I've never had to handle that situation. The silence of the gay athlete. Haylor, Kuhn, Agnew, Martinelli have been involved in competitive sports for most of their lives. They had direct contact with hundreds, perhaps thousands of athletes during those years. Sports has always had a prejudice against gays.
Some people involved in sports are very closed minded.
I can't believe all those other coaches said they've never had to deal with a gay athlete. I've had a number of gay athletes who have told me they are gay. But the truth is, there would be problems with a gay athlete on a team. That's not the athlete's fault. It's a powerful indication of how homophobic sports and society in general truly are.