The existence of homophobia in professional sports doesn't exactly come as a newsflash. There's a reason why only a handful of professional athletes have come out of the closet, virtually all of them after their careers ended. (Sheryl Swoopes being one of the notable exceptions.)

It's unusual for a coach or athlete to be called out on the carpet for their homophobia. It's even more rare when it's a straight man who does the calling out. But that is exactly what happened last week when Chicago Sun-Times columnist Greg Couch reported that Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had called another sports columnist a “f***ing fag”. Couch then went one very important step further: he called on Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig to suspend Guillen for his comments.

AfterElton.com recently talked with Couch about why he spoke out, what the fallout has been like, and how baseball has handled the situation.

AfterElton.com: Thanks for talking with us Greg. What has the reaction been like from your readers?
Greg Couch: It's been interesting. At first, it was all over the map. “It was I agree with you, but I hate Mariotti [the columnist Guillen called a fag] anyway and he deserved it”. Some people said it was no big deal and others suggested I must be gay myself. Then there were people saying, “I'm gay and I appreciate what you said. Mainstream media never stands up for us”.

AE: Has that reaction changed?
GC: Yes. Now it's become a Mariotti issue instead of what Guillen said. So many people dislike Mariotti, and that has become the focus of the conversation. The real issue is being lost amid the hoopla. Now we're not having the discussion we should or the one I intended. We're not talking about a manager in a public position representing a team who is out there saying someone is not a man and to prove it he calls them a fag. It's ridiculous.

AE: Are you surprised by that?
GC: I feared the issue would be clouded, but it's completely taken a back seat. Many people, including journalists, don't care about the plight of gay people. When Guillen called Marriotti a fag, he was speaking the language of clubhouse. Players respect him for standing up for what he says, not taking any crap, going mano-a-mano. If he's gone overboard and insulted gay people, well, too bad. Many fans respect that, too.

AE: So how do you think Guillen thinks of gays?
GC: He doesn't hate them. I think he just thinks of gays as not being men. So that's how he insults Mariotti. People have emailed me and said, “Come on, fag doesn't mean gays, it means not brave or courageous.” I mean, it's unbelievable.

AE: What's your reaction to this clouding of the issue?
GC: I'm disgusted by what the media has done. The Tribune's Rick Morrissey did say a little bit about Guillen's words, but 98% of his column was about how Marriotti isn't a journalist. Journalists don't care to discuss the issue.

AE: How have other journalists reacted to what you said?
GC: I went back to press box first time on Saturday. One guy said great column and shook my hand. But the predominant the reaction has been, “Wow! You took Ozzie on!” A lot of the writers don't want to write about it because it's viewed as Ozzie being Ozzie. Like that somehow makes it okay.

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