Openly gay pro rugger Gareth Thomas has retired from rugby, he announced today. Thomas said in a statement: I have listened and discussed this decision with many of my family and close friends. My mind has told me that the time to retire is now. If you can’t give 100 percent to rugby then you [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Ben Cohen’
Ben Cohen to speak on homophobia in talk at Georgetown
Georgetown University will host a talk on homophobia in sports with rugby player Ben Cohen, Friday at 4 p.m. at the ICC Auditorium on campus (open to the public). The event is sponsored by the Athletics Dept., IDEAA, GUPride and Clun Sports. Cohen has been touring the U.S. as part of his Standup Foundation, which [...]
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 [...]
British Prime Minister David Cameron to host reception to fight homophobia in sports
Another sign that times are changing: Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron will host gay and lesbian athletes at a 10 Downing Street reception on Wednesday to help fight homophobia in sports. Openly gay rugby player Gareth Thomas, cricketer Steven Davies and straight ally Ben Cohen are among those athletes expected to attend. Missing will [...]
Video: Rugby’s Ben Cohen talks about his foundation to stop homophobia in sports
We have written a lot about rugby player Ben Cohen, who has now retired and started his StandUp foundation. His goal is to fight homophobia, specifically in sports. Cohen sat down last week with Thomas Roberts on MSNBC to discuss his recent tour of the U.S. and what he hopes to accomplish. Roberts, himself openly [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Ben Cohen, Hudson Taylor to work together
Ben Cohen and Hudson Taylor, the two strongest straight allies in the fight against homophobia in sports, met in New York this weekend and will work together on their joint passion. Wrote Cohen on his Facebook page: Met Hudson Taylor last night what a great guy. We share the same passion on homophobia in sport [...]
Win a 2011 Ben Cohen calendar
Note: There is a deadline of Nov. 15 to enter this contest. English rugby player Ben Cohen, popular among Outsports readers for embracing his gay fan base, is out with a 2011 calendar. See below for some photos and how you can win a signed copy of the calendar. A photo shoot for the calendar [...]
Ben Cohen’s jockstrap fetches $460 at auction
One more reason rugby player Ben Cohen is one of the coolest athletes in the world: He donated a signed jockstrap for use in a fund-raiser for GMFA, a British gay men’s health charity. It was auctioned off at the annual Gay Sports Day in London on Monday and fetched $460 (300 British pounds), according [...]
Ben Cohen supports Gay Sports Day
Another reason rugger Ben Cohen remains one of the most popular sports icons among gay men: He is openly supporting an August 30 Sports Day hosted by Gay Men Fight AIDS, a London-based gay men’s health charity. I am happy to support this year’s GMFA/RVT Gay Sports Day. Sport is an important part of my [...]
Ben Cohen on the cover of gay magazine
Count me among those who isn’t in lovew with Ben Cohen, but he is a consistent favorite with Outsports readers, as evidenced by his continual success in the King of the Hardwood contest. This month Cohen follows fellow rugger Nick Youngquest posing in next-to-nothing on the cover of Attitude, a gay men’s magazine in the [...]
Three athletes make AfterElton Hot 100
AfterElton has unveiled their Hot 100 for the year, and not surprisingly there are very few athletes on the list. Only three sports figures made it this year: Ben Cohen (No. 64, right), David Beckham (No. 24) and Matthew Mitcham (No. 15). According to AfterElton’s Michael Jensen, Mitcham has the highest debut of anyone on [...]