In high schools all across America, football has been the prevalent sport for generations. From the early days of football starting in the 1920's to the present day, football athletes have started their careers on high school fields. Coaches on every football team from the smallest towns to the Nationwide Division

Quite possibly the most controversial subject matter that has been brought to attention about high school football is the way players have had their beliefs influenced about sexuality, namely sexual preference. Many players and even coaches have come under fire from individuals that were unfairly discriminated against due to their sexual preference. In one case in Boise, Iowa, a high school senior, Timothy Watkins was repeatedly verbally abused and discriminated against by his coach for being homosexual, when the fact of the matter was that he was indeed not gay. In my own personal experiences my former football teams' views of homosexuals were the antithesis of what football players should be. Football players were supposed to be tough and manly. Homosexuals on the other hand, were typecast as weak and unskilled, and depictions of them having lisps and "broken" wrist movements were prevalent among many of the players. In fact, the definitive player would not only be one that would perform well on the field, but would also be popular with the ladies. Insults such as "faggot" and "Homo" were passed on to those who many of the players felt were not playing to the "standard" that somehow heterosexuals played at. This can be seen as extremely sardonic in the fact that many anthropologists have seen football as, "... a form of symbolic homosexual behavior, (similar) to the initiation rites of aboriginal Australia..." (Rosman, Rubel 78). Dundes, a sports anthropologist also stated that football was, "... combat between groups of males attempting to assert their masculinity by penetrating the endzones of their rivals." (Rosman, Rubel 78). The penetrating of endzones can symbolically seen as a very homoerotic symbol, and yet the same individuals who have accepted these symbols as literal manifestations in their life, have been the ones discriminated against. While morally wrong in discriminating against gays, these influences can be paralleled to the discrimination many gays feel in everyday life. If a player on the football team I participated in was gay, then there would be a great deal of tension amongst the rest of the team, particularly during shower and changing times. In the same sense, many cases of homosexuals being shunned or avoided in the workforce have been equivalent to the manner in which a homosexual on a football team would be received. Doubtless, there would be some form of acceptance for gays in both contexts, but for the majority of their co-workers or players, there would be a sense of uneasiness and sometimes outward hostility. One individual that I interviewed, Randy Wiecek, a varsity football player for three years, was an outstanding linebacker at a highly ranked high school in Southern California. He was also a homosexual. In his struggles with his teams homophobic tendencies he decided to keep his sexual preference a secret from everyone on the team. He said about the situation, "It was really hard. Guys would make gay jokes all the time, and I'd have to laugh along with them. I hated a lot of them so much, but I loved football more than I hated them." While more tolerance has been shown towards different sexual preferences than in the past, Wiecek's story of discrimination and spite prove to be the rule towards gays in football. This is complementary towards the treatment that homosexuals have endured in other aspects of life, and proves further how high school football has infiltrated into the minds of its participants.

High school football, with all its mores, norms rituals and influences has in essence emula

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Approximate Word count = 2415
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)