Every year we crown our annual ‘Jerk of the Year,’ honoring those in sports who were, well, jerks. Last year’s ‘Jerk of the Year’ was the Belmont University administration, who fired soccer coach Lisa Howe after she came out of the closet.

This year we have many worthy candidates from football, basketball, hockey and soccer; Nigeria, Canada and the U.S.; athletes, coaches, and sportscaster. Our ‘Jerk of the Year’ will be announced Jan. 4 so get your vote in now! And thanks to everyone who offered their nominees!

Damian Goddard. When sports agent Todd Reynolds Tweeted his opposition to same-sex marriage last spring, Goddard Tweeted his support for Reynolds’ bigoted position. Goddard was later fired. He’s found recent employment with anti-gay Maggie Gallagher’s new anti-gay organization, the Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance, whose sole purpose is to fight against marriage equality. While others have made their anti-gay voices heard, Goddard is the rare (former) sports figure whose job it is now to fight against equality.

David Tyree. The former New York Giants wideout, best known for his miracle catch in the Super Bowl, used his 15 minutes of fame this year to fight against marriage equality in New York. Tyree, who just 40 years ago would not have been able to marry the woman of his choice in many states, recorded a PSA for the National Organization for Marriage (which is actually against marriage), an anti-gay-rights organization. In the PSA he said gay marriage leads to anarchy.

Eucharia Uche. While other sportspeople talked about their homophobia, Nigerian national soccer coach Uche did something about it. Last summer she said lesbians livea “dirty life” and she wouldn’t tolerate it. She also said there were lesbians on her Super Falcons team when she took over in 2009, but she kicked them all off the team. With so much homophobia literally and figuratively strangling gay people in Africa, Uche was sports’ symbol of the terrible struggle there.

Jerry Sandusky. The former defensive coordinator for the Penn State football team was charged with various counts of sexual assault against young boys. To make matters worse, many of them were allegedly part of Sandusky’s football camps and other football programs. The entire Penn State athletic program was shamed by the allegations, which ended the historic tenure of head football coach Joe Paterno.

Jocks who blow off their ‘fag’ comment. We make a distinction here for the athletes who uttered anti-gay slurs this year and tried to defend it. The most prominent was Kobe Bryant, who essentially told everyone to take a chill pill after he was caught calling a referee a “faggot” on national TV. He justified his actions for 48 hours before apologizing. Others included two of Joe In Philly’s favorites: DeSean Jackson and Wayne Simmonds.

Tim Tebow. Because.

Honorable mentions: Sports agent Todd Reynolds, who created the Tweet that Goddard replied to; USC quarterback Matt Barkley, who Tweeted his opposition to same-sex marriage rights; Croatian soccer president Vlatko Markovic said gays are not allowed on the country’s national team.

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Jerry Sandusky: I say that I’m innocent of those charges.

Costas: Innocent? Completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect?

Sandusky: Well, I could say that I have done some of those things. I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them. And I have touched their leg without intent of sexual contact. But, so if you look at it that way, there are things that… would be accurate.

Costas: Are you denying that you had an inappropriate sexual contact with any of these underage boys?

Sandusky: Yes I am.

Costas then asked him about the most explosive charge, that he raped a 10-year-old boy in a shower in 2002:

Costas: What did happen in the shower the night that [Penn State assistant coach] Mike McQueary happened upon you and the young boy?

Sandusky: OK, we were showering and horsing around. And he actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor and, um, as I recall we were possibly like snapping a towel or horseplay.

Sandusky said he has no idea why McQueary said he saw him raping the boy. His attorney, Joe Amendola, told Costas that the boy — now in his 20s — says “it never happened.” Amendola told Anderson Cooper of CNN:  “Jerry Sandusky is a big, overgrown kid. He’s a jock. The bottom line is jocks do that – they kid around, they horse around.”

Sandusky also was asked whether he was sexually attracted to young boys. It took him 16 seconds to answer:

Sexually attracted. You know, no. I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. I love to be around them… um. I… I, but no, I’m not sexually attracted to young boys.

