An Investigation of Ethnicity as a Variable Related to US Male College Athletes' Sexual Orientation Behaviors and Attitudes

While most often forbidden by university policy, homophobic attitudes and intolerance of gay/lesbian athletes may still exist within intercollegiate athletic departments. Against this backdrop, this study examines attitudes toward sexual orientation from a sample of Division I & III male university athletes (N = 397) from four universities in the Southeastern United States. The study’s primary research questions are: a) Utilizing ethnicity as the independent variable, what are the sampled male athletes’ attitudes toward sexual orientations? and b) Is there a relationship between male college athletes’ ethnicity and their sexual-orientation attitudes? Using the frameworks of Social-Script and Critical-Race Theories, this article, discusses the results’ significance for university athletic administrators, faculty, and college athletes.