Giving gays and lesbians the right to marry isn’t just a gay rights issue; it is a human rights issue. It is about equal rights and protection under the law for all human beings. Quite simply, it is the right thing to do. It most certainly is a secular issue and not a religious one.

One does not need to be a Christian in order to fall in love and want to marry, straight or gay, otherwise atheists would not be allowed to marry, right? Marriage can be and often is a religious celebration but legally speaking, it is a contract between two people who promise to love each other. …

You say it is a choice to be gay; do you mean to say you had feelings for women as well as men and chose men? That might explain your certainty on the issue. The feelings one has for either gender are most certainly not a choice, they simply are; the butterflies that hit you in the gut are not a choice, they are just there. The choice is whether or not one acts on such feelings.

Sports Illustrated tennis writer Jon Wertheim said that Court’s comments did not draw much attention at the event itself, saying players and officials were “largely mute.”

Some of you were discouraged and saw this as everyone ran screaming from controversy. Others were encouraged and felt as though silence meant that Court was seen as someone far in the margins, unworthy of a response. A few thought the opposite: maybe this was an indication that perhaps her views are more widely held than media types assumed.

My guess is that most people did not see a tennis tournament as a vehicle for discussing a social issue like same-sex marriage and preferred to not say anything. Thankfully, Navratilova saw this as precisely the right time to call out Court for her homophobia at the time when people would be paying attention.

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Brian Healey is captain of the men’s tennis team at Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont.

By Brian Healey

I came out to two of my best friends on one of Saint Michael’s most storied days of revelry. P-Day at Saint Mike’s is our answer to the traditional “Spring Weekend” before finals. It feels like a big music video shoot for one of those bands with Miley Cirus’ brother in it. Picture a lot of sweaty, boozed-up kids running around eating, drinking, and being merry in a way only the last party weekend of the year can inspire.

It was the end of my freshman year, and I finally figured it was time to tell my friends what most of them already knew. When I finally worked up the courage to say it, there were a lot of tears and hugs and one very well timed spin of that classic record “It’s Raining Men” by a local radio station that I swear must have been listening to the conversation I was having. It obviously felt pretty nice, and being the small community, the news gradually disseminated itself through my friends and acquaintances alike.

And it was fine. Even the friends I’d been worried about telling were OK. My best friend Amanda was a little disappointed, simply for the fact she’d always thought I’d come around, realize we were meant to be together, and live happily ever after; what would any good coming out story be without one heartbroken female? She and I are still together in the sense that we’re the closets of friends, there’s just no delusions of marriage any more, at least on my part.

Telling my parents was difficult, but for the best, and I can happily say my relationship with them has never been stronger. To my surprise, my mother was surprised when I told her. All the “girl friends” I’d had throughout high school, it seems, were mistaken for girlfriends. I’m from a pretty small town in Western Massachusetts called Ware, and it’s pretty fair to say that four-wheelin’ and puttin’-down Bud heavies in the back of your pick-up are the sort of activity that seem to define my generation’s idea of a good time here. And even though my parents are townies, they’re really intelligent, loving people and have never given me anything but support.

For as long as I can remember I’ve known I was gay. I can remember a particular affinity for the Red Ranger and Jonathan Taylor Thomas in his “Home Improvement” days. One of my cousins — who also turned out to be gay –  and I grew up obsessed with reruns of “Golden Girls” and “The Nanny.” How anybody missed out on those telltale signals is beyond me, but I digress.

My experience as a gay athlete has actually been overwhelmingly positive, especially the past spring and fall seasons. Tennis seems to be a pretty accepting body of people, and my teammates at Saint Mike’s are a bunch of really goofy, really nice dudes.

I never really had to come out to them, because SMC is really small and chances are people know who you are and at least one personal detail about you even if you’ve never been formally introduced.

One of my best friends on the team or anywhere is a guy named Chris. He’s possibly the most loving, kindhearted person I know. He’s a junior, and one of the people I’ll miss most next year. To reference P-Day once more, this past year I was up later than anyone else on campus. One time I left him a dramatic, drunken-feelings voice mail about how much I appreciate he and the other guys on the team. The next day I woke up to a voice mail from Chris saying some really nice things about how much he and the rest of the team would support me no matter what. I won’t ever forget how validated that made me feel, as a man, a  teammate and an athlete.

This past year I was lucky enough to be involved in a project at Saint Mike’s as a part of the “It Gets Better” campaign that involved a lot of students, athletes, and administrators rallying around the cause. Though I’m sure there are other gay athletes at SMC, I don’t happen to know any of them personally. I don’t know any other gay athletes around the NE-10 Conference either, but I’ve never experienced any negativity around the subject and I don’t ever expect to. I hope the video, at the very least, spoke to an athlete at or elsewhere who’s struggling with their sexual identity or with fitting in.

It was one of the most rewarding activities I’ve ever been a part of, and I feel very lucky to have been a part of it, and we had an overwhelmingly positive response.  It makes me really proud to have been a part of the production and a character in the video that reached more people than we ever though it would.