Sandusky is innocent until proven guilty and by giving interviews is determined to fight the charges. I am not sure how he will sway a jury or a judge that it was totally innocent and normal for a grown man to be horsing around in the shower with boys. However, proving a sexual assault will take testimony from victims, some of whom might not be eager to have their names and life histories made public. This case looks like it’s going to last a while and we haven’t had all the facts come out yet.

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Joe Paterno describes the current “tragedy”  at Penn State as “…one of the great sorrows of my life.”

He should add to that list the devastating harm he did in protecting women’s basketball coach Rene Portland while she blatantly discriminated against the women on her team who she presumed were lesbian. She was public about her practices until 1992 when Penn State included sexual orientation in their non-descrimination policy.

Apparently that didn’t stop Portland. In 2005 Jennifer Harris, a star player for the Lady Lions, was dismissed from the team. She charged Rene Portland, Tim Curley and Penn State with discrimination based on her perceived sexual orientation. Penn State tried to wiggle out of it saying that their non-discrimination policy was not a legal document. The case was settled in 2007. The film Training Rules depicts the 27 years that  Portland was able to wreak havoc on the lives of so many of her players while Paterno and the university did absolutely nothing to stop her.

You can reach Yacker via email.

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At this moment the Board of Trustees should not spend a single minute discussing my status. They have far more important matters to address. I want to make this as easy for them as I possibly can.

That was a load of crap. He wanted to extend his records, go out his way; That trumped what would have made it easier for everyone: An immediate resignation. The school did the right thing by taking the action Paterno should have taken this morning. When you don’t do everything you can to stop a pedophile on your staff, and knowingly allow him to use facilities and coach youth camps, you have lost every right to do anything the way you want to do it

Some of the students at Penn State are doing no one any favors by rioting in response to Paterno’s firing. Years from now, when they are sitting at their 12-year-old son’s football game, they will look back with shame on the day they put winning football games ahead of the right thing to do. You want to see how adults with kids react to this scandal? Watch Matt Millen cry on ESPN in the video below.

This should be a lesson for everyone in sports. If the winningest FBS coach in history can be taken down by a scandal like this, you can too.

You can follow all of the latest developments at SBNation.

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The attorney general’s office said Sandusky, 67, of State College, was arrested Saturday. Curley, 57, and Penn State vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz, 62, both of Boalsburg, were expected to turn themselves in Monday in Harrisburg, according to the attorney general’s office. Schultz’s position includes oversight of the university’s police department.

Sandusky retired in 1999. Story developing…

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I’m different than a lot of other people. I’m not judgmental in any way on anything. People might avoid kids that don’t look like they play well with others or have eating issues or sexuality issues. I don’t care about those things. The world is made up of a lot of different groups. If you want to go somewhere and do something, you can do it here.

He then went on encouraging people to come out of the closet:

I think you can only be your best when you’re the most comfortable. If you have to live in a closet, life’s really hard. You’re alone. Life’s tough enough when you have to interact with people. It’s really tough if you have to do it alone.

It’s nice to see at a school that allowed Rene Portland to coach in a conference that celebrates an anti-gay civil rights foe.

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Outsports: About how many emails have you received and where have they been from?
Brian Sims: I’ve received about 300 emails so far. To date, I’ve received emails or messages from [30 states and] Saudi Arabia, Iran, Australia, Brazil, France, Indonesia, Singapore, Croatia, England, Philippines, Canada, Turks and Caicos, Costa Rica, South Africa and New Zealand.

OS: What was one story you’ve heard from someone that really hit home?
Sims: I’ve had a lot of stories that really hit home. [One was from] a 15-year-old wrestler who came out to his team by sending the article to all of them. I asked him specifically if I could repeat his story or share some of it with redactions and he said no. One other story that hit home was the following, which was forwarded to me by a local judge:

My best friend just realized he is gay (he’s 27), after many years of wondering why women “did nothing” for him. He just thought he was asexual and a misfit…now, he realizes he was just afraid to look at men. Once he got past the fear, he realized his strong attraction to men.

