Tag Archives: gay sports

American Soccer Player Robbie Rogers Comes Out!

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I have always believed that the more that we share our experiences of coming out, not only does it help us process and accept who we really are but also also helps others how their is light at the end of the tunnel. In comes the story of the US Soccer player Robbie Rogers. A man who was conflicted with the expectations of what he thought his family/loved ones wanted from who the man he has always been. Several days ago Rogers posted his latest blogpost about his sexuality and how he plans to live the life he was always meant to:

robbierogers3The Next Chapter…

Things are never what they seem… My whole life I have felt different, different from my peers, even different from my family. In today’s society being different makes you brave. To overcome your fears you must be strong and have faith in your purpose.

For the past 25 year I have been afraid, afraid to show whom I really was because of fear. Fear that judgment and rejection would hold me back from my dreams and aspirations. Fear that my loved ones would be farthest from me if they knew my secret. Fear that my secret would get in the way of my dreams.

Dreams of going to a World Cup, dreams of The Olympics, dreams of making my family proud. What would life be without these dreams? Could I live a life without them?

Life is only complete when your loved ones know you. When they know your true feelings, when they know who and how you love. Life is simple when your secret is gone. Gone is the pain that lurks in the stomach at work, the pain from avoiding questions, and at last the pain from hiding such a deep secret.

Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.

I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will always be thankful for my career. I will remember Beijing, The MLS Cup, and most of all my teammates. I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret.

Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football. It’s 1 A.M. in London as I write this and I could not be happier with my decision. Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest. Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear. My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.

We wish Rogers the best of luck. Many of his fellow players in soccer have shown an outpouring of unwavering support and praise for Rogers coming out. We can only hope that this gives the courage for others someday to do the same.

And while we’re on the subject, can we talk about how piercing his eyes are?! They’re amazing.

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Gay Football Player Adam Goddard Poetry Slams Obama Over Marraige Equality (Video)

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In  high school former football fullback Adam Goddard was stuggling with his sexuality and was having a hard time finding himself until he eventually found the Los Angeles Gay Football League and began to grow.

Adam who now identifies as gay performed at the NOH8 campaign’s third anniversary party  at the House of Blues on Sunset Blvd., where he recited a slam poem, titled ‘Yes we can but no we haven’t,‘ written by Goddard himself for a class project on marriage equality.

WOOF! – Check Out The Gay Mans Guys To The World Cup (Pictures Included)

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Courtesy of GayNZ.com comes “The Gay Man’s Guys To the World Cup” or as I like to call it “How to Know What You Are Actually Drooling Over Handbook”

Learn the other meanings for such words and terms as “Hooker”, “Ball handling”, “Quickie”  and “Coming Inside” and best of all.  It has pictures. 

So head on over and meet some of the worlds humpiest rugger buggers amd learn a few things.

 After all, man does not live by Ben Cohen alone.   Although he could.  WOOF!

ESPN Radio Host Jared Max & Professional Bowler Scott Norton Come Out: "I’m Gay"

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It seems as though ever since New York Rangers star Sean Avery came out for gay marriage and was attacked by Todd Reynolds, the vice president of Uptown Sports not only support of LGBT Equality but closet doors themselves have been opening though out the sports world starting with coming out earlier this week of Phoenix Suns CEO and President Rick Welts

The two latest sports figures to come out are ESPN radio host Jared Max, one of the best-known voices in New York sports radio and Professional bowler Scott Norton

Jared Max:

“Are we ready to have our sports information delivered by someone who is gay? Well we are gonna find out. Because for the last 16 years, I’ve been living a free life among my close friends and family, and I’ve hidden behind what is a gargantuan sized secret here in the sports world. I am gay. Yeah. Jared Max. The sports guy who is one of the most familiar faces in New York sports isn’t quite like the majority. And while you already knew I was a little different, this might help make sense of it. But more so, I’m taking this courageous jump into the unknown having no idea how I will be perceived…” – You can listen to Jared’s FULL Broadcast here

And writes Scott Norton in a piece for the Professional Bowlers Association:

While many athletes wait until they retire to officially come out, the fact that Mr. Welts has the courage to do so while still actively involved with the NBA has encouraged me to also acknowledge that I am a gay athlete.

It is extremely important for me to come out to show other gay athletes, both current and future, that it is important to come out to show that we are just like everyone else. Being gay doesn’t define who I am as a person or as a professional athlete. I’m also a professional bowler, lawyer, caring, compassionate, strong, and many other things.

It’s important to show people that being gay has nothing to do with one’s ability to do anything as a man, least of all compete at the highest level of sports

After the article came out Norton  immediately changed his Facebook photo to show himself and the man to whom he is engaged.  Just totally awesome.

Both Jared Max and Scott Norton’s courage is astounding

Keep the faith and we are hear to support you! 

International Winning Harness Racer Steven Shinn Fights Back At Gay Discrimination After Being Fired In Austraila

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Steven Shinn is a world renowned horse harness racing champion well known in Australia. In 2008, the RWWA (Racing and Wagering of Western Austraila) employed him as a senior harness racing steward in , but shortly afterwards was told by the chairman: “None of your colleagues want to work with you”. and was fired.

Why?  Well according to one of his managers at the RWWA its because: ‘Before Shinn arrived here, we heard he was fired in Adelaide because your boss walked in on you naked with your boyfriend’, which of course was a complete lie.”

Discriminating against LGBT people in the workplace is illegal under Australian law.So Shinn has  lodged his case with the Fair Work Australia tribunal and wants his situation to empower other LGBT people who may be in the same situation.

