Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Sports, 2001: Mark Bingham was a passenger on Flight 93, which was commandeered by Al Qaeda hijackers on Sept. 11, who tried to fly the plane into the U.S. Capitol. Along with other passengers, Bingham stormed the cockpit and brought down [...]
Posts under ‘Rugby’
French rugby player Alexis Palisson poses for cover of gay magazine
Add Alexis Palisson to the list of gay-friendly rugby players. The 23-year-old French star poses for the July-August cover of the gay magazine TETU. There is also a making of video (below) that is typically French in its bizarreness. The article is in French, but an online translation finds Palisson being cool with gay fans [...]
Michael Irvin on the cover of ‘Out,’ talks about his gay brother, supports gay marriage
Read the full article in Out magazine here. It was about two years ago that Michael Irvin first talked to me about a secret he’s carried with him for 30 years. “You know, Cyd, my brother was gay,” he said. Actually, I didn’t know. And neither did virtually any of Michael’s teammates at the University [...]
Video: Ben Cohen, Dave Kopay panel discussing homophobia in sports
Rugby star Ben Cohen, who has just retired to focus full-time combating homophobia in sports, finished his U.S. tour where he spoke on his new StandUp foundation at several stops. One was at the University of Washington where he was joined on a panel by Dave Kopay, the former NFL player who came out as [...]
Video: Toronto gay rugby club’s creative ad to recruit more players
From the Muddy York rugby club in Toronto comes this clever and creative recruiting video. “The Gay Who Wasn’t Gay Enough: Coming Out of the Closet Was the Easy Part” has great production values and a terrific sense of humor. It is worth a watch: Share on Facebook
Ben Cohen retires, launches StandUp Foundation to combat anti-gay bullying
Ben Cohen has officially retired from professional rugby and is using the opportunity to launch his new foundation to combat anti-gay bullying, the StandUp Foundation. The group is based in Atlanta. He’s in the middle of a U.S. tour to promote the initiative. A full press release on the new organization is after the jump. [...]
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 [...]
Gareth Thomas attends the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton
April 29 update: The royal wedding is today and Gareth Thomas is on the guest list. He knows Prince William from William’s role as vice patron of the Welsh Rugby Union. William’s name is also on a trophy for an annual match between Wales and South Africa. I was watching the “Today” show here in [...]
Nick Youngquest wants your vote to be King of the Hardwood
In a first, an athlete in the King of the Hardwood is soliciting votes. The voting ends Thursday and rugby player Nick Youngquest trails the NFL’s Eric Decker, 55% to 45%. Youngquest just heard about the contest and sent us messages via Twitter, including this one: I think its cool the Youngquest gets the spirit [...]
Bruce Weber shoots Nick Youngquest for A&F
Nick Youngquest really has gotten into this whole male model thing. The gay-friendly Aussie rugby player with the smoldering looks and smoking body has been photographed by Bruce Weber for Abercrombie & Fitch. These shots don’t do much for me. It’s almost as if they’ve prettified and homogenized Youngquest; in some shots they have airbrushed [...]
Ben Cohen Acceptance Tour announced
British rugby player Ben Cohen has announced the launching of his Ben Cohen Acceptance Tour scheduled for April and May of this year. The tour is designed to bring awareness to, and raise money to fight, homophobia in sports. The tour will start in England in April and will end with appearances in Atlanta, New [...]
Hugh Grant demeans ‘queens’ of rugby
You think Hugh Grant has heard of Gareth Thomas? The actor over the weekend offered some insight he learned in his time playing rugby as a kid: I discovered it hurt less if you tackled hard than if you tackled like a queen. My question is, what should he have said? He can’t use any [...]
Elton John joins those applauding anti-homophobia initiative in rugby
Sir Elton John joined prominent out athletes in supporting the Sheffield Eagles in England for their wearing of jerseys condemning homophobia in rugby. The Eagles wore the jerseys, which said “Homophobia: Tackle It,” Sunday in a 44-16 loss to the Widnes Vikings. “I am delighted to hear about Sheffield Eagles’ initiative” said Sir Elton. “I [...]
Rugby team unveils anti-homophobia jersey
The Sheffield Eagles rugby team has unveiled its uniform, the first of its kind to tout an anti-homophobia message, for a game March 13. Reports the Pink Paper: The white kit, which has been jointly funded by LGBT History Month and Pride Sports with backing from the University & College Union (UCU) and the National [...]
Ian Roberts says athletes have responsibility to come out, dismisses shower issue
Ian Roberts, who came out in the pro rugby world 15 years ago, gives a spirited interview to the Australian. He gives a great answer to the question about gay players and locker rooms, specifically answering Jason Akermanis’ claim that it would be uncomfortable in the showers with a gay player. Don’t flatter youself, Aker! [...]