Sports

L’HOMO, a special edition of the Dutch women’s magazine Linda, features seven shirtless athletes on its cover in an issue dealing with gays in sports. The catch is that only two of the athletes are gay, with the rest showing their support for the subject. The athletes show a lot of skin in the magazine […]

U.S. skater Richard Dornbush I was so looking forward to the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships to be held in Tokyo this year, which were moved due to March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The Japanese fans are probably the most appreciative skating audience, cheering and clapping for everyone, not just their own. So for the […]

“I love a gay wedding.” That was just one of the great lines out of director Kevin Smith’s mouth as he officiated a wedding recently between two men who both happen to be Los Angeles Kings fans. The entire wedding was broadcast on Smith’s podcast, and it was all done hockey-style. The wedding was part […]

We’ve said for years the NHL is the most likely to have the first active openly gay pro athlete in the U.S., and it seems someone at AfterElton agrees. In a lengthy article chronicling many gay sports stories over the years, they’ve also come to the conclusion that the NFL is the least likely to […]

On the same day Kobe Bryant’s gay epithet hit the airwaves, two NBA players were cutting a PSA for GLSEN. Phoenix Suns Grant Hill and Jared Dudley filmed the spot for GLSEN and the NBA’s “Think Before You Speak” campaign (the irony of Kobe’s comment is rich). ABC15 caught up with Hill at the PSA […]

Kobe Bryant said he’d do more to correct for his use of the slur ‘faggot’ last week, and he has started with a PSA encouraging understanding. The PSA, which will be shown during Lakers games, features Bryant’s Lakers teammates and is making the rounds on TV and the Web. It talks about differences of race, […]

The Associated Press ran a detailed feature on gays in sports, with the focus on Eastern Michigan runner Austin Hendrix. I had spoken to the writer, Nancy Armour, and she had found Austin’s terrific coming out story on Outsports that ran in December. His journey was used in the AP story to illustrate the struggles […]

In a first, an athlete in the King of the Hardwood is soliciting votes. The voting ends Thursday and rugby player Nick Youngquest trails the NFL's Eric Decker, 55% to 45%. Youngquest just heard about the contest and sent us messages via Twitter, including this one: I think its cool the Youngquest gets the spirit […]

The biggest news since we last checked in with Kobe Bryant might be that Bryant allegedly told ESPN reporter Lisa Salters he used to beat up kids for teasing gay students, and that he intends to do more on the issue. From Towleroad: I used to beat up a lot of kids even in high […]

Openly gay college swimmer Kevin Rohle finds that humor and perseverance have a gone a long way to fitting in on his team at Adelphi Unversity on New York’s Long Island. Rohle is the subject of a terrific profile in Garden City Patch, where he talks about his career goal of being a nurse. “People […]

More great news out of college hockey. GForce is again teaming up with Patrick Burke to present a conversation, this time at the American Hockey Coaches Convention, April 28-May 1 in Naples, Fla. The panel discussion features Burke, out former Oneonta State lacrosse captain Andrew McIntosh, and out former Univ. of Pennsylvania hockey captain Dave […]

The minor league hockey team Hershey Bears in Pennsylvania are saying no to homophobic taunting from their own fans, all because a lesbian fan had had enough. From GLAAD: The incidents were brought to the team’s attention by Bears fan Abigail Habbert. Habbert and her partner are season ticket holders, and noticed in January that […]

The International Association of Athletics Federations, track & field’s governing body, is changing some hormone-based rules to determine whether women can compete against other women. According to the new guidelines (in very basic terms), women with hyperandrogenism whose testosterone levels approach those of men would not be allowed to compete as a woman. There are […]

The Brazilian volleyball team Sada Cruzeiro was fined $30,000 after 3,000 of its fans chanted “bicha” (faggot) at Michael, a gay player for Volei Futuro, during an April 2 playoff match. The story became huge news in Brazil after the crowd's action, which led Michael to come out publicly. In the second game of the […]

We’re proud to bring you today the stories of two men at liberal arts college Bowdoin College. Lacrosse captain Ben Chadwick has been out on his team for over two years; Men’s head tennis coach Colin Joyner has been out for even longer. Both men have come together to tear down walls of homophobia in […]

Friday was the national Day of Silence, where students across the country took a vow of silence to bring attention to bullying and other harassment of LGBT youth. Craig Cassey, whose blog, Craig’s Gay Word, we have featured before, has an excellent post up about what the day meant for him, now that he is […]

$100,000. That’s the new baseline for yelling “faggot” in the NBA, based on the fine issued to Kobe Bryant. (Does this mean that “fag” gets you 50K?) As far as I can gather, that’s the largest fine in American major pro sports for someone uttering a gay slur. True, it should have been more and […]

The Advocate released their annual Forty Under 40 this week. The list highlights the work of LGBT people under 40 who are making a difference. It was cool to see several people on the list that had gotten their initial introduction to the U.S. here at Outsports: Wrestler Akil Patterson (right), speed skater Blake Skjellerup […]

The NBA has fined Kobe Bryant $100k for calling referee Bennie Adams a “fucking faggot” during their game last night. NBA commissioner David Stern released this statement: Kobe Bryant’s comment during last night’s game was offensive and inexcusable. While I’m fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be […]

The Los Angeles Lakers posted this statement from Kobe Bryant after he called a referee a “faggot” in last night’s game: What I said last night should not be taken literally. My actions were out of frustration during the heat of the game, period. The words expressed do NOT reflect my feelings towards the gay […]