That age-old, “athletes can’t be gay” thing …

I am always on the look-out for good stories that highlight, involve, and/or discuss or otherwise address that age-old stereotype that athletes can’t be gay. We’ve heard them all:

• Only “fags” can be pro figure-skaters.
• Only “real” men can play pro football, be pro MMA fighters, hunt, fish, or do other types of physically intensive activities.
• All women’s softball and basketball players are lesbians.

… and so on and so on …

So, when I came across the following article via change.org, I just had to highlight it and bring it to everyone’s attention.

Change.org writes:

Generally employers treat questions like “How old are you?” or “Who do you sleep with?” as off-limits when it comes to interviews. But apparently one team in the NFL didn’t get that memo, at least according to Defensive Tackle Geno Atkins. While Atkins was interviewing with NFL teams in advance of last month’s NFL draft, he said that one NFL team asked him a particularly bizarre and rather invasive question.

“The only unusual question I got was if I was straight or gay,” Atkins said, carefully keeping the name of the team secret. (Atkins was eventually drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, but no word on whether they were the team that asked about his sexual orientation.)

Calling that question “unusual” is one word for it. Calling it “homophobic” and “way over the line” would be another way to put it, too.

Have you ever been asked an inappropriate question regarding your sexual preferences, gender, and/or marital status during an interview? How did you react?