World Pole Vault Champ Shawn Barber Announces He is Gay

Ok.

Who gives a f###ing f###?!!

So he's a "World Pole Vault Champ", who gives a flying fück.

Meh, wake me up when Carl Lewis comes out

It's 2017, announcements like this are non-news.

then why did he change his name from "Shaunacy"

Funny, I thought Greg Rutherford would have been the high profile gay ginger Olympian.

But good for him. Hope he's happy and successful.

Runners of Awareness wrote:

It's 2017, announcements like this are non-news.

Maybe in your educated North American world but not in the sport's world and not in the rest of the world. Can someone name a more prominent gay athlete?

Johnny Supreme wrote:

Isn't this the guy that had a hooker testify at his drug trial a while back?

For those of you not sure what he is referencing there, last year Barber got no suspension after he tested positive for cocaine as he said he got the cocaine in his system from making out with a woman he had come to his hotel room via craigs list. I believe the woman testified at the trial.

Details here:

LetsRun.com wrote:

Reigning world champ in the pole vault Shawn Barber of Canada posted on facebook this morning he is gay.

https://www.facebook.com/shawn.barber.357/posts/1643458302335784?pnref=story

Shawn becomes one of the more prominent openly gay male athletes in the world. We wish Shawn the best.

Do you people understand how backwards our society has become? During the Roman Empire, gay people were not given a second thought. When Jesus walked this earth, men were openly with men, women openly with women. Orgies were part of large parties, with open orgies in large rooms. The ancient British Empire never tried to hide gay people. Several kings and queens were married in order to keep the blood line alive. But, as far as their sexuality was concerned, it was not news if the Queen was actually gay and slept with women. She still was the queen!

Yet, here we are, thousands of years later, saying "he's gay, oh my God!!!"

Don't forget the Spartans. Great warriors. Great fighters. Strong, fearless, and yes, many of them engaged in man on man sex at night in the camp.

rojo wrote:

Runners of Awareness wrote:

It's 2017, announcements like this are non-news.

Maybe in your educated North American world but not in the sport's world and not in the rest of the world. Can someone name a more prominent gay athlete?

Not in the track and field world. There are a few higher profile athletes in other sports (Tom Daley, Robbie Rogers, Jason Collins, etc.) but the only other out T&F pro I can think of is Matt Llano.

It might not be a BFD to many but representation matters- the same way high school boys see "blue collar" runners like Kyle Merber or Colby Alexander as role models, or many women look up to vocally feminist athletes like Kara Goucher or Lauren Fleshman, people want to be able to see themselves in their icons. That's why NBC runs those silly "triumph over adversity" interstitials the whole Olympics- cheesy as it may seem to us, that really does resonate with little girls who want to grow up to be Allyson Felix or Brenda Martinez. It may not be your cup of tea but that's kinda the point- diversity means more people have a window into following and enjoying the sport that we all love.

And FWIW, when we talk about how to "grow the sport" and make it more popular/profitable in the mainstream, this is one of the ways. Tom Daley has 2 million Instagram followers- how many of those poeple do you think were diehard diving fans before him? More diverse stars are more marketable to a wider market, and that's something that anyone who is a fan of the sport should be invested in, if for nothing else, to grow the sport.

rojo wrote:

Runners of Awareness wrote:

It's 2017, announcements like this are non-news.

Maybe in your educated North American world but not in the sport's world and not in the rest of the world. Can someone name a more prominent gay athlete?

Abby Wambach

At some point an announcement like this would nothing at all.

Like saying you prefer blondes or black chicks.

But right now there are few open gay men at a high level in sports.

If this was Shawn Barber the football player and he was still playing for the Redskins or Chiefs, it would be news.

Michael Sam was openly gay and drafted to the NFL but never played a snap.

An athlete in a field event, like pole vault, doesn't interact with his competitors.

They go one at a time.

How many of Daley's followers are die hard diving fans now?

8 months ago he was hooking up with girls now he's gay? I think he's bi-sexual.

Um, Greg Louganis was out as gay and also HIV positive when he was winning gold medals 29 years ago.

I don't believe Louganis was out while he was competing.

[quote]rojo wrote:

Maybe in your educated North American world but not in the sport's world and not in the rest of the world. Can someone name a more prominent gay athlete?

[quote]

I could name a few more prominent athletes who are probably gay, but haven't come out; one of the world's greatest soccer players and an NFL quarterback come to mind.

But I agree that coming out as gay (or trans) is still very important in today's sports world.

wondering why this is even in the news. yawn.

Not sure about athletics over here but not a big deal considering...

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2016/04/02/four-scottish-party-leaders-are-now-out-as-lgb-as-labours-kezia-dugdale-comes-out/