Maybe it troubles you that WNBA standout and three-time Olympic gold medalist Sheryl Swoopes has announced she is gay.

Maybe it makes you feel angry or uncomfortable to see the topic broached on the sports page. Maybe it isn’t a bad thing to have those feelings confronted.

Homosexuality has long been sports’ final frontier, one that the Houston Comets standout now is willing to publicly cross with her admission to ESPN the Magazine.

The subject has been a hot-button issue in religious and political forums for decades. We live in a world with gay priests and Congressmen. Hollywood has had no difficulty dealing with sexual orientation. Movies and television shows, Queer as Folk, Will and Grace, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, have gone mainstream.

But the athletic world – progressive in so many other social fields such as race and international relations – has cloistered itself on the subject, especially as it pertains to team sports.

Swoopes is easily the most recognizable pro athlete in team sports to out herself. Who can forget New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza calling a press conference to say he wasn’t gay?

Don’t expect Swoopes’ statement to lead to a slew of other gay athletes following suit.

There is a very real stigma attached to being gay in sports, particularly in men’s athletics. Locker rooms are bastions of testosterone and heterosexual male bonding. Athletes are willing to welcome back convicted felons, substance abusers and performance-enhancing cheats into the fold.

But openly gay male athletes? We don’t know, because no one of professional significance has stepped forward.

Former NFL defensive lineman Esera Tuaolo and major-leaguers Billy Bean and the late Glenn Burke made the admissions after their playing careers ended. In the college ranks, Dartmouth field hockey goalie Andrew Goldstein, who graduated in June, admitted he was gay and found acceptance and peace among his teammates.

Goldstein’s story is a rare one. Look at the firestorm Terrell Owens created a year ago with his implications concerning former Browns quarterback Jeff Garcia. At the time, Garcia’s girlfriend, Carmella DeCesare, maintained he was straight, but what difference should it make?

Swoopes, a divorcee with an 8-year-old son, said she was miserable and “tired of pretending to be somebody I’m not.” Perhaps the most emotional part of Swoopes’ saga is the day she told her mother she was a lesbian five years ago.

“What did I do wrong?” was her mother’s reaction, Swoopes said.

Swoopes’ openness and candor perhaps allow other parents to see they did nothing wrong – unless, of course, raising a three-time league Most Valuable Player, an NCAA champion and a basketball goodwill ambassador is a sin.

It’s interesting to note that Swoopes’ declaration coincides with her being named a spokesperson for Olivia, a lesbian cruise and travel service.

The ball is now in the court of the WNBA and LPGA. How do they react? Do they finally acknowledge the presence of lesbian athletes and market to their gay fan bases?

Homosexuality in sports is a sensitive subject. Lamenting Cleveland’s sports woes a day after the Chicago White Sox ended their 88-year championship drought would have been a more light-hearted topic.

But a little friction, if it sparks debate, if it ignites the exchange of ideas and understanding, is worth it on the road to the final sports frontier.