Augustus has been through a lot between her 2008 and 2012 gold-medal attempts on Team USA. After the last Olympic games, Augustus’s hopes for a WNBA title were cut short after she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in June 2009. She was forced to sit out for the rest of the season, with plans for a comeback in 2010. Her hopes were dashed again, however, when she learned she had fibroids and needed surgery to have them removed. She said having two health problems in the same year required her to become conscious of her healing and avoiding re-injury.

PHOTO: Minnesota Lynx guard Seimone Augustus (33) drives the ball up court against the Atlanta Dream during the fourth quarter in game three of the WNBA Finals at Philips Arena. The Lynx defeated the Dream 73-67. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-US PRESSWIRE

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“My comments yesterday were ridiculous, stupid and amateurish,” Jacobs said Wednesday during a 10-minute apology. “I apologize for even uttering the comments, whether you heard them or not, whether you were offended or not.”

Jacobs went further, posting an apology on his ESPN Radio site in response to a lesbian called him “awful,” “a disgrace,” and an “asshole.” He also said he supports same-sex marriage:

My comments Denise were not a slam on lesbians at all just a dumb joke that wasn’t funny and that i will take responsibility for. As for your personal life none of my business but just so you know when i have had the power-that being my vote-to vote for marriage equality I have always voted yes and will continue to if it shows on a ballot in the future. I do apologize to you personally if you felt like i was slamming lesbians or gays. Not me not my thing. Thank you for the feedback

I don’t know how you apologize for something any more thoroughly than these two statements. Apologizing to people “whether you were offended or not” is something we never hear from people in our out of sports.

A Facebook group has popped up to get Bruce fired for these comments. That would be incredibly counter-productive. Everyone can make a mistake. No matter how stupid and childish that mistake is, the person needs a second chance (particularly if he’s as contrite as Jacobs is). We can’t ask for an apology…and then not accept it when it’s as heartfelt as Jacobs’. If he makes anti-gay comments again…then we can talk about targeting him.

By the way, how awesome would it be to have a WNBA team called the Los Angeles Lesbians? Their uniforms are already purple…they have my vote!

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Basketball, 2005. This is a tough one. On the one hand, Swoopes is one of the most decorated professional athletes to have ever come out. She’s considered one of the greatest female basketball players of all time. She won three Olympic gold medals. She was a seven-time WNBA All-Star and three-time league MVP.

When she came out, it was the biggest sports talk story of the week. In 2005, sports media outlets were still not talking about these issues much; Swoopes’ announcement opened the door to those conversations. Not surprisingly, the reaction of many was, “Oh shocker, a player in the WNBA is a lesbian.” But it gave many of us the opportunity to talk about homophobia in women’s sports in a way the average straight sports fan hadn’t thought of.

On the flip side, Swoopes was a flash in the lesbian pan. For a week she was out and proud, talking in every media outlet she could (thanks in large part to publicist Howard Bragman). Then she went on an Olivia cruise and when she got back…nothing. She quietly went back to her life and back to playing basketball, making rare appearances on behalf of gay issues or gay organizations.

So when it was discovered last autumn that she had ended her relationship with a woman and was engaged to marry a man, her legacy as a lesbian pioneer was virtually shattered. What has been disappointing is that she hasn’t taken up the powerful mantel of bisexual pioneer, opting to stay silent about her sexual orientation post-lesbianism.

For more information:

• Sheryl Swoopes comes out
• Outsports interviews Sheryl Swoopes
• Swoopes not a lesbian

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If you’re being bullied or feel like you’re all alone in the world, reach out for help…It gets better.

I saw there’s already one “dislike” on the YouTube page for the video. It seems impossible, but I guess some people support bullying.

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On the flip side, very few people were talking about the revelation that Sheryl Swoopes has ended her relationship with a woman and is now engaged to marry a man. We talk about what this means about her sexuality.

Listen to the podcast here.

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Yet when Swoopes’ agent mentioned to me last fall that Swoopes was “in a different situation” now, it wasn’t difficult for me to guess what she was referring to. Swoopes was no longer in a relationship with a woman. She was in a relationship with a man whom she’d known for some time.

Swoopes didn’t seem to want to have — for lack of a better way to put it — a “coming out as straight again” interview. She wasn’t renouncing homosexuality or saying she wished she hadn’t said what she did in 2005. But the fact remained that she was no longer in a same-sex relationship.

A lot of people are going to be confused by this, but it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. Even in 2005, Swoopes seemed uncomfortable labeling herself a lesbian after being married to a man and having a child with him. Some will use this to “prove” that being gay is just a choice. I already got this email from a lovely woman named Cherri Moore:

It is amazing to me that after all the HOOPLA surrounding Sheryl Swoopes “coming out” …. her recent marriage to a MAN get’s virtually no attention. Is she now UN-GAY?… Why is the fact that this woman went through a period of “trial” in her life NOT getting any press? It is obvious that the woman just like every other gay or lesbian man or woman in the world had at that time made a CHOICE to entertain the idea of being with someone of the same gender. Sheryl is just more proof that no one is born gay, it is a learned behavior brought on by experiences and circumstances in ones life. I am very happy for Sheryl – but the “gay agenda” driven PRESS can bite it. It is MORE than obvious the press is nothing but a bunch of HYPOCRITES more than willing to make a HUGE story out of someone supposedly being gay but having absolutely NOTHING to say when that same individual realizes it was NOTHING more than just a phase in their lives.

