LSU Women's Basketball Coach Resigns Amid Scandal

I wonder if it would be a scandal if it had been a male coach, but I digress. I am a PE Teacher, and most of my students are in their teens, and most of those teens are female. I do have heaps of small kids too as students, but a seven year old does not connect the way a seventeen year old does, to any sort of sexuality, regardless of what Freud says, or said.

Like many lesbian teachers, especially those who must,by the nature of their work, touch their students, and as a coach with huge influence on my protege, I sometimes get headaches when I think about what would probably happen if the parents of my students figured out why I have no boyfriends. I hate it...

Torn between the reality of knowing that by not coming out, I am harming the whole concept, as most of the parents really like me, and who knows, perhaps they like me enough that they would not burn me at the stake. But then, there is the reality, and how precarious it is to be a lesbian in sport... I admire Martina Navratilova, and Ellen DeGeneres a great deal, they risked it all, and lost it all, and regained most of it, by coming out.

I have been beaten up for being gay, and I have lived on the streets when I was young, when I lost a job because I did not sleep with a manager, and I did not know any better, so I told him I did not sleep with men, and I used to be an activist, but then years piled on, and now I am left twiddling my thumbs, and wondering how the hell I managed to allow myself to be backed into the closet, or the semi-closet, when I was never closeted before, not when I was younger, or even in my teens, though I was careful about mentioning my sexuality before I hit the age of majority, that is simply smart, until one has control over ones own decision making, one should be a little careful.

Anyway, good article, sorry to waffle on, just mental musings...

The issue of closeted lesbians in the sports world is a very sensitive situation that saddens many. I do recall watching many LSU games, and a friend of mine played on the team too, but its terribly horrible things ended that way it did for Coach Chatman. Makes it harder now for those thinking about coming out in the sports arena.

 Hope the team can get on without her but we gotta think about Chatman to. Pressured to retire!!...bloody administrators!! Yes historically shit like this has always happened but it always blows when it does. Sorry Chatman. Maybe later when we get your story and if you are indeed gay, hope ur career is not stunted and you can do you ma.

Did Bette not do pretty much the same thing?  Everyone seemed to think it was awesome when she did it, so why such shame when it happens in real life?

I agree that teachers shouldn't mess around with students, but it's NOT something to be ashamed of.  Sex happens, especially among college students!

As in the Bette situation, these are ADULTS.  The problem is one being the superior in job functions.  Won't work in the military, shouldn't work in the office.  But I smell a rat.  She was at a very prominent spot with the teams' ratings and the scandal promoted a MALE into that position.  A male coach in the same position would have been treated differently if it is true.

Brings to mind Newt Gingrich.  Supposedly while pushing for Clinton's impeachment, he was having an adultrious affair.  He said the difference was that Clinton committed a felony because he denied it!!  As with this, it depends on the position of the one to be deflowered.

This is certainly crappy considering the timing of it all. I just wish people would stop making such a big deal about sexuality in athletics. I mean isn't athletics supposed to be about one's performance in a physical sport or activity before anything else? And when are people going to start talking about these issues? I think anyone with common sense knows that nothing will get resolved until the dialogue opens up.

I just remember when i was in high school, b4 that, i had always wanted to play ball for my school since like 1st grade..but when the coa hes strted finding out I liked girls, my playing time got less and less, eventually I never came back for my last two seasons..

I regret it for 2 reasons- 1st, one of friends got murdered that next summer, and I never got to play with her again, and 2nd, basketball had been my dream, and I let someone take that away from me...I will never get that time back, and I hate myself for it, I wish i had the guts to sand up for myself instead of giving up so I wouldn't casue problems. But I'm older now, and I've learned to be me or be depressed.

