Out distance swimmer Diana Nyad says she will again attempt to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys this summer. It will be her fourth attempt. She first tried what she calls the “Xtreme Dream” in 1978 at the age of 29, but she was thwarted by bad weather. Last summer she attempted the swim [...]
Posts under ‘Women’
Fired Belmont soccer coach Lisa Howe gets new gig at Chamber of Commerce
Belmont University fired soccer coach Lisa Howe a year ago because she came out to players on her team. She’s been out of work since then, but she’s landed a great new job at the Nashville GLBT Chamber of Commerce: “Lisa Howe knows first-hand how it is to come out in the work place and [...]
Margaret Court converts homosexuals, is going to the Australian Open, and you can’t stop her!
The homophobia of tennis legend Margaret Court has been well-documented for years. Last year it came to the fore again as Australians struggle with the question of same-sex marriage; Court has been vocally opposed to it from the dais in her church. Now some folks have started a Facebook page advocating rainbow flags over Margaret [...]
Update on outed lesbian softball player Skye Wyatt’s lawsuit
Pat Griffin has a full rundown of the latest from the Sky Wyatt lawsuit. Watt alleges that her high school softball coach in Kilgore, Texas, outed her to her mother, violating her right to privacy. From Griffin’s blog: The lawsuit claims that the coaches: 1. Called Skye to a fake team meeting 2. Locked Skye [...]
Outsports’ Persons of the Year: Pat Griffin and Helen Carroll
You’d be hard-pressed to name two people who have collectively had a stronger impact on the gay-sports movement than Pat Griffin and Helen Carroll. These two pioneers have been working toward equality for the better part of 30 years. They’ve visited high schools. They’ve talked to colleges. They’ve waged legal campaigns. They’ve educated educators. And [...]
Jonathan Vilma, Vonta Leach say men ‘should not hav female tendencies’
New Orleans Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma caught some fire on Wednesday night when he Tweeted about how grown men should behave, and many say he’s making a comment on sexual orientation. If he wasn’t, it’s hard to imagine what exactly he was referring to, given the emphatic period… Share on Facebook
Should boys compete in girls high school sports leagues?
In Massachusetts, Norwood High School’s star swimmer Will Higgins broke a 26-year-old meet record in the 50-yard freestyle in the state’s swimming and diving championships regional meet…for girls. Yes, because his high school has no boys swim team, by state law Higgins is allowed to compete on the girls team. While he broke that meet [...]
Director: Joe Paterno had his hands in the Rene Portland scandal, too
Editor’s note: Fawn Yacker is director of the award-winning film ‘Training Rules,’ about homophobia in Penn State’s women’s basketball program. She is currently working on a project about homophobia in men’s pro sports. Joe Paterno describes the current “tragedy” at Penn State as “…one of the great sorrows of my life.” He should add to [...]
Boxing Association may force female boxers to wear skirts
Imagine gay athletes having to wear pink tutus when they play, or a black athlete being forced to wear a do-rag when they participate. That’s what the Amateur International Boxing Association is trying to do with women, floating the idea that women may soon have to wear skirts in the ring. Women have long worn shorts, [...]
Salina Sychla is first female quarterback to lead her team to victory in Gay Bowl
Gay Bowl XI in Houston had several firsts. The Toronto Mounties made the tournament “international;” The final day of competition was canceled due to a rare, freak storm. But the source of deepest pride for the members of the Denver Summit 2 was their claim to fame: They were the first team to win a [...]
1975 ‘Gay sports’ article featured homophobia from the Twins, three gay NFL quarterbacks
While many people know about the four-part Washington Post series in 1975 in which David Kopay came out of the closet, few have read the text or know about the other three parts. So I was excited to stumble across the December 10, 1975, Part 1 of the series on Google this morning. What a hoot! [...]
Moment #2: Martina Navratilova comes out
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. 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 [...]
Moment #20: NCLR initiates Sports project
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Sports, 2001. The National Center for Lesbian Rights became the first national gay-rights organization to seriously tackle homophobia in sports with the creation of their sports project in 2001. They quickly tapped Helen Carroll, former NCAA national champion basketball coach and [...]
Moment #27: María José Martínez-Patiño kicked off Spanish track team, titles stripped
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. Track & Field, 1986. For Spanish hurdler María José Martínez-Patiño , the journey to prove her womanhood in the world of sports was costly. In 1983 she competed in the World Track & Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland; It was there she [...]
Moment #28: Sheryl Swoopes comes out
Part of Outsports’ series on our 100 most important moments in gay sports history. 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 [...]