What made that story so important to him and me is that my friend is a total jock…football lover…baseball lover…and he played football his whole high school/college career. As this whole thing has unraveled, he feels out of place as a jock, and then, conversely, out of place as gay. He is just your typical meathead jock (no offense to my friend!) who has wanted to play running back his whole life…

This article showed him how there is no stereotype, for jocks or gays, and it just made him break down and cry, he was so relieved that he wasn’t alone. He is currently crying at his desk at work.

This is a really crucial time for him, obviously, and he’s very emotionally fragile (thank god, he is seeing a therapist). This article just lifted him up so much, it was incredible. It hit him on so many levels, and I just can’t tell you enough that you may have almost saved his emotional health by posting that. It was exactly the right article at the right time. For all I know, you may have almost saved his psyche, if not life, by posting that. So I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart.

He is also worried that he will never meet a guy with his same interests…and I think this showed him that there are many people out there JUST LIKE HIM. He isn’t ready to come out yet, but he does want to meet someone with similar interests and he never thought such a man existed.

Know that you did a really good deed! Good luck with the campaign, and thank you again.

OS: Have you have any negative responses?
Sims: I’ve not gotten a single negative response. One gay guy in England was a little pissed that I’m a supporter of gay marriage when PRO-LIFE should be my issue, but that wasn’t really on point.

OS: Have you heard from former teammates?
Sims: I’ve heard from a couple of former teammates, mostly guys that I keep in touch with anyway. They were all pretty happy about the article and expectedly supportive. A few teammates who I can’t identify (none of my close friends, to my knowledge) have posted on a couple of different sites about this and it got picked up by www.d2football.com which is the Div II football website. [One response was]:

I played football with Sims at Bloomsburg too and although I don’t know who the other teammate of ours that posted above is, I agree with him completely. Sims was an incredibly unique guy to play football with and to have led our team. He was such a part of the character and identity of that football team that it’s hard to imagine those years without him. He was always looking out for his teammates and the younger players. Even though he was usually hanging out with the team, everyone knew he was very smart and got really good grades.

Being a part of a team with a guy like Sims is something I’ll remember forever. After kicking your ass all day at practice, this guy would show up at your house at midnight to help you finish a paper you had due the next day. It was strange, he was a hot shot in every way possible at Bloomsburg but you’d never have known it if you were around him.

To this day I still have people ask me if I knew Brian Sims and what he was like outside of the classroom. I always respond that he was one of the best football players I ever played with but without a doubt, was the best leader I ever played for. He was an incredible guy in college and when I see him now, he’s still the same guy – fun, friendly, and smart.

OS: What would you say to an athlete or former athlete thinking about telling their story to Outsports?
Sims: To former athletes I would say that clearly it’s never too late to make an impact by your story. I haven’t played football in 9 years and quite frankly, I’d sort of figured that my being a gay football captain wasn’t that special anymore. I have certainly learned otherwise. These types of stories are so important to other lgbt kids and athletes who are unsure of themselves but it’s almost more important for straight people and allies to hear that this is pretty common and that a non-shaming, kind-hearted reaction can be the norm. Let’s give straight people the reason and opportunity to be supportive and not let them stay saddled with the expectation that they have to be hateful or judgmental.

To current athletes, I can only say that I have heard from COUNTLESS former athletes who truly regret not saying something earlier. Sure it’s a scary proposition to approach those in “your world” and tell them that you’re not exactly like they are, but the truth of the matter is, every coach, player, cheerleader, that you come in contact with, knows a gay person somewhere – the odds are they love and respect them. I can’t tell anyone to be a hero, but stepping out as a current athlete is certainly heroic.
Brian Sims can be reached via email.

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I got a copy of the movie today, and I am thrilled to say that I loved it. There had been a ho-hum review of the film from the Philadelphia Inquirer, so I was skeptical going in. I’ll have a full review later this week, but it is an absolutely gripping must-see film for all of our readers. Lesbian sports hero Pat Griffin was at the premiere and loved the film.

