same proportion of human beings found in the general population. So my question would be, what makes you think that pro sports would be any different?

I think that 17's use of the word literally falls into the category of hyperbole and rhetoric. That said, I do think he overstates his case a bit because I've seen nothing on this board that looks like Etch hate. Rather what I see is people (myself included) who simply think that Etch is not really that good a coordinator. And clearly when someone spends 3 seasons on the sidelines, I think that its safe to say that that feeling is shared by a lot of the tall foreheads in the CFL. I look at O'Shea hiring him as a rookie mistake, a guy trying to do a solid for his old mentor. Commendable, but not really that astute. Hopefully, O'Shea learns a lesson from this. And by the way 17, Etch is no worse that Hess, in my opinion.

Does this mean that BC Lions are in trouble for announcing about Benevides than? I think that blackout is the week leading up to the Grey Cup, so they should be fine

As a regular…or a sub? Not sure. Apparently he likes the food there. At least, that's what I heard.

Has anyone heard the rumor that Drew Willy is going to Montreal???

If they can't be fired right now to keep all the attention focused on the events surrounding the festivities and the game itself, it would be bad form to interview people for a job that isn't even open yet. To me that sort of looks bush league.

He died a little while back.

Yes, he could be, but usually they don't pull stuff like this out of thin air. The term "power struggle" to me suggests that he's heard something. Granted, how accurate that information is does remain to be seen.

If it's O'Shea digging in his heels to keep his old mentor, colour me not too surprised. It would be interesting to know the details because in-fighting between the GM and HC is usually so dysfunctional that it fits perfectly with this team lately. no it doesn't...different people entirely. Sorry, not sure what you're referring to there. My concern is that a HC needs to have people in place that he wants there, people he trusts. So I'm speculating that this seems to be the case with Etch: O'Shea wants him there. At the same time, O'Shea's higher ups are concerned that Etch is not working out and they want him replaced. But that's a job for the HC, who doesn't want to do it. And round and round we go, potentially. So this ends with either the HC being told to fire him, which is bad, or O'Shea saying that he's not going to do it, which puts a big ol' bullseye on his back especially if things don't go well next year, also not good. All in all it has the potential for yet more drama with this club and I think we've had more than enough of that stuff in the last few years. What I'd like is a stable, competent group at the top of this organization (finally) and I'm getting the feeling that we're not quite there yet.

If it's O'Shea digging in his heels to keep his old mentor, colour me not too surprised. It would be interesting to know the details because in-fighting between the GM and HC is usually so dysfunctional that it fits perfectly with this team lately.

Personally, I'd take Benevides over Etch in a second. Of course, even if we wanted him, the big question would be whether or not he's ready to jump right back in as a DC.

Wasn't Etch let go in Saskatchewan because Marshall wanted to bring in his own guy. I recall that there was growing dissatisfaction with him in Saskatchewan as time went on. A lot of people there seemed to feel that his "system" was becoming less and less effective and at the end of the 2010 season there was speculation that his days were numbered, and this was before Marshall was on the scene.

Are you aware that you will have to go through both a body cavity search and the sheep dip bath? And bring donuts? Actually, I was counting on it.

I think that a point that has been overlooked in the Etch saga is the fact that this guy has not been all that successful throughout his career. One or two good years with Saskatchewan but even there, they quickly grew tired of his "mad genius" defenses that work really well until OC's get enough tape on them. You'll also recall that Etch hadn't played in the CFL since 2010, even though he'd been DC of the Grey Cup runners up two years in a row. There's a reason for that. I was not a fan of any of the coordinator hires that O'Shea made, but at the same time, I'm willing to bet that neither MB or Etch were the first picks for those positions. I would hope that both are replaced, but that's assuming that better people come along. Here's hoping.

I am sort of new over here - what split are you referring to? I am still over on Our Bombers and sort of found this site by accident. Our Bombers appears to be on the downside at the moment just not sure why. I still post over on the Blue Bomber Forum but find this one a little more balanced. Hey BBRT. Yes, I agree. I'm going to give this site a try, been lurking for a bit. Seem like a good bunch of folks and it's also 100% free of a certain poster who shall remain nameless!