Heterosexual Athletic Trainers' Attitudes Toward Lesbian, Gay Men, and Bisexual Athletes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association

The profession of athletic training has set the foundation for equal treatment of athletes through the National Athletic Trainers' Association's Code of Ethics; however,additional research and policies are needed to provide support services and education to current and future athletic trainers (Maurer-Starks, 2008). The purpose of this study was to report heterosexual athletic trainers' attitudes toward lesbian, gay, and bisexual student-athletes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Attitudes Toward Gays and Lesbians Scale (Herek, 1988) was relied upon to develop scales to assess attitudes toward lesbian, gay men, and bisexual athletes. Statistical analyses revealed significance when relating attitude scores to gender, religion, and contact with lesbian, gaymen, or bisexual (LGB) family members. Statistical significance was also found when comparing attitude scores between certified athletic trainers who are in contact with LGB student athletes and those who are not.