we have to stay on schedule for you enforce c-span who is reporting this. thanks to our authors. [applause] before you go i would like to remind you that books are sold right to outside i cannot think of a better holiday book than one of dog pictures she will be signing them past the elevators she has to get there very quickly to sign your book. we appreciate all of you coming in below forward to seeing you at another session. [applause] ♪

[inaudible conversations] ♪ [inaudible conversations] >> booktv on c-span2 live coverage that was dana perino then will be with us later to do a:program as well now we're joined by the author whose book is called a fair play.s here is the cover, first of all, your the co-founder of what greg.

>> we started many years ago because to be gay sports fans we realize people don't want to talk about sports but they did not want to talk about gay issues but we did we knew there were people that were like us. group so we start to talk about these issues of homophobiaissue and athletes coming out and slow levy became the experts in the area because we were the only ones talking about it i mean that 2000 saw was the professional athletes started to come out, the mainstream media started to pay a little more attention because those professional athletes but those high-school athletes are small school college athletes mainstream media does not talk much about them.al but their stories are

integral to what we try to say. >> host: in your book what is the big five by. >> a lot of people say it is the big four the nfl that is king still the most powerful cultural destitution that we have nba.powerf and dolby and nhl and then also adding major league soccer.e. because the only openly gay athlete in any of those xx is currently believe publicly e.m. out athlete price to make their are some

that have teammates that have boyfriends the weave the public don't know or don't talk about it. so right now the only one is rodney rogers and there has only been one other in history and he never made a regular-season roster there only two openly gay men ever in only one right now. >> this is a tough question for our movement because of course, and it begins the personal journey and ends that. i want people to come out because it helps to change the conversation of america

america, to be held up as the bastion of masculinity to have a game and come outt has helped to change the conversation what it is to be masculine and a gay man but the bigger reasons that i advocate people coming out in sports is what it does for them personally.of every single athlete we have written about, a tiny fraction literally a couple of exceptions have the same exact story. scared to death to come outtheyr to their teammates. once they do it, they are shocked by the support they received from teammates and coaches those that were the most homophobic and their comments were some of the first to haunt them to say i love you the only regret that they have is they

didn't do is sooner.ret th it is a like this is the experience but 99 percent of the athletes that we havee written about and how school, college in tennessee and kentucky california, europe, australia , the reason that i advocate is because it and just so when would recede the gate jackie robinson? there are two. they never will. eyeball get the term gave jackie robinson they talk about the first men's sports star we have to win in and

to be the person that changes a conversation understand civil-rights when he first played major league baseball. they have trouble voting, ye they could announce its they could not drink from the water fountains and they are nowhere near that. this is beyond the sports world. you could not have they gave jackie robinson where the african americans were with their rights but it insteadd ofe of one seminal figure, all of the young athletes would come out.

>> former professional athletes. >> but just the trickle-down of the flood who are changing sports from the ground up. bewildered never have a single seminal gave jackie robinson even if it came out tomorrow that is not what he was in 1947. >> host: what is the significance of michael sametogr ? >> there are some majorr different ways to look at that story. michael was embraced by his teammates at the university of missouri. >> host: they knew first rex denied his entire senior c season with misery and

nobody picked up on that? some of the leaders to commander there waiting to talk about being an adult player and how to improve his game. it demonstrated where this supports our if your teammates are going to except you, the interesting part about michael story on the of the upside is to me there is no question him coming out hurt him in the draft note question heard him getting a job after he was cut from the rams then the cowboys. not a single team called toro inquire after he was cut by the cowboys after a weak six so that really tells you

that the nfl is rich white guys in suits in greece still have an issue with this is shows lack of felicia and particularly at the team level they're above jett and openly gay player in the nfl. reme are ready some are not so i have the mixed bag. >> what is he doing today quick spirit he is not playing football that is the most is a partying -- disappointing part gordon was a college basketball player, their identity is wrapped around the sport they make a name for themselves on national negative national television

that he really did kill one. i think. >> but my goal and then but one of first met michael he is a ladies' man, a man's man, he is the man. and we have a mutual acquaintance disaster to his british show he opened at the has the gay brother.

and being deeply christian this was in 2011. and he agreed to do a cover story for out magazine which is a game in magazine in the united states. story to do a cover story for which that was it was so calculated he wanted to jump-start a conversation and he did because the curt warner's of the world all noticed when he decided to be shirtless on the cover of a gay magazine i'll look at that as an important turning point in the movement.

>> host: one of your chapters is on religion? >> religion has a strong point in the united states but team prepares in the rule of the chapel and was at the high-school orh college level so few have the christian doctrine that is painful for the people so so in division because of

the stranglehold. [no audio] but the flip side and? >> it is the most important thing in their life. >> host: daddy still see that today with christian churches? >> i will tell you what the n.c.a.a. allows member institutions that have specific anti-elegy bt policies like brigham young university operated by the mormon church has a handbook of specific policy dealing with homosexuality even to gave people dating one another it is forbidden the n.c.a.a. claims to be the most inclusive organization i

but allow the member institutions just because they were religious to actively discriminating some of the institutions have done this is very damaging so that they should not be allowed into the n.c.a.a.?caa sa . .