(UK) - East London rugby club Kings Cross Steelers have won the right to host the 2009 European Gay rugby Union Cup. The Steelers are the current champions and will welcome more than 17 teams in May next year. Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, said: "The tournament will provide a platform to introduce Lesbian and Gay sport to new audiences." The first Union Cup was held in 2005 in Montpellier, France and then in Copenhagen, Denmark in 2007. The tournament will be held on 22 and 23 May 2009, at the club's West Ham ground.
Note: Read more on BBC
(New Zealand) - The inaugural Asia Pacific Outgames and Midsumma Festival in Melbourne begins next weekend, and organisers say they've signed up a large number New Zealanders to come and "play with their neighbours". Taking place between 19 January and 10 February, the Festival and Outgames aim to embrace the Asia Pacific gay and lesbian community and their friends, with a wide variety of sports, as well as a Human Rights Conference, and cultural festival including shows, parties, film screenings, and a Pride March in St. Kilda.
Note: Read more on Gay NZ
Imagine waking up every day and feeling like you were in the wrong body. Imagine the frustration and angst it would cause to know that although you felt like a human being, those around you didn't treat you that way. Imagine spending a lifetime trying to excel at a sport only to be told that physically you were unable to compete because an unprecedented gender policy forbids your inclusion. Imagine being the first person ever to challenge that rule and win. For former tennis player Renee Richards, those scenarios were reality. As one of the first recognized professional transgendered athletes, Richards made waves and broke down barriers, creating a legacy that would change the face of sports forever.
Note: Read more on PageOneQ
Imagine you’ve been a tennis player. You’re 18, you wear glasses, you stand 5ft 4in, you are at Wimbledon for the second time, the world has never heard of you and you are drawn against the No 1 seed Margaret Court. You win 7-5 in the third. You win the ladies doubles that same year and, charmed by your audacity, journalists call you “Little Miss Moffitt”. It would be the first of many labels. Three years later you marry Larry King and Miss Moffitt becomes Billie Jean King.
Note: Read more on Times Online
(Canada) - Vancouver will be quite Gay in the summer of 2011 if civic leaders stumping for the North America Continental Outgames and Human Rights Conference have their way. Some 3,500 Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered athletes and up to 2,500 delegates to the conference could attend, Vancouver Pride Society president John Boychuk said yesterday. The 10 days of events "would come to a conclusion the week before Pride Week," which is in August, said Boychuk. "It would put the city in a long, Gay spell. We did have the Gay Games here in the '90s. Since then, the Gay and Lesbian sporting world has made leaps and bounds."
Note: Read more on canada.com
At Changing Attitude Nigeria we are very disappointed at the outcome of the bidding process for hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Like most Nigerians we would have loved such an important international sporting occasion to come to our country. Some people may be tempted to accuse us of hypocrisy, as it was CAN that issued a damning report about Abuja’s bid, almost as if determined to undermine Nigeria’s chance of hosting the games. In fact, our disappointment is that the Nigerian government failed to respond to the issues we raised in time for the bidding process. Read more...
(New Zealand) - The co-president of Melbourne's inaugural Gay and Lesbian multi-sport games is holding meetings in Auckland and Wellington this week so New Zealanders can find out more about the event. The first Asia Pacific Outgames will take place between 30 January to 3 February 2008, staged during the Midsumma Festival, Melbourne's premier Gay and Lesbian cultural and arts event. A two-day Human Rights Conference is also planned - with New Zealand's own Georgina Beyer recently announced as one of the keynote speakers. Badminton, hockey, dancesport, lawn bowls, rowing, running, swimming, ten-pin bowling, tennis and water polo are among the many sport tournaments planned at the Games.
Note: Read more on GayNZ
(USA) - As early as the 1920’s tennis legend Bill Tilden had put his mark on Gay sports history. With three Wimbledon titles, seven US open Championships and leading the US Davis Cup team to 7 victories, Tilden was considered by some to be the greatest player to ever grace the court. It was his personal life and his penchant for underage boys, however, that made him a controversial character in the tennis world. Following his arrests, Tilden was all but shunned from the tennis community and was almost written out of the sport's history. However, his accomplishments and his outspokenness did make a profound difference in the game and to the Gay community by not making any apologies for being Gay.
