Rose quickly took to Twitter to give the middle finger to everyone who might have not liked his racial and homophobic comments:

Notice the all-caps YOU – making it crystal clear he’s not apologizing to anyone else. He gave a half-hearted “apology” on air after he got caught in a whirlwind of reaction, but he laughed it off.

Of course, ESPN has deleted that portion of the interview so we cannot hear it (listen for the edit three seconds in).

While the comment may seem innocuous, Rose made it clear he doesn’t want two men touching one another with their bodies. Where do you think that comes from? He’s perfectly fine with men being naked, showering together. But once they touch? All bets are off. As we saw with ESPN’s Rob Parker earlier this week, his comments reflect the root of homophobia.

Rose knows a thing or two about losing championship games. He lost in the NCAA championship game two years in a row with Michigan; And he lost in the NBA Finals with the Indiana Pacers in 2000. He was also suspended by ESPN last year for a DUI arrest.

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When he missed on the Hall of Fame vote again this year, failing to top 50 percent for the third time, Galindo felt some of that rejection all over again. He rarely turned serious during his 15-minute chat with reporters, but he spoke quietly and carefully when asked whether he suspected bias.

“It always comes to the forefront when I don’t get nominated or selected to do something. ‘Is that why?’ ” Galindo said. “That was my whole life growing up in amateur skating. (Not being) the All-American boy. But times have changed. … Still, it’s always in the back of my mind, so I can’t say no.”

Ann Killion at Sports Illustrated adds:

Off the ice, Galindo was a breakthrough figure for skating. He is Mexican-American, raised in a trailer park in San Jose and struggled financially over the years to keep skating. Shortly before his ’96 performance, he came out as a gay man – a revolution in a sport where homophobia remains closeted still. In 2000 he announced he was HIV-positive.

Galindo deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Skating officials were so certain that he would be elected, they planned how to handle and market the event. But he failed to get the required 51 percent of the votes.

Throughout his competitive career, Galindo struggled to be accepted by the figure skating powers. So there’s good reason to speculate that the old guard still doesn’t want to acknowledge his accomplishments.

While figure skating is a stereotypical “gay” sport, the homophobia there is well-documented. Resentment about the stereotype rains down from the mostly straight people running the sport. Four-time U.S. champion Scott Hamilton has not held back at times when talking about gay people. From our friends at Rainbow Ice:

It is clear from [his] book that Hamilton has attempted to do some soul-searching on the issue. “‘Homophobic’ was an accurate description of my feelings toward gay men,” he wrote (p. 192). “I used to joke about the lifestyle, partly because I had spent the previous 16 years fending off the cruel humor directed at me. ‘Fairy,’ ‘sissy,’ ‘faggot,’ I had heard them all.” Hamilton’s story is a clear example of how homophobia affects U.S. male skaters regardless of their personal orientation.

From Hamilton’s general tone, it is difficult to imagine that he will ever be fully pro-gay, but he makes an effort. His final words on the subject (p. 194) deal with the fact that in skating, all things boil down to the essentially personal and honest nature of the sport: “If your sexuality is an important part of your makeup and you want to show it on the ice, then go for it. Do what makes you happy. Some people will like it, and some won’t.”

Even as recently as 2010, homophobia showed its ugly face by keeping Johnny Weir from an Olympic medal.

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As I have gotten older, I have only developed more admiration for Dr. King.  He made a great personal sacrifice to champion the cause of many people who didn’t have the benefit of equal rights and protection.

Let’s be clear. Dungy fights against the “equal rights and protection” of many people, yet says he admires King for fighting for the “equal rights and protection” of many people. What’s the disconnect?

For Dungy, and sadly for many, King simply stood for racial equality. He didn’t intend to bring about justice for gay people. When King talks about “all God’s children,” apparently Dungy thinks that gay people aren’t God’s children. Dungy talks about the scope of King’s reach…

And it hit me very hard because I felt he had done so much–and not just for African Americans, but for our country as well.

Interesting that he would single out African-Americans but wouldn’t mention other races or sexual orientations. Why? Again, to so many King simply stood for the freedom of one racial group, not all people. As Dungy talks about equality for the whole country, does he not believe gay people are part of this great country?

