If the struggle for acceptance in society at large is difficult for individuals who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, it’s that much harder for those in athletics.

A new study, financed in part by a grant from the NCAA Research Committee, explores reasons why gay male student-athletes may or may not choose to reveal their sexual identities. More specifically, former student-athlete and current University of Denver graduate student Paul Tontz is using one of the four one-year, $5,000 grants awarded by the committee this year to explore factors that influence whether Division I male student-athletes who identify themselves as gay come out to their coaches and teammates.

Through his research, which will be finalized later this spring, Tontz has identified a number of influences, including feelings of isolation and level of support.

“Feeling like they can’t necessarily relate to the gays on campus or their heterosexual teammates leaves gay student-athletes feeling isolated and prevents them from coming out,” Tontz said. “Support is crucial from the athletics department – and especially from the coach – because he or she plays such a pivotal role in the student-athlete’s development.”

An athlete’s level of ability also can influence the decision to come out, Tontz said. If the student-athlete is a high performer, the team and coach seem more willing to accept the athlete. And though he hasn’t been able to confirm it through his research, he suspects the opposite is true for less high-performing student-athletes.

There also is a perception that certain sports such as swimming and diving, wrestling, and water polo already are populated with gay athletes, Tontz said. Consequently, the idea is more commonly accepted in those sports than with football or basketball.

Tontz’s findings are based on a series of three 90-minute interviews with each of the study’s eight participants, some openly gay and some closeted. Thanks to current technology, he also hosted a virtual focus group with study participants, not only to further validate his research, but also to give something back to the athletes who volunteered for the study.

“This was a great way to build a sense of community within a population that, like my research demonstrates, feels isolated and alone,” he said.

Recruiting individuals willing to participate and who fell within the study’s specific parameters was tougher than Tontz anticipated, but he used a variety of strategies, including posting on Web sites, chat rooms and listservs. He also received a recruiting assist from artist, educator and activist Jeff Sheng, who has been photographing and interviewing open, self-identified LGBT high school and college athletes nationwide since 2003 as part of a traveling photo exhibition entitled “Fearless.”

Said Sheng, “Paul e-mailed me and I replied, ‘Let’s brainstorm on how we can work together.’”

That partnership was a significant contribution to a project that promises to contribute significantly to understanding LGBT issues within an athletics context.

“The ultimate goal of this project was to create more visibility,” said Tontz. “My role as an educator is to help student-athletes reach their full potential. Currently, in many sporting climates, gay athletes are not able to do that, yet they are still doing well. How much better could they perform if they could be open, without worrying about how their coaches and teammates would react?”

This photo of “Jake, Men’s Diving, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, 2007” is part of Jeff Sheng’s “Fearless” exhibit. / Photos by Jeff Sheng.