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1.  Southern California (2-0)  The Trojans had the weekend off in preparation for a rare Thursday game (for them) at Oregon State.  Beating the Beavers shouldn’t be too difficult.  Prediction:  USC 42, Oregon State 17.

2.  Oklahoma (3-0)  It’s not often that the top two teams have a bye in the same week, but that was the case this past weekend.  The Sooners face a good test Saturday, hosting a strong team of TCU Horned Frogs.  TCU is one of the country’s more underrated teams and its defense will cause problems.  The guess here is that Oklahoma will pull away late to win a tight one.

3.  Georgia (4-0)  The Dawgs finally looked like the team everyone envisioned before the season began, winning at Arizona State 27-10.  The heat goes up another notch Saturday when Georgia meets Alabama in one of the must-see Games of the Week.

4.  Florida (3-0)  The Gators had no problem in routing Tennessee on the road and are looking as dominant as ever.  Florida hosts Ole Miss Saturday in what should be another blowout.  Defensively, the Gators appear overpowering at this point, only allowing 19 points against three quality opponents so far.

5.  LSU (3-0)  There’s no question the Southeastern Conference looks like the nation’s best league right now.  LSU’s come-from-behind win at Auburn was very impressive, and the battle for the league crown is shaping up to be a great one.  The Tigers, who vault up two spots in this week’s Dirty Dozen, should have little problem against struggling Mississippi State Saturday.

6.  Wisconsin (3-0)  The Badgers got a week off following their 13-10 win at Fresno State and now head to the Big House for a date with the Michigan Wolverines Saturday.  With Ohio State and Penn State looming on the schedule in the next two weeks, winning at Michigan becomes almost a must in the race for the Big Ten championship.

7.  Missouri (4-0)  A bye this week may be what is needed for Mizzou.  The Tigers came out uninspired against Buffalo and it showed.  Leading just 27-21 late in the third quarter, Missouri finally got untracked and put the game away, but not before a scare.  I’m still not fully convinced this is a Top 10 team.

8.  Texas (3-0)  The Longhorns move up a couple of spots this week following the 52-10 win over Rice.  Texas still hasn’t played anyone of note, and things don’t look to be very difficult this week against an Arkansas team that has looked anything but strong this season.

9.  Alabama (4-0)  Thanks to new offensive coordinator Jim McElwain, Bama is rolling right now.  The Tide had problems scoring in the past, but they’re averaging over 40 points a game in two road wins at Clemson and Arkansas this year.  They’ll need plenty of offense to win at Georgia Saturday, but I wouldn’t count them out.

10.  Boise State (3-0)  Trying to fill out these final three spots is difficult, so I looked at a handful of teams and evaluated their schedules and where the games were played.  The Broncos’ win in Eugene against Oregon Saturday ranks as one of the best road wins of anyone at this point.  Sure the Ducks have some trouble at quarterback, but winning at Autzen Stadium is never easy.  And Oregon’s biggest troubles were on defense where it had no answers for a Boise State team with a freshman quarterback and four new offensive linemen.

11.  Brigham Young (4-0)  It remains to be seen if anyone will be able to score again on the Cougars.  BYU has outscored its last two opponents 103-0.  True, the last win was over hapless Wyoming, but a shutout is a shutout.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see BYU get its third straight shutout Friday when it faces in-state rival Utah State.

12.  Penn State (4-0)  The Nittany Lions have played a less than spectacular schedule (Coastal Carolina, Oregon State, Syracuse, Temple), but at least they’re blowing those teams out.  Penn State has outscored its opponents a whopping 211-40 in starting the season 4-0 for just the second time this decade.  Big Ten play kicks off Saturday against Illinois and we’ll learn a lot more about how good Penn State really is.

Dropped out – Then-#8 East Carolina, then-#9 Auburn, then-#11 Oregon.

Moved in – Alabama, Boise State, Penn State.

Just missed – Wake Forest, Utah, Colorado, South Florida.

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