Note: Read more on GayWired
(Argentine) - More than 500 footballers from 28 countries are getting ready to kick off at the Gay World Cup in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. The holders, London's Stonewall FC, are among the favourites, with the US and Argentina providing the closest rivals. It is the first time the cup has been held in Latin America. The annual event, in its 17th year, is about serious football and has a serious message, but players also seem keen to enjoy the city's nightlife. Twenty-eight teams representing cities from the US, Canada, Australia, Iceland, Germany, England, Argentina, Chile and Mexico, among others, are taking part in a week of games.
Note: Read more on BBC
Peter Tatchell can hardly be questioned when he points out how remarkable it is that Fashanu is the only leading footballer to announce his homosexuality. Tatchell admits that Fashanu was a troubled individual, and that he may well have made problems for himself as his days began to unravel. According to Tatchell, Fashanu reckoned that at the top level of English football there were probably a dozen or so gay or bisexual players, none of whom would dream of leaving the closet. His agony was deepened when he turned to born-again Christianity, only to find that he had replaced the sneering and the innuendos of football with threats of hell-fire damnation.
Note: Read more on Independent
(USA) - David Kopay, a University of Washington alum who was the first athlete on an American professional team to come out as gay, has pledged $1 million to the UW's Q Center, whose mission is to create an inclusive and celebratory environment for people of all sexual orientations. "The greatest gift we can give one another is the vision and beauty of life," Kopay said. "I continually hear from people all over the world that my act of coming out especially when I did in 1975 has empowered them in their search for self and to see their vision. Hopefully my million-dollar pledge will influence others to support the University and the Q Center continue to help others to do just that."
Note: Read more on Seattle Times
(Australia) - The organising entity for the inaugural 1st Asia Pacific Outgames, Melbourne Outgames Inc. (MOI), has announced that it is to stage a regional Gay and Lesbian multi-sport event in Melbourne, Australia that is set to take place between 30 January – 3 February, 2008. It will be staged during Melbourne’s premier Gay and Lesbian cultural and arts event, the Midsumma Festival. A license agreement between the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA), and MOI was signed in February this year and GLISA Asia Pacific has given the go ahead for the inaugural regional Outgames to be staged in Melbourne in 2008.
Note: Read full article on GenerationQ
(London, UK) - It would not be right for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, dubbed as “The Friendly Games”, to be held in Nigeria, given the country’s appalling human rights record, said Davis Mac-Iyalla, founder and leader of the gay Christian group, Changing Attitude Nigeria. “Nigeria’s homophobic oppression is a violation of the Commonwealth Games ethos of equality, humanity, peace, unity, cooperation and understanding,” he said in London at the weekend. “Unless Nigeria radically improves its human rights record, it should be ruled out of consideration as a host for the 2014 Games,” he added. Read more...
(USA) - Lucas Goodman, a junior rowing club member, felt so uneasy that he finally told the Green Lake Crew his secret: He is gay. The 18-year-old belongs to an emerging generation of openly gay and lesbian athletes on high school and college campuses across the country. These young men and women are quietly venturing where no pro football or baseball star has gone, challenging the conformist, if not downright homophobic, tradition of the playing fields. Their numbers are difficult to gauge because many confide only in peers.
Note: Read full article on LA Times
There have been so many trials and tribulations, so many injustices and tyrannies, so many radical life changes and personal reinventions, that it seems natural to regard Martina Navratilova’s life as one of permanent revolution. Each year a new philosophy, each month a new challenge, each day a potential watershed. “It took a while but I got there,” she says. “Now I can say almost anything and get away with it. It’s pretty nice. I feel like I earned it, but it took a long time. I’ve grown as a person and I am definitely more lovable now than 30 years ago - but I was never the ogre they made me out to be.”
Note: Read full article on Times online
(UK) - A charity fundraiser has set up Scotland's first gay football team. Kevin Rowe, 34, says he created Hotscots FC because gay players were not comfortable in "straight" teams and had suffered discrimination. He said: "It's for gay people who like football but who feel a little intimidated playing in straight teams. The social side is very important." Hotscots have a squad of 20 and compete in tournaments in their home city of Edinburgh. "We'd like to play against gay teams in England. There's a fair few down there." Kevin hopes the team can become established like Edinburgh's gay rugby club, the Caledonian Thebans.