As his column goes on, he further reveals my conclusion:

Today, my wife Lauren and I have to remind our children of what it was like when Dr. King was alive and how he and others had to fight for things we now take for granted.  Things like going to school in the neighborhood where they live, eating at any restaraunt [sic] they like, shopping at any store they happen to go into–these are things that never even cross their mind.  So it comes as a shock to them when we tell them there was a time when that wasn’t the case and that people like Dr. King helped bring about change.

All of his examples reference the horrible struggle that many Black Americans faced in the 1960s (and sadly, some of whom still face it today). They also reflect a head-in-the-ground approach to equality: “If I’ve got equality, if I can coach in the NFL and get paid millions to talk on TV, then everybody’s fine.”

It’s sad to me that someone who has openly fought against equality for so many Americans would invoke the name of Martin Luther King Jr. on this day of remembrance.

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Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke told ESPNNewYork.com that he thinks any gay slur should come with some punishment, though he left open the possibility that Simmonds’ denial in this case is true:

That type of comment has no place in the game.

If that happened, that is just so embarrassing and the league should not tolerate it. That should be treated on the same level as a racially charged incident. It’s the same level of offensiveness and inappropriateness.

You can reach the NHL via their Web site where there is a pull-down option to write about “NHL Diversity.”

Meanwhile, police have charged a man for the banana-throwing incident last week involving Simmonds, though police say there’s no evidence of a hate crime…which is about as logical as the NHL saying they’re not sure Simmonds called Avery a “fucking faggot.”

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The man known as “The Big Sexy” was fun and insightful. Take a listen or download the podcast on itunes.

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I don’t know why he keeps following me and annoying me during the matches…he touches me like a girl…I don’t know why….perhaps he does not like women but men.

I’m not sure why it’s racist, but I do know Muslim men regularly hold hands in public as a show of friendship. When I was in the Maldives several years ago I was shocked at how many “openly gay men were just walking around the streets holding hands.” Except, they weren’t gay, they were young men in their 20s who were just friends. So I suppose he’s being called racist because men hold hands and are affectionate with one another in Muslim countries.

Abdul Ghani, the “offended” player, said he’s going to make Radoi pay for his words. If I were Radoi, I’d get the hell out of Saudi Arabia pronto. He said if he is suspended that he will break his contract with his team and leave. Smart move, since even Radoi’s team president was pissed about his player’s comments:

Radoi can be punished harshly by the laws of Islam! He should know very well that he can not say such things.

Since homosexuality is punishable by death in Muslim countries, I’d say they’re taking this pretty seriously.

Hat tip to the Advocate.

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I can’t believe it. I got barred from entering a bar (Crunch Bar in Manchester) because I was “big and black and could be trouble.” Wow.

However, bar manager Mark Taylor claims Amaechi and some of his friends were not allowed in because of their behavior at another bar. Amaechi posted this message on Facebook, allegedly from Taylor:

Your group was stopped from entering the venue on Friday night as a message was received over the NiteNet radio system… that your group had been argumentative and aggressive to another venue’s door staff.

Amaechi has responded with this message on Facebook:

I just checked with Taurus and Via – they aren’t even connected to Nitenet! This man is a bigot AND a liar.

We have not been able to corroborate that those were the two bars cited by Taylor, but the manager of Via did leave this message on Facebook:

Just wanted to add a point from VIA – John and his group were in our venue and were as always polite respectful . I do not know John personally but i have a great respect for the amount he does for OUR community.I was on the nitenet system all night as well as my head doorman and i do not remember any messages that were connected to Johns party . Tony -Via

Taylor spoke with the BBC and maintained that his staff followed proper protocol, attacking Amaechi for trying to discredit the bar with allegations of racism:

Whilst I understand it is upsetting to be turned away from a venue when on a night out, to justify a refusal of entry by provoking a racist debate is completely uncalled for.

Following a discussion with the staff that were present at the time, we are satisfied that there was neither racism shown nor bigoted comments made as suggested.

Crunch is a large venue in the gay village employing people of all different groups: white, black, gay, straight and more – we do not discriminate on any grounds.

These allegations are outrageous and completely unfounded.

This is surely just the beginning of this fight, as Amaechi says he will pursue this “through all the channels I have.”

