Here is an “It Gets Better” video with a twist: Straight players telling why they enjoy playing in a gay-oriented league. The players are with the DC Gay Flag Football League. Their stories dovetail with my experience here in LA with our flag football league. This season, about a third of the players are straight [...]
Posts under ‘Athletes Being Cool’
Video: Rugby’s Ben Cohen talks about his foundation to stop homophobia in sports
We have written a lot about rugby player Ben Cohen, who has now retired and started his StandUp foundation. His goal is to fight homophobia, specifically in sports. Cohen sat down last week with Thomas Roberts on MSNBC to discuss his recent tour of the U.S. and what he hopes to accomplish. Roberts, himself openly [...]
Steve Nash: Having an openly gay NBA player would be no big deal
In the distractions of the holiday weekend, I totally missed this Q&A in the weekend New York Times, where Phoenix Suns star Steve Nash discussed, among other things, gays in the sport. Here is one answer that caught my eye: Q. Is the N.B.A. ready for an openly gay player? Share on Facebook
British swimmers get naked for cancer awareness
Swimmers James Goddard, Ross Davenport and Grant Turner were among 28 British celebrities to pose naked for Cosmo UK in a June centerfold spread designed to raise awareness of male cancers like prostate and testicular cancer through the Everyman campaign. Said Davenport: “I feel so comfortable in my swimming trunks but, without that thin layer [...]
Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns is latest pro athlete to support gay marriage
Two-time NBA League MVP Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns is the latest professional athlete to lend his support to marriage equality (video after the jump). Hi, I’m Steve Nash. I spend my summers in New York, and I love playing at the Garden. A growing number of professional athletes are speaking out in support [...]
Baltimore Raven Donte Stallworth tweets support for gay marriage
Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Donte Stallworth has joined his teammate Brendon Ayanbadejo in openly supporting gay equality. In addition to giving a positive shout out to CNN’s Don Lemon, who came out this week, Stallworth took to Twitter to share his welcoming perspective: Share on Facebook
Will Sheridan: Level of response to his coming out story has been ‘unreal’
I had a chance to talk today with Will Sheridan, the former Villanova basketball player who came out publicly this week in an ESPN.com article. We spoke for more than an hour and he was engaging, articulate, funny and passionate. I have written a Q&A where he touches on a variety of topics relating to [...]
Charles Barkley: ‘I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play’
Charles Barkley gives an awesome interview to Mike Wise of the Washington Post, reacting to the news that Phoenix Suns President Rick Welts is gay. Barkley said he has played with gay players while he was in the NBA and their presence had zero negative impact. All he cared about was whether a guy could [...]
Video: Grant Hill, Jared Dudley PSA for GLSEN
GLSEN and the NBA have released their Think B4 You Speak PSA featuring Phoenix Suns Grant Hill and Jared Dudley. It’s fun, hip, light and seems to strike the perfect tone for reaching teenagers. Plus, instead of couching the issue inside the broader issue of bullying or name-calling, it speaks directly about homophobia. Very cool [...]
Rugby player Ben Cohen in U.S. to drum up support for gays in sports
We’ve written about the very gay-friendly rugby player Ben Cohen for years, and now that his career is over, it’s great to see him devote his energies into making sports a safe haven for gays and lesbians. He is now touring the U.S., visiting four cities that have gay-oriented rugby teams. Our friend John Branch [...]
Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Harris does portrait for the NoH8 campaign
Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Harris has become the second NFL player to do a photo shoot for the NoH8 campaign (the other was New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie). I wrote Harris via Twitter to see what motivated him to do the shoot, but have not heard back yet. Here is the photo taken by [...]
Openly gay athlete voted high school prom king
Here’s a story to warm the heart: Craig Cassey, an openly gay high school track athlete in Pennsylvania, was crowned his high school’s prom king this weekend. He then had his own special prom moment with his boyfriend. I have written several times about Craig and his awesome blog, Craig’s Gay Word and he continues [...]
Video: Grant Hill, Jared Dudley speak out against homophobia, address the issue directly
GLSEN has released footage of their ‘Think B4 You Speak’ shoot with Phoenix Suns Grant Hill and Jared Dudley (video after the jump). And what a statement. While the Lakers PSA on the issue buried sexual orientation, these two NBA players talk directly about homophobia and how it affects gay people. Hill says in the [...]
An openly gay high school athlete reflects on the national Day of Silence
Friday was the national Day of Silence, where students across the country took a vow of silence to bring attention to bullying and other harassment of LGBT youth. Craig Cassey, whose blog, Craig’s Gay Word, we have featured before, has an excellent post up about what the day meant for him, now that he is [...]
Four athletes make Advocate’s Forty Under 40
The Advocate released their annual Forty Under 40 this week. The list highlights the work of LGBT people under 40 who are making a difference. It was cool to see several people on the list that had gotten their initial introduction to the U.S. here at Outsports: Wrestler Akil Patterson (right), speed skater Blake Skjellerup [...]
Fans, players deck out in pink to show support for openly gay Brazilian volleyball player
Last week we told you about the awful incident where 3,000 fans at a Brazilian pro volleyball playoff match taunted a gay player, Michael, with “faggot,” which caused him to come out publicly after the match. On Saturday, Michael’s team, Volei Futuro, played host to Sada Cruzeiro in Game 2 of their best-of-three series and [...]
Video: Toronto Raptors Leandro Barbosa and Reggie Evans holding hands spurs homophobia
After the Raptors’ big win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday, 102-98, cameras caught Leandro Barbosa grab the hand of Reggie Evans and walk into the locker room (video after the jump). While Barbosa remained stone-face, Evans was good-natured and gave a big smile. The duo had a strong night with 18 points on 9-for-15 [...]
St. Louis Rams Danny Amendola does shirtless cover shoot, likes to dress like a lesbian
Last season I picked wide receiver Danny Amendola as my hot player of Week 1 in the NFL after he became a starter. He’s been certainly noticed by a lot more people and did a cover shoot for “Alive,” a lifestyle magazine in St. Louis. In a making-of video for the shoot, Amendola gets shirtless [...]
Gay soccer player Anton Hysen talks about dealing with his first hate mail
The story of openly gay Swedish soccer player Anton Hysen continues to get a lot of play in England since he is the only out pro player in his sport. In a terrific BBC radio piece by Tim Franks, we hear Hysen, 20, describe his reaction to his first piece of hate mail. I [...]
Straight high school wrestler shows support for gay rights with HRC sticker on headgear
Jonathan Correia is a 17-year-old sophomore high school wrestler from East Providence, R.I. In a sign of support for gay rights, he wore a sticker for the Human Rights Campaign on his headgear during matches and practices this season. Jonathan was inspired by the same gesture made by then-University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor last [...]