We may be a bunch of granola munching, brown clog wearing hippies in Vermont, but to me it seems like Vermonters are a more laid back, caring breed, and I couldn’t be happier that I chose to spend some of the best years of my life in the Green Mountain State.

Brian Healey, 21, is a Media Studies, Journalism, and Digital Arts Major and Spanish Minor at Saint Michael’s College. He is captain of the men’s tennis team. He can be contacted via email (bhealey@mail.smcvt.edu), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Brian.Healey.SMC) or Twitter (bheals11).

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“It was just a rainbow-coloured hairband,” Robson said. “I didn’t see anything about a protest today. I wore it because I believe in equal rights for everyone. That’s it.”

As we reported earlier, Margaret Court has come under fire for anti-gay statements. One group has asked that rainbow flags fly over the Aussie Open court named after her. Robson said the hair ribbon was not in response to Court, though she knew about Court’s statements.

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Tennis Australia released a statement today distancing itself from Court’s political and religious views while embracing her as a tennis champion:

Margaret Court has won more grand slam titles than any other player and has been honoured for her achievements in tennis and she is a legend of the sport. We respect her playing record, it is second to none.

But her personal views are her own, and are definitely not shared by Tennis Australia. Like the WTA, we believe that everyone should be treated equally and fairly.  We concur wholeheartedly with the WTA who stated that “all human beings, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or otherwise, should be treated equally.

This is a fundamental right and principle, including within the world of sport.  Anyone advocating otherwise is advocating against fundamental and essential rights.”

TA does not support any view that contravenes these basic human rights.

That seems like the perfect answer to me. When it comes to recognizing someone’s athletic accomplishments, I don’t think politics should play into it. Certainly Court’s positions on gay people and gay rights are terribly disturbing to me. But if the “gay agenda” starts erasing people from history because they disagree with us? That would be very damaging to us in the short term and the long term; It’s something we’d all regret years down the road.

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Are they not wanting me to come to the Australian Open? Is that what they are trying to do? I don’t run from anything.

I have always been a champion and always loved what I do and love tennis. I think it is very sad they can bring it into that. It is hard that they can voice their opinions but I am not allowed to voice my opinion. There is something wrong somewhere.

We live in a free society and I stand up for families between a husband and a wife. I won’t ever back down on that.

It drives me crazy when people claim free-speech rights when someone else criticizes them. No one said you didn’t have the right to stand up for whatever you want, Maggie! But people can bloody well say you’re wrong, too!

One thing I hadn’t caught before: Margaret says she now converts gay people to become heterosexual:

We have them in our church. I help them to overcome. We have people who have been homosexual who are now married.

Wow, she really does hate us! And no, sorry, she doesn’t get to hide behind the bullshit “love the sinner, hate the sin.” When you’re converting people to be something they are not, you’re hating the person.

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Brian Healey

This is cool — players from the men’s and women’s basketball teams, men’s hockey team and tennis team have combined to produce an It Gets Better video for St. Michael’s College in Vermont.

One of the editors of the video is Brian Healey, captain of the Purple Knights men’s tennis team, who says this:

I’m an out college athlete and I’m proud to say my teammates support me as much as I support them on and off the court.

The video is a must-see and shows the power of an institution getting behind making athletics safe for LGBT athletes. Healey is the only athlete self-identified as gay in the video, which means there are a ton of gay allies at the school. Hearing hockey player Brady Earle say, “we will not tolerate bullying of any kind” is terrific and if I was a gay hockey player considering a school, the welcoming environment at St. Michael’s would be appealing (along with its excellent academics).

Related: Other sports It Gets Better videos.

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Seems to me a lot of people have evolved as has the Bible, unfortunately Margaret Court has not. Her myopic view is truly frightening as well as damaging to the thousands of children already living in same gender families. …

I have tried to talk to Margaret, but to say she’s completely close-minded on the issue is an understatement.

King resounded Navratilova’s sentiments:

I respectfully disagree with Margaret’s position on gay marriage. We have to commit to eliminating homophobia because everyone is entitled to the same rights, opportunities and protection.

Hat tip to the Sydney Star Observer.

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Watch a 2-minute clip and trailer for ‘Renee’ after the jump.

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Tennis, 1981. You know her by one word: Martina. She is not only one of the greatest lesbian athletes of all time, not only one of the greatest tennis players of all time, not only one of the most important lesbians of all time, she is one of the greatest athletes of all time. Period. Career titles: 177 (world record for men and women, spanning four decades). Grand Slam titles: 59 (world record for men and women). ESPN and Bleacher Report have both named her one of the America’s 25 greatest athletes.

When she came out of the closet in 1981, she had recently defected from Czechoslovakia to the United States. Even then, at 18, her star was quickly rising with 11 Grand Slam titles already under her belt. While a small group of lesser-known athletes had come, and while Billie Jean King was outed months earlier, Martina was the first big-time athlete in her prime to come out publicly by her own volition.

