Outsports » Ohio State

MTV airs Ohio State rugby player Nevin Heard coming out to his team

Cyd Zeigler jr. — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:21:15 +0000

MTV aired a special for National Coming Out Day yesterday that included a rugby player at Ohio State coming out to his team. The moment is pretty awkward. I’m not sure coming out to your friends or family is something you want cameras there for, it just makes the whole situation more tense. You can see on some of the guys’ faces…they know what’s coming.

Still, it’s nice to see the team embrace Nevin Heard once he comes out. Though it is weird that he is not listed on the team’s roster online. Ohio States’ RFC is a club sport playing 7s. See the video of Heard coming out to his team after the jump.

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Jim Tressel interview getting good reaction

Cyd Zeigler jr. — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:45:51 +0000

Last week we ran the full article of an interview with Ohio State Buckeyes head football coach Jim Tressel, conducted by Outlook (an Ohio-based gay magazine). The editor of the magazine had asked us to run the article and we happily obliged, since it is (as far as we know) the first time a top-tier college head football coach granted an interview to a gay magazine.

The article has gotten lots of traction, particularly on mainstream sports sites. From Dan Wetzel at Yahoo (in which he interviewed our very own Jim Buzinski):

Jim Tressel is as conservative as his sweater vest. He’s a devout Christian who wrote a book about faith and leadership. He boasts a personality that, at least publicly, is more gray than scarlet; a multimillionaire who still mows his own lawn.

The buttoned-down Ohio State coach just took part in what is apparently a major college football first. He exchanged emails last month with Outlook Columbus magazine, the initial interview a big-time coach has done with a publication that serves the gay community.

Yes, Senator Sweater Vest is a progressive pioneer.

Michael David Smith at Fanhouse talked about the power of Tressel’s words in fighting the lack of gay athletes in NCAA football:

Tressel’s comments could go a long way toward changing that. Every gay high school football player now knows there’s at least one big-time college program where he could be himself. That’s progress, and something for which Tressel deserves a great deal of credit.

ESPN’s Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg also spoke glowingly of Tressel:

Kudos to Tressel for doing this and addressing a subject that is still very taboo in college football. Most fans want their coaches to focus strictly on X’s and O’s, but Tressel’s influence in Ohio stretches far beyond the gridiron. His voice matters, and his message of acceptance comes through here.

We all assume so much homophobia in football, but over and over again we see evidence to the contrary. Thanks to Tressel for contributing his voice.

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Quick hits: Federer, Red Wings, OSU, Lions

Cyd Zeigler jr. — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 16:46:09 +0000

Categories: Baseball, NFL, NHL, Tennis

Tags: Detroit Lions, Detroit Red Wings, French Open, New England Patriots, Ohio State, Roger Federer

Roger Federer (right) nearly blew his chance at his first French Open title a day after Nadal lost, but he rallied from a 2-set deficit to advance to the quarterfinals. Red Wings take 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Finals. Pittsburgh to rename their NHL team “the Bills.” Shocking news of the day: Lions [...]

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College football getting tighter on talent

Cyd Zeigler jr. — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 03:33:48 +0000

The gap between the “haves” and “have nots” in college football continues to shrink. Around the country on Saturday, teams from smaller conferences played big against the big guys and played them well! East Carolina toppled their second straight top-25 team, dominating No. 8 West Virginia, 24-3. Ohio State needed a dropped punt to beat Ohio; Cincinnati hung with Oklahoma for much of the game; Arkansas survived a 45-yard field goal as time expired to beat Louisiana-Monroe; and Miami-Ohio gave Michigan a big scare in the Big House. It’s great to see these games that the big-name programs schedule to pad their record becoming bigger challenges. Good thing all of those “Major Conferences” get automatic BCS bids.

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