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One longtime NFL scout insisted that Gerhart’s skin color will likely prevent the Pac-10’s offensive player of the year from being drafted in Thursday’s first round.

“He’ll be a great second-round pickup for somebody, but I guarantee you if he was the exact same guy – but he was black – he’d go in the first round for sure,” the scout said. “You could make a case that he’s a Steven Jackson-type – doesn’t have blazing speed but he’s strong and powerful and versatile.”

Gerhart himself has had to deal with the race question directly:

“One team I interviewed with asked me about being a white running back,” Gerhart says. “They asked if it made me feel entitled, or like I felt I was a poster child for white running backs. I said, ‘No, I’m just out there playing ball. I don’t think about that.’ I didn’t really know what to say.”

Gerhart is 6-1, 231 pounds, yet ran a 4.5 40-yard-dash at the combine with a 38-inch vertical leap. He played in a big-time college football conference and was a total stud. Yet, “white running back” equals “slow running back” in the eyes of many talent evaluators, who simply can’t believe what a stop watch and their eyes tell them. In the NFL, white backs generally play the fullback position.

Blacks who wanted to play quarterback dealt with a similar stigma until recent years (they weren’t considered smart enough), and white American basketball players still face prejudice (“white man can’t jump.”)

It still seems self-defeating, though, for an NFL team in need of a running back to pass on Gerhart simply because he doesn’t “look” like a running back should. I hope Gerhart makes those teams pay every time he lines up against them.

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Coming across Outsports early in my collegiate career opened my eyes to gay media. Dominated by white masculinity I was bothered by the lack of personal representation. Understanding of the underground culture of gay athletes, I was surprised to see Outsports not only highlight gay athletes, but initiate networking and connection of these athletes. Although bothered by the lack of diversity, I was impressed by the amount of research and information Outsports presented. After realizing female athlete stories were rare and with the amount of gay male nudity, I decided to take a hiatus from visiting Outsports.

During this hiatus, I helped initiate a non-profit organization for student-athletes. Our Group was formed by multiple collegiate athletes who felt neglected, rejected, or underrepresented in the athletic arena. Currently, we have over 200 members and are taking progressive strides to create a secure networking and support system across the United States. If you are interested in becoming involved in Our Group, please do not hesitate to email me.

With my work in Our Group and activism at my own university, I have found a common trend: the LGBT athletic community lacks support for people of color, and male domination is not leaving. When looking at the LGBT athletic community, especially Outsports (which is known as one of the best LGBT athletic websites), there is an obvious illustration of this trend. The nudity (yes, sex does sell) of the white male athletes is, to many people, questionable. I understand the population Outsports currently entertains is exactly that: white men. However, I challenge Outsports to broaden its audience and try to attract new members of the LGBT community to its website.

I would love to see more women volunteer to tell their story and do lengthy feature stories. I would also like to see Outsports acknowledge its hegemonic trends and seek involvement from athletes of color. If there is a lack of either, I hope Outsports can at least present to its audience the energy it used in trying. It is important to give female athletes and athletes of color the support and advocacy that Outsports proclaims on their website. I hope people step up, come out, and speak their mind. The world can use more thoughts, ideas, and opinions.

Jenelle DeVits
University of New Hampshire ’09
Treasurer- Our Group

Editor’s note: We have always searched for out athletes of every gender and color to tell their stories. Still, we can do better, and we accept Jenelle’s challenge. We’re working with Janelle to bring a regular feature: profiles of the wonderful members of Our Group. We have other plans to reach more athletes in response to our recent poll. And we also implore all gay athletes reading this to email us at mail@outsports.com to tell their story. We want to hear from you!

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How much do you think racism played into this? Would the police office treat white people getting out of an SUV in a hospital parking lot the same way he treated the black people? My own personal take on this: He would have personally escorted Matt Schaub to his mother’s room. The officer chased someone into a hospital parking lot, detained them for 12 minutes while he pleads about seeing his dying mother-in-law, and then had the nerve to lecture the man, further detaining him. I agree with Moats’ wife: If he meant the apology sincerely, he would have called them to do it; Like so many before him, he’s just sad he got caught. Maybe next time he’ll think twice before mistreating a black person he apprehends.

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