“I want to draw attention to the plight of the thousands of gay and lesbian people and those from other minorities who daily suffer from both overt and latent discrimination still prevalent in this country,” Shinn said.

More than 100 key trotting figures have signed a petition protesting Shinn’s dismissal.

If this happens in a country where its against the law to discriminate against LGBT individuals….imagine how often it happens in America where it still is not. – Source

Stunningly Handsome German Footballer Mario Gomez: “German Gay Players Should Come Out”

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In an interview in the German magazine Bunte, handsome and sexy Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez has urged gay footballers to come out of the closet.

Gomez said: “They would play as if they had been liberated. Being gay should no longer be a taboo topic.”

Gomez’s comments mark a change from the norm in German sports, as a number of players who have recently spoken about the issue warned that anyone coming out would face huge pressure.

“We’ve got a gay vice-chancellor [Guido Westerwelle]; the Berlin mayor [Klaus Wowereit] is gay. So professional footballers should own up to their preference,” he said. “there are plenty of role models in German society to inspire gay players come out.”

In March, former German football manager Rudi Assauer said gay men should not play football because they will be ridiculed.  He said: “If a player came to me and said he was gay I would say to him: ‘You have shown courage’. But then I would tell him to find something else to do.“That’s because those who out themselves always end up busted by it, ridiculed by their fellow players and by people in the stands. We should spare them these witch hunts.”

Tim Wiese, a player for Germany and Werder Bremen, said that gay players would came out would be “destroyed” by “merciless fans”, while Bayern Munich defender Philipp Lahm said that openly gay players would struggle to cope with the scrutiny.

Currently, there are no out gay players in the German Bundesliga. Marcus Urban, who played for the national youth teams in the 1990s before settling at second division club Rot-Weiss Erfurt did come out but quit the game immediately afterwards.   [source]

No Gay Couples Shown On St. Louis Cardinals Kiss Cam At Saturdays Game – Are We Shocked?

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After a week of will they or won;t they, no gay couples were featured on Busch Stadiums Jumbotron on Saturday as  folks from Pride St. Louis, the local gay rights and advocacy organization that had about 200 members at the game, at least some of whom were hoping for a same-sex moment on the Kiss Cam.

Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe” blared. There were old couples, young couples, oblivious couples. who were featured on screen  But not one same-sex couples.

The idea for a kiss cam moment came about after Sunday’s Ram’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. During the game, the kiss cam focused on two men in Arizona jerseys who jeered at the camera and made expressions of distaste toward one another.

Some gays and lesbians who were at the game said it appeared that by having the kiss cam linger on the men – who seemed to them to be straight — there was an insinuation that the men were gay. The kiss cam catch was followed by hoots, boos and derisive cheers from the audience.

“We always felt left out because the kiss cam always singles out heterosexual couples,” Harrison Roberts. (pictured left) Roberts is the manager of Just John’s where the official after-party was held on Saturday following the game. And  after what happened at the Rams game, all the gay and lesbian fans that were there felt embarrassed and a little degraded,” he added. “Why shouldn’t we be on the camera, too?”

But the Cardinals made no promises, and all week pointed out that the Kiss Cam roams the crowd, trying to squeeze as many couples as it can into about 90 seconds. and nwhen the moment came, in the middle of the second inning, the Kiss Cam scene was all heterosexual couple, aside from one young man and his mother

Ethan Barnett, a Pride board member who organized the event, said .”It was meaningful enough that the Cardinals even approached the group about a bulk-ticket purchase a few months back. We’re really excited about it. It’s the first time the Cardinals have gone so far as to look us up as a community and approach us. Everyone’s been welcoming.”  (UGH typical.  Dude, they wanted to sell tickets.)

That it didn’t pan out wasn’t too big a surprise.  It was a little disappointing, Roberts said  after the game, but all the fuss at least got people talking about the issue and the idea that gay people are Cardinals fans, too.

NFL Hall of Famer Dan Hampton Makes Anti-Gay "Brokeback Mountain" And Also Jokes About Hurricane Katrina On Air

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\Someone needs to shove a dirty jockstrap into NFL Hall of Famer Dan Hampton’s mouth to shut him up.

Twice this week blow hard Dan Hampton has made two very serious on air comment during Pro Football Weekly.  One of which was anti-gay and one referencing Hurricane Katrina.  (So far Hampton has ONLY apologized about the Katrina remark.)

The Hurricane Katrina remark had to do with the Vikings meeting up with the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints   Said Hampton: (The Vikings need to)  “go down there and hit that town like Katrina.”

Then later in the show when talking about the Dallas Cowboys, Hampton said “The Cowboys think they are Clint Eastwood; they’re more of the Brokeback variety if you know what I’m talking about.” Hampton wasn’t actually saying the Cowboys players are gay, but by making this comment, Hampton telegraphed to his audience that gay men are not good enough,  Every day, millions of kids across this country are harassed, bullied and beaten because of attitudes like this. Hampton should not be using his platform to encourage homophobia no matter how stupid Dan Henson is.

Back2Stonewall’s Saturday Night Movie – Straight Acting (2005) – 57 Minutes

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Straight Acting is a 2005 documentary by filmmaker Spencer Windes about his journey from closeted Mormon missionary into an openly gay man, through involvement in the subculture of gays who play contact sports.
The Washington Blade:

Windes’ well-meaning and sweet film…. …the film’s empowering portrayal of gay men make it worthwhile.

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