David J. Phillip / AP file

The fascination of lesbians in women's sports was fueled in recent weeks when Sheryl Swoopes came out of the closet, writes the AP's Tim Dahlberg.

There’s a big difference, though, between the sexes when it comes to same sex attraction.

Any male athlete who came out — and so far no current player in a major sport ever has — would likely be ostracized by teammates and mocked by fans.

NBA commissioner David Stern recently said a gay player would be a non-issue because his teammates would simply judge him on his production. That was the PC thing to say, but the real answer came later from Celtics coach Doc Rivers.

“They would kill him,” Rivers told the Boston Herald.

On the other hand there are already women like Swoopes and golfer Rosie Jones who not only feel liberated by declaring their sexual preference, but are profiting from it. Both have endorsement deals with a cruise line that caters to lesbians.

“It says volumes that Swoopes came out and she came out with a sponsor,” Crosset said. “Why not use your body to sell products?”

It’s hard to imagine any mainstream companies jumping on that bandwagon. Being a gay athlete carries a big stigma, as tennis player Martina Navratilova found out when her endorsement deals vanished after acknowledging she was gay in the 1980s.

One look into the stands at a WNBA game speaks volumes about the dilemma faced in marketing female athletes. While there are families with children and men who simply like basketball, there’s also a big contingent of lesbian fans who keep the league alive.

Three years ago, a group calling themselves Lesbians for Liberty staged a kiss-in during timeouts of a New York Liberty game to get the team to acknowledge their presence. The Los Angeles Sparks, meanwhile, marketed the team at gay bars in Southern California.

And, while the first major championship of the PGA season is played in Augusta, the LPGA equivalent is the Nabisco Championship in Palm Springs. Not coincidentally, the tournament week is also known as “Lesbian Spring Break” and gay couples party in the clubhouse when the day’s play ends.

If it weren’t for those fans, women’s sports would have had a lot tougher time getting the small foothold it has.

“There used to be such a stigma about lesbians in sports that you really have to give credit to the lesbian community for keeping women’s sports, particularly collegiate sports, alive in this country,” said Crosset, who wrote a book on the LPGA Tour.

The stigma, though, is still there. A former Penn State player recently claimed that she was tossed from the team because the coach mistakenly thought she was a lesbian. She, like many female athletes, must defend their sexuality on a continuing basis.

That’s reality, no matter how many ways you spin it.

More news

MIKE SEGAR / Reuters

Pekingese favored to be top dog

Robins: It’s the Year of the Dragon on the Lunar calendar, and this Chinese influence could extend to it also being the year of the Pekingese on the green carpet at the 136th Westminster Dog Show on Tuesday.

NY cable dispute blacks out Knicks, 4 NHL teams

NEW YORK (AP) - As the glow fades from the Giants' Super Bowl triumph, some New York sports fans are tuning in to basketball and hockey, with the Rangers in first place and the Knicks' overnight sensation, Jeremy Lin, sparking "Lin-sanity.''

Mary Altaffer / AP

Six new breeds will join show at Westminster

Robins: This year, six new breeds will be making their debut on the green carpet for the Westminster Dog Show, which begins Monday.

Headlines

• Label

Dogs set to take a bow, try to wow at Westminster

Wagging tails replace sad eyes in Westminster ads

  Slideshow: Top images from 2011 Dog Show

Ali among hundreds attending Dundee funeral

Judge tosses suit by boxer Gatti's daughter

PHT: Accused Ukranian hockey coach found dead in cell

UFC's Nick Diaz fails drug test, faces suspension

Jurors in lacrosse trial view police interview