Tennis great Martina Navratilova has a noninvasive form of breast cancer and will undergo radiation treatments. She called the diagnosis her “personal 9/11.” Reports the New York Times: The early form of cancer for which Navratilova is being treated is known as D.C.I.S., or ductal carcinoma in situ. It is not a tumor and is [...]
Posts under ‘Gay’
College runner’s coming out journey
We have a terrific first-person account about the coming out journey of a collegiate cross country runner. While he allows us to use the name of his school, he is using a pseudonym for now since he wants to come out to his teammates in person (we know his identity). I find most interesting his [...]
Poll: 62% OK with gay Super Bowl QB
Vanity Fair and “60 Minutes” have teamed up for a poll of Americans on a variety of issues from assisted suicide to sex addiction to the Tea Party Movement. One question that is getting attention is that 50% of those responding would be OK with a gay president (44% would be opposed). With a 3% [...]
NHL players say they have gay teammates
Outsports reader Kevin tipped us off to this interesting nugget in a poll of 50 NHL players for ESPN the Magazine. Via the Puck Daddy website: “Do you think you have any gay teammates?” Forty-two percent said yes, they believe there’s a gay player in their locker room. Share on Facebook
Being gay and playing basketball
I always find it interesting when non-gay sites write about the subject of gays in sports. It’s often a splash of cold water to the face when I allow myself to think that most everyone might be starting to be accepting. I’m especially intrigued by the comments, since their anonymity allows people to express their [...]
Out lesbian has her team in the NCAA’s
There is a nice feature in the Seattle Times about Portland State women’s basketball coach Sherri Murrell, who has taken her team to its first appearance in the NCAA tournament. They are seeded 15th and are a tourney longshot (update: Portland State lost, 84-53 to Texas A&M). She had been the coach at Washington State [...]
Positive reaction to gay lacrosse player
Andrew McIntosh, captain of the Oneonta University lacrosse team in New York state, wrote about his coming out process in a moving piece for Outsports. His story touched a lot people and McIntosh has been deluged with e-mail from athletes, coaches and fans. His local paper, the Oneata Daily Star, has published a story and [...]
Gay powerlifter wins big at British event
Chris Morgan, who has won gold medals at the Gay Games in Powerlifting, has won the “Best Lifter” award at the British Deadlift Championships. Outsports has featured articles in the past about Morgan, known as Chunky. He was lifting in the British drug-free single-lift championships, held in Horncastle, England, and made lifts of 462 pounds [...]
A blog from a closeted pro basketball player
Baller is the pseudonym of a professional basketball player in an overseas league, who joins the ranks of closeted jocks blogging about their lives with his worthwhile and interesting Playing Basketball From the Closet. We have written about four other such blogs, but Baller’s has a bit of a back story. Baller contacted Outsports in [...]
Queers for Gears asks a NASCAR question
Via ESPN, a fun little moment at a recent press conference when Carl Edwards is asked a question by Michael Myers, who runs the Queer for Gears website (video below). Myers question (his first ever at a press conference) is innocuous, but Edwards smiles when he hears the name of the website. What attracted ESPN [...]
Hudson Taylor wins ACC wrestling title
University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor, profiled on Outsports for his strong support of gay rights, won the 197-pound class at the ACC wrestling championships on Saturday and was named outstanding wrestler. Taylor, ranked third nationally in his weight class, won the title by pinning Dennis Drury of North Carolina at the 4:10 mark. Taylor [...]
Golden State Warriors first gay night March 11
The San Francisco Gay Basketball Association, and one of their member teams, the Rock Dogs, are hosting the first-ever gay night at a Golden State Warriors game on March 11 when the Warriors host the Portland Trailblazers. Tickets are $25 and include the chance to play basketball at Oracle Arena. In addition to the gays [...]
College wrestler a champion of gay rights
University of Maryland wrestler Hudson Taylor is one of the most unique athletes I have spoken with. He is 36-2 on the mat, obsessed with magic tricks and a dedicated activist. Though straight, Taylor is a huge champion of gay rights and even wore a Human Rights Campaign sticker during competition. “For me and my [...]
Madison gay hockey classic this spring
The, Madison Gay Hockey Association, the 2009 Outsports Top Gay Sports Group, is pleased to announce their innaugural MGHA Classic Hockey Tournament April 30th through May 2nd, 2010 at the Capital Ice Arena. This coed tournament will have two division levels of play! All players from across the country, Canada and the World are invited [...]
Brendan Burke dies, son of Maple Leafs’ G.M.
What a tragic story — Brendan Burke, 21, was killed in a crash on a snow-covered road in Indiana on Friday. Burke came into national prominence from an ESPN.com piece about him in November. The story detailed the love and acceptance Burke got from his dad, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, after coming [...]
Saints’ Scott Fujita is pro-gay rights
In my Super Bowl for the Clueless column, I wrote about New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita, an outspoken advocate of gay rights, including marriage. Fujita, a Cal Berkeley grad, is very passionate about social issues and at Super Bowl media day, he did not back down from his views, addressing gay rights and also [...]
GLAAD eliminates their sports desk
It was coincidental irony that within 24 hours of posting our interview with Neil Giuliano talking about the success of GLAAD’s sports initiatives under his direction that GLAAD closed its sports desk and laid off their sports director, Ted Rybka. When reached for comment, GLAAD spokesperson Rich Ferraro would not offer any insights on the [...]
Who cares if Tim Tebow is pro-life?
The above is the headline on a debate at The League, the NFL blog of the Washington Post. I was asked to weigh in and wrote my piece with the angle that fans have every right to root for against a player based on their views. I also detailed the conflict I had with being [...]
Gay sports storyline Thursday on Fox’s ‘Bones’
Many months ago my friend Josh Berman, consulting producer on Fox’s hit show Bones, started asking me questions about gay football players for a storyline he was working on. That story hits the airwaves Thursday (Jan. 28) in the Bones episode, “The Dentist in the Ditch.” The story centers on the investigation of the murder [...]
Ian McKellen: Gay jocks ‘shrinking violets’
British actor Sir Ian McKellen criticized homophobia in sports, saying that negative fan reaction keeps gay athletes in the closet. The “sports world should be ashamed of itself,” he told BBC Radio Five (listen here). The veteran actor, who is open about his homosexuality, said sports stars were “absolutely admirable people”, but were afraid of [...]