~I got that remedy~

Pokey's situation certainly has made it more difficult for lesbian coaches to peek out of the closet.  We don't know the full story yet and she is probably waiting for the tournament to be over so that MAYBE her former players can dodge the media firestorm.  But it will be interesting to find out the circumstances.  Regardless of the ages of the players, coaches should not abuse that position of power in this manner.  Legally she did nothing wrong, but ethically she did.  ESPN keeps mentioning a "former player" and we don't know if the player was still in school or had graduated when the relationship was going on.  (She was probably still on the team to prompt this quick resignation though.)  Now we have idiots posting comments about how this situation is exactly why they are discouraging or even preventing their daughters from playing sports--so that they don't "turn into lesbians."  

Check it out on espn.com

 http://sports.espn.go.com/ncw/news/story?id=2795145

...Coach Chatman is protecting the identity of the student involved, and do we know for sure if the relationship occurred while the student was on the team or after her departure?   Perhaps Coach Chatman is respecting the other woman's desire to not be outed for professional or personal reasons.....

Excellent article by the way!   The strongest one I've read on this issue, and why IS there so much paranoia when atheletes, male or female, are gay.  It's similar to the old "two gays in the foxhole" paranoia of the military.  When you're gettin' shot at, who's thinking about sex?  I doubt very seriously that an athelete's sexual orientation affects their peformance on the court, or field.  They're there to WIN!

In tennis and other individual sports it's not uncommon for an athlete to have a relationship with their coach. I'm from Belgium and of the top of my hat I can name two athletes who were in a realtionship with their coeach and everybody knew. Sabine Appelmans (tennis) married her coach and Tia Hellebaut (European indoor and outdoor champion in the high jump) has a realtionship with her coach.

Maybe it's different in teamsports because players have to earn there spot on the team. And the coach can be accused of favouritism. Maybe it's different because it's at university and you have the whol she's a student issue

Ik think it's normal that some people who work closely together towards a goal develop a special bond. a special bond that can be translated in a relationship if both parties are willing...

I respectfully disagree with LesKidd, who believes Chatman's treatment would have been the same had she been a male coach having an affair with a female player. For a long, long time, our society has been structured by the myth of the homosexual deviant preying on youth; for a lesbian example, see the recent movie Notes on a Scandal. The history of women's sports cannot be understood without acknowledging that sexism and homophobia have had an undeniable impact -- for instance, in discouraging women from coaching position (as well as athletic participation). There's a (not so subtle) spectre of the predatory lesbian even now; otherwise, why would women's athletic teams and leagues (LPGA and WNBA) mandate that their players dress in a hyper-heterosexualized way and on and on? Why would they promote players who are married/with children/conventionally attractive and try to make the other players quiet/less visible? Because we still -- even with a few more lesbians out of the closet and embraced by the public (think Ellen and Sheryl Swoopes) -- construct lesbianism as deviant. So, yes, I think that Chatman's lesbianism matters and a lot; otherwise, women's sports advocates, across the board, have a reason to be scared.  

Did she sleep with a current player? If she did, she knew exactly what she was getting into. I'm positive evryone was forewarned about a "no fraternizing" policy.

If Pokey decided to "poke" the point guard with that knowledge, its her fault.

Of course, this is all speculation isn't it. I mean, no one has actually got their hands on any facts yet, right? But I do know that, in Australia, there have been at least two high profile cases of male swimming coaches being sacked from the national squad after allegations were made that they had behaved inappropriately with underage girls on their team. I think that helps support the case that this really isn't about sexual orientation; in those cases, it was about allegations of criminality (and sadly now I can't recall if either case was ever proven in court). But as anyone who plays team sports will tell you, regardless of the age of the parties (ie even if everyone is a consenting adult), the minute the coach has a favourite or takes the relationship to another level, it's the death of the team. Even if it's consenting or completely platonic, it's completely unprofessional.

And by the way, can I just ask once again, what is it with these strangely closeted women's basketball teams? Is there any other sport so closeted and yet so very queer? Then again, maybe they aren't the ones shutting the closet door. I remember the Australian women's team winning a medal a couple of Olympics back and the TV commentators telling us, as half of them ran into the stands and planted fat kisses on the lips of various girls, that they were excited to celebrate the win with their "fans"...