Donna Lopiano, executive director of the Women’s Sports Foundation, told ESPN:

Martina was the first legitimate superstar who literally came out while she was a superstar. She exploded the barrier by putting it on the table. She basically said this part of my life doesn’t have anything to do with me as a tennis player. Judge me for who I am.

While brave, the public revelation cost her. She told Outsports in 2007 that she believed she had lost about $10 million in endorsement deals as corporate executives in the 1980s avoided her in the midst of the AIDS scare.

Martina has used her position for good, fighting the anti-gay Amendment 2 in 1992 and speaking at the gay march on Washington in 1993. She’s also worked with PETA, AARP and she has spoken strongly against the Communism that she escaped from in Eastern Europe.

I met Navratilova only once, in 2007 when she was making the rounds as spokesperson for the AARP. I was blessed to spend a couple hours with her at Good Morning America and then in her hotel room. She couldn’t have been more gracious, sitting with me for far longer than she said she had. I’ll forever remember those couple of hours with one of the great sports legends of our time.

For more information:

• Moment #98: Martina speaks at the March on 1993 Washington
• Outsports 2007 interview with Martina
• ESPN SportsCentury: ‘Martina was alone at the top’
• MartinaNavratoliva.com
• Martina’s Wikipedia page

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Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history.

Tennis, 1981: On Aug. 12, 2009, Billie Jean King was at the White House with 15 other prominent Americans to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was honored for her contributions to fights for gay and women’s rights. When she received the medal from President Obama, King took it and kissed it.

It was a dizzying moment for King, especially when contrasted with what happened in May 1981 when she was outed in a palimony suit by her former partner Marilyn Barnett. King told the Boston Globe in 2006 that she wanted to retire from tennis then, but could not because she lost all her endorsements in a 24-hour period (an estimated $2 million).

King has said that being outed was traumatic because a person should be able to reveal their sexual orientation on their own terms. And the suit, which she eventually won, revealed an affair she was having despite her being married. She told the London Times in 2007 about her own struggles of coming to terms with being a lesbian:

“I wanted to tell the truth but my parents were homophobic and I was in the closet. As well as that, I had people tell me that if I talked about what I was going through, it would be the end of the women’s tour.

“I couldn’t get a closet deep enough. I’ve got a homophobic family, a tour that will die if I come out, the world is homophobic and, yeah, I was homophobic. If you speak with gays, bisexuals, lesbians and transgenders, you will find a lot of homophobia because of the way we all grew up.

“One of my big goals was always to be honest with my parents and I couldn’t be for a long time. I tried to bring up the subject but felt I couldn’t. My mother would say, ‘We’re not talking about things like that’, and I was pretty easily stopped because I was reluctant anyway. I ended up with an eating disorder that came from trying to numb myself from my feelings. I needed to surrender far sooner than I did.

“At the age of 51, I was finally able to talk about it properly with my parents and no longer did I have to measure my words with them. That was a turning point for me as it meant I didn’t have regrets any more. My father has since passed on but my mother is still around and she’s fantastic. Ilana Kloss has been my partner for a long time now and when I speak to Mom now, she will always say, ‘And tell Ilana I love her’. That’s taken years and years.”

Books and documentaries have been written about King, so this story is not going to try and encapsulate the arc of her amazing life. But consider some of her accomplishments: The first female athlete to earn $100,000 in a year (which got her a congratulatory phone call from President Nixon). Winner of a record 20 Wimbledon titles. An ardent feminist who had an abortion in 1973 (and whose husband told Ms. Magazine about it, much to her chagrin). Best buds with Elton John (who wrote “Philadelphia Freedom” in her honor). Founder of the Women’s Tennis Assn., which pushed for bigger paydays for women players. Married for years before being outed in 1981 in a palimony suit. Named by Life magazine as one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century. Not to mention her famous 1973 “Battle of the Sexes” match against Bobby Riggs (all you youngsters, look it up).

King remains is an active advocate for ending homophobia in sports and met this summer with British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the issue. She’s come a long way, baby, from being someone deep in the closet.

I had the pleasure of meeting King in 2006, when HBO showed a fabulous documentary on her life. I was there with David Kopay, himself a sports pioneer, and the two had never met. Dave acted like a teenager nervous about going on a date and I walked him over to her to say hello. As he approached and was about to speak, she interrupted with a big smile and booming voice and rushed toward him saying, “Dave Kopay! I know who you are!” The two hugged and King told Dave how much his book had meant to her when she was struggling with her coming out. Dave had tears in his eyes and I saw then how charismatic and classy she was as the two chatted like old friends.

King’s personal story resonates because it mirrors changes in society over homosexuality. A story of homophobic parents who come around and of a society that recognizes the contributions of all its citizens, including the nation’s highest civilian honor.

For more information:

• King’s Wikipedia page
• Terrific interview in the London Times
• King’s Facebook page

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