When Swoopes came out I wrote a column applauding her honesty not just about being attracted to women, but also because she made a statement very unpopular with the gays: She didn’t feel her sexual orientation was determined at birth. I wrote at the time:

What some may be worried about are Swoopes’ quotes that position herself squarely on one side of the nature versus nurture argument. “Do I think I was born this way? No,” she tells ESPN the Magazine. “And that’s probably confusing to some, because I know a lot of people believe that you are.”

To me, it’s the sensible conclusion of someone who was married and obviously feels that love and marriage were as valid as her relationship now. Frankly, I don’t think I was born this way, either. And I’m thrilled to see another gay person say the same thing.

Neither she nor I said anyone else was or was not born gay. This is simply our truth (and to my partner, don’t worry, I won’t be dating women anytime soon). I certainly don’t feel being gay is a choice, either. All I know is when I was 9 I felt attracted to young girls in my class. By the time I was in high school, I was attracted to men. That’s my personal truth.

That’s what Sheryl is following now: Her truth. She was so in love with her female partner six years ago that she decided to make a huge splash and become a spokesperson for a lesbian travel company. That relationship obviously didn’t work, and she now found herself in love with a man.

So Swoopes isn’t a lesbian. Big deal. She’s clearly bisexual: You don’t enter long-term relationships with both genders if you’re 100% straight.

But whatever label we could try to put on Swoopes is irrelevant. She is still a great champion on the court, and she is still a great role model for everyone struggling with their sexuality. The fact that Swoopes has been willing to go on the journey her mind and body have taken her on speaks well of her character, and I wish her the best on her journey.

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“At the end of the day, it’s not about me coming back, it’s about winning – it’s what I’ve done my entire career,” Swoopes said. “I’m excited and thrilled for the opportunity to come back and be a part of the WNBA again with the Shock.”

Swoopes remains the highest-profile American professional athlete, active or retired, male or female, to come out of the closet, which she did in 2005.

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“We got a lot of kids here,” Sheila Johnson, the Mystics’ managing partner, said when asked last week at a game. “We just don’t find it appropriate.”

The article goes at length to show what they don’t find appropriate is people of the same-sex kissing, talking to fans, management and players. One of the Mystics’ players predictably compares being gay to abortion:

“We wouldn’t broadcast on our Jumbotron about abortion issues because of the religious and political conflicts it would cause,” said Lindsey Harding, the team’s point guard. “It’s a similar, sensitive subject. We don’t want to put anything out there to turn down certain fans.”

Of course, the HRC spokesperson interviewed for the article put it perfectly: HRC’s support can be bought and sold with some cash and an appearance at one of their dinners:

As Cathy Nelson, the Human Rights Campaign’s vice president, said in a phone interview, “Sheila and the Mystics have been nothing but supportive in our mind, showing up at all our dinners, events, even bringing the whole team once.”

The Mystics are the latest in a growing number of pro sports teams with kissing problems. In the past there have been issues with the New York Liberty, Seattle Mariners and Los Angeles Dodgers, among others.

You can contact the Washington Mystics or email Community Relations Director Nicole Boden directly at nboden@washmystics.com.

Hat tip to Ben Finzel at Fleishman-Hillard

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Unlike men’s basketball, where concern about a player’s sexuality is rarely addressed, it’s common practice in women’s athletics to raise the specter of lesbian players and coaches.

Mosbacher’s piece does have one inaccuracy: She says that Sheryl Swoopes was the first basketball player to come out of the closet, but Michele Van Gorp and Sue Wicks both came out before she did, on top of many former college basketball players. Still, Mosbacher and her film have become strong advocates for equality in sports and we salute her for that!

Here’s Mosbacher’s full piece:

Five years ago, I decided to make a documentary about homophobia in sports. Although a few professional sports icons, like Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova had come out as lesbians, I wanted to understand why athletes seemed to feel being out was unsafe when lesbian and gay visibility was increasing everywhere else. In 2005, WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes became the first basketball player to come out of the closet. Later that year, an outstanding Division I basketball player, Jennifer Harris, was thrown off her college team because her coach believed that Harris was a lesbian. When Harris decided to sue the coach, athletic department, and university, she became the focus of the new documentary I co-produced and directed with Fawn Yacker, Training Rules.

Jennifer Harris was a premed student and a very good player at Penn State University. She would have been the leading scorer on her team at the beginning of her junior year. Instead, after the last game of her sophomore year season, she was cut from the team by Coach Rene Portland, who had a long history of discriminating against any player she suspected might be lesbian.

Penn State settled the Harris case, but that didn’t bring an end to homophobia in women’s sports, nor is Penn State the only school that has allowed such practices–far from it. And so far there is only one out lesbian who is the head women’s basketball coach of a Division I school.

Unlike men’s basketball, where concern about a player’s sexuality is rarely addressed, it’s common practice in women’s athletics to raise the specter of lesbian players and coaches. You would think this has changed, since five states recently extended marriage rights to same-sex couples. But with the prospect of losing their scholarships and being cut from their teams, very few student athletes feel safe enough to come out. Clearly, we still have a long way to go.

Training Rules is a painful reminder that homophobia still exists in women’s sports. The Penn State players featured in the film represent many others throughout the world of college athletics whose careers have been terminated because of homophobia.

It’s time to level the playing field. All athletes deserve to compete unencumbered by the fear of discrimination based on sexual orientation.

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