Note: Read full article on Daily Record
(Dublin, Ireland) - News that Dublin is to host an international gay rugby tournament has already been met with “crouch, touch, hold and engage” euphoria. The International Gay Rugby Association (IGRAB) - don’t complain about the acronym it could have opted for GAA, the Gay Athletic Association — has chosen Dublin above Paris and Sydney for the 2008 Bingham Cup, one of the largest international rugby competitions of its kind. An expected 36 teams from around the world are expected to visit Dublin.
Note: Read full article on Irish Examiner
Tattooed on the inside of Ian Roberts' right arm is a question he ponders every day, 'what is it to be a man'? It's not his only tattoo - his arms are large enough to accommodate a mural - but it's perhaps the most appropriate because he challenged Australians on the very tenet of what it meant to be a man when he stepped out of the closet in 1994. Here was one of the most fearsome rugby league players in the game and one who, in 2005, was recognised among the top 25 New South Wales players of all time, admitting he was gay.
Note: Read full article on NZ Herald
(UK) - The only Welsh ref to be selected for the Rugby World Cup has revealed he considered suicide as he prepared to admit: "I'm gay." Pontyberem official Nigel Owens spoke yesterday of his anguish over coming out as a homosexual man in the macho sport. "It's such a big taboo to be gay in my line of work, I had to think very hard about it because I didn't want to jeopardise my career," said Nigel, 35, who is to become the 54th Welshman to officiate at the tournament in France this autumn.
Note: Read full article on icwales.icnetwork.co.uk
(USA) - While he's best known for his work with entertainment celebrities, publicist Howard Bragman has certainly made a name for himself in the world of sports. The openly gay publicist, called by some "the best publicist in the business," has worked with athletes and sports entities his entire career. In 2003, he repped Esera Tuaolo as he came out of the closet. Since then, he has also been the publicist for the coming out of golfer Rosie Jones, WNBA player Sheryl Swoopes and former NBA player John Amaechi.
Note: Read full article on Outsports.com
(UK) - From the neon lights of Britain's big cities, it looks like the fight for gay equality is finally over. But then you bump up against a statistic that shows how sharp homophobia remains: gay teenagers are still six times more likely to commit suicide than their straight siblings. If we aren't going to abandon those kids to their nooses, the fight for equality needs to shift now from lobbying politicians to changing the culture. But it is startling to remember that as it stands, Britain's only ever openly gay football player was hounded and pilloried until he committed suicide. Justin Fashanu, the first million-pound black player, was dubbed "a bloody poof" by his manager Brian Clough and "an outcast" by his own brother.
Note: Read full article on The Independent
(Australia) - Ken Campagnolo said he was considering lodging a complaint with the state Equal Opportunity Commission after his 16-year involvement was terminated two weeks ago. He said his bisexuality had been known to Bonnie Doon Football Club for many years. But he said the club had fired him after his bisexuality became public knowledge.
Note: Details are in the Herald Sun
Football, it seems, is one of the last professional environments where you can't be out and proud. In every other entertainment industry we have gay stars. Why should football be different? Are football fans really so incapable of watching a gay player without abusing him? Famously, Justin Fashanu was the only footballer who dared come out back in 1990, and eight years later he killed himself. But football was a very different place then.
Note: Read full article on Guardian
(USA) - For years, online, he was known as Frustrated Coach. He struggled with every sort of doubt about his identity and fought to make the monumental decision of whether or not to risk everything and come out of the closet. Finally, University of Missouri men’s lacrosse coach Kyle Hawkins took the Big Step... and, suddenly he had new obstacles to overcome.
Note: Kyle's story is at EDGEBoston.com
(Albany, NY) - Score one for the ultra-secret Gay Elders of Zion: a little more than a week after former NBA star and Albany Patroons basketball coach Michael Richardson let fly with homophobic slurs (and called Jews 'crafty') during an interview, he's getting fired. The owners of the Patroons decided that they didn't need to headaches, and announced today that they won't renew the bigot's contract.
Note: The details of his fall from grace are in the Wilmington Star
See previous story: Basketball Coach Suspended for Slurs
It's true in all professional sports: the minor leaguers want to act as if they belong in the majors. It seems that Continental Basketball League coach (and former NBA All-star) Micheal Ray Richardson decided that slurring Jewish people and gay folks was his way back to the top. Richardson tagged Jews as "crafty" while speaking to reporters before an Albany Patroons game, then tossed in a healthy dose of homophobia when dealing with a heckler after the tip-off. He miscalculated: he's been suspended.
Note: Details are on ESPN.com
[Australian Swimmer Ian] Thorpe... revealed why the talk originally started. “I became a gay icon when I was 15,” he said, “which was a little bit weird. When I was 17, everyone had started that speculation about me, though I didn’t hear about most of it. “I don’t have a problem with being a gay icon,” he continued. “It’s not a big deal to me. But I think the gay speculation, along with when I was accused of taking drugs in 2000, was an attempt to pull me down from the top. Some people think it’s an insult to say, ‘Oh I think he’s gay’, but I don’t take it that way. I’m not gay. I’m lucky that within myself I don’t care enough to get worried or upset over it.”
Note: Read the rest at GayNZ
(State College, PA) - Penn State women's basketball coach Rene Portland resigned, ending a 27-year tenure that included 606 wins and allegations she discriminated against lesbian players. ...The coach faced a series of discrimination allegations during her tenure. Most recently, Portland and Penn State settled a lawsuit in February by former player Jennifer Harris, who claimed Portland had a "no-lesbian" policy on her team.
Note: Read the full story in the Boston Globe
(Mexico) - A gay Mexican football team is hoping to win a place at the 2007 Gay Soccer World Cup in Argentina. They hope to spread tolerance and social understanding when they compete. Mexico, the world's second largest Catholic country, is still largely closed to homosexuality although one state recently began allowing gay civil unions.
Note: Read full article on www.channel4.com
(USA) - A turf war rages a scant few feet away from him, and Joey Fisher is the very last line of defense for his team. Out to his parents since age 14, later to close friends, Fisher was still nervous coming out to his teammates. As the news broke, some of his them even advised him against stepping further out of the closet to the team. But apparently, the rest of the team didn’t think much of it. The team reformed in the fall, and Fisher’s revelation was met with shrugs and well wishes.
Note: Read full article on www.sovo.com
(USA) - The NBA banished Tim Hardaway from All-Star weekend in Las Vegas because of his anti-gay remarks. Hardaway, who played in five All-Star games during the 1990s, was already in Las Vegas to make a series of public appearances this week on behalf of the league. But after saying, "I hate gay people" during a radio interview, commissioner David Stern stepped in. "We removed him from representing us because we didn't think his comments were consistent with having anything to do with us," Stern told reporters Thursday at the opening of a fan festival at a Las Vegas casino, part of the NBA's All-Star weekend.
Note: Read full article on www.cbsnews.com
(Miami, USA) - Former Miami Heat superstar Tim Hardaway told a local sports radio show that he "hates gay people," and he's gotten a lot of peoples' attention especially in South Florida. Hardaway made the comments while he was being interviewed by Dan Le Batard on 790 the Ticket Wednesday afternoon. The five time All Star was asked how he would deal with a gay teammate.
Note: Read full article on cbs4.com
Former NBA player John Amaechi's story about being a gay athlete on a professional sports team -- told in an upcoming book, an upcoming TV interview and likely several hundred interviews in the upcoming weeks -- sounds like a brave move. It was just as brave when former NFL player Esera Tuaolo told his story a couple years ago. And former NFL player Roy Simmons a couple years before that. All brave. And all "former." All waited until after their careers were done. Which might just be why their stories sound exactly the same, tell-all after tell-all. Especially the part where they believe that one day, hopefully in their lifetimes, a gay athlete will make himself known while active and be accepted for who he is.
Note: Read full article on www.baltimoresun.com
(USA) - John Amaechi, a former player with the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic, has become the first NBA player to come out as gay. Amaechi will announce publicly for the first time that he is gay on an episode of ESPN's "Outside The Lines" to air Feb. 13, Outsports has learned. His book, published by ESPN Books, "Man In The Middle," in which he chronicles his NBA career and directly addresses the travails of being a closeted professional athlete, will be