Not Only But Also

She was stupid if she did indeed do this, as it is universally frowned upon, but the fact remains, that usually only the suggestion of impropriety, and of being a lesbian, are enough to ruin a coaching career... this is one of the things the article is trying to address...

Sometimes, it only takes being though of as being a lesbian, be you a player, or a coach, and that is the end of that, maybe not immediately, but sooner or later.

If the coach did indeed do whatever, she had to know that it could lead to road that was paved with problems all the way to hell, but you see, it only takes the suggestion. There is a double standard that is astronomical, even if she is exonerated, the best she can hope for is a monetary settlement, for loss of wages, the chances of her getting her job, or any job in her field back, are poor.

I think the issue should be settled if she was sleeping with the player while the person was playing for her. She should have been the "adult" in the situation and played it off until later.  that is where she was out of line. And, although the lesbian undertone would still be there, as the coach she should have never slept with a player on her own team while the player was playing for her. Sleep with other team's players or wait until your players are no longer on your squad. There's something that's just not cool with the coach sleeping with the players...now players among players? Totally for it. LOL. In all seriousness though, this is going to come down to a bunch of BS. She was a great coach. And as a HUGE Tennessee fan, I hate to say that. But the SEC will miss her and the competitive edge that she brought to the conferance. LSU can go suck a toe now. But in the end, this will wind up being another issue of blatant homophobia ultimately resulting in the termination in a more-than-qualified person to fill the role.

Here are a few places to go, to find out more about organizations working hard to end homophobia in sports. The websites listed have resources, as well as names of others that are a lot of people in the closet, but there are a lot of out GLBTQ athletes. There are thousands of coaches, athletes and administrators out in sports!

 www.glaf.org (Gays and Lesbians in Athletics Foundation) Out coaches, athletes, administrators, sports media, including gay athletes from Harvard, Mt. Holyoke, and other Division I Schools, both gay and lesbian athletes.

www.ittakesateam.org (Run by Women's Sports Foundation, Dr. Pat Griffin. Has tons of resources, whether you are a coach, athlete, administrator.

www.nclrights.org (National Center for Lesbian Rights, has a Homophobia in Sports Project, run by Helen Carrol.)

I can't help but read this and other articles and think--there must be more to this. My initial thought was, as in the case when most of these stories come to light, that Coach Chatman (and the university) was about to be sued for sexual harassment by a former player. But now, the Assistant Coach's role in exposing the whole situation kinda throws that notion out the window.

I dunno...there has to be something else...and I hope that Coach Chatman comes forward and acknowledges her mistake before it spirals completely out of control.

I'm sad for the LSU team, who has a lot on their shoulders as they start their run in the NCAA tournament...but I also feel bad for women's basketball as a whole, which has a cloud hanging over it, as it goes into the high point of the season.

(p.s. go pack!)

 As a Baton Rougean, I can tell you that Pokey is a beloved coach.  She has contributed to the community in so many ways:  Habitat for Humanity, Katrina Relief fund, golf fundraisers, Volunteers for America, you name it.  She has guided the Lady Tigers to national prominence and given this place some much-needed positive energy.  Her interviews have always been honest and forthright, pointing out the deficits in her team's plays, highlighting the more quiet players, and always worth listening to. 

 Whatever happened, she would not just abandon her team before national play-offs.  Protecting her team, protecting any other person in this mess...these are reasons she would leave. 

 As for whether or not this player is a current player, consensus in the rumors is that she is a former player.  Why did Carla Berry (if, indeed, it was Carla) make these allegations NOW?  Who the hell knows?  FYI, Skip Bertman is known as a jerk.

 We hear alot, but we are waiting for the truth.  Personally, I will always think highly of her.

Coaches and players having relationships is nothing new, but this story has more legs than most because of the gay angle.

A better story is that of Rene Portland, PSU basketball coach who 'resigned' last week after 27 years of coaching. Portland has a long and well known history of specific discrimination against lesbians, which sadly took a lawsuit to become an issue for the university.