Liz Vetrano/The Ithacan PAT GRIFFIN’S PRESENTATION centered around the issues and improvements of LBGT athletes gaining acceptance in sports culture. Griffin spoke Tuesday night in the Emerson Suites.

The audience may not have expected a pop quiz, but it didn’t matter. Pat Griffin’s point was hammered home quite clearly.

Griffin, a professor of social justice at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, spouted one-sentence biographies of 10 premier athletes who have, some more recently than others, publicly announced their homosexuality. Audience members enthusiastically shouted the answers as each bio was read: Greg Louganis, Billie Jean King, Esera Tuoalo, Amelie Mauresmo, Martina Navratilova, Billy Beane, Renee Richards, Rudy Galindo, Su Wicks and Glen Burke.

Griffin used the exercise to explain there is change coming for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in sports.

“It wasn’t that long ago that I would have only been able to say one or two of these names,” she said Tuesday night in her presentation titled “Mike Piazza said he’s not gay, but why do we care? — Are sports fans and athletes ready for lesbian and gay athletes to come out?”

“Times are changing,” Griffin said.

She was referring to what she sees as a trend of more LGBT athletes coming out then ever before in a sports culture that is considered male-dominated. She said advocacy groups like the NCAA and a “growing public acceptance of LGBT people and athletes,” combined with a growing support structure from coaches, parents, teammates and peers, have made the transition easier for LGBT athletes.

“Younger athletes are coming out sooner and more often,” she added.

Lisa Maurer, Ithaca College coordinator of LGBT education, outreach and services, helped organize the event. Maurer said that while it’s good that more LGBT athletes are coming out, at Ithaca the issue is still a “mixed bag.”

“There are students who have come to me who recount very positive experiences, but there are also a handful of students who talk about reasons they have quit teams,” Maurer said. “If one student comes to me and says they quit the team because of a [homophobic-related] problem, then that’s one student too many.”

Griffin cited several reasons why LGBT athletes encounter homophobia in the sports culture or why they choose not to come out while playing. She said many players and coaches she’s talked to feel that problems would arise in hotel or locker rooms because of a gay athlete, while other coaches say that it would have a negative effect on the team’s reputation and ability to recruit. Griffin also said that like Billie Jean King’s experience when she came out 30 years ago, professional athletes sometimes don’t risk coming out while they are competing because they don’t want to chance losing endorsements or sponsorships.

Further, Griffin said athletes are more conducive to coming out in individual sports rather then team sports, which are historically less receptive to LGBT athletes. She said gay men and all women are seen as trespassers on male turf. But for Griffin, that doesn’t mean change isn’t possible, especially for those in the sports world who don’t see the need for change.

“We have never been ready for social change, in anything,” she said mockingly. “You only get ready for change when you talk about it. … I think athletics is ready for social change.”

Griffin showed a videotape that concentrated on the importance of supporting LGBT athletes through team unity, both through coaches and players.

“I want to be really clear on how it effects everybody on the team,” she said.

Sophomore Brett Miller said Griffin could have gone even “further” with her lecture beyond just discussing the initial coming-out period.

“I think in terms of once an athlete comes out, when his or her teammates accept that initial standpoint, it goes beyond that to the allowance of the person to maintain that identity throughout the course of his or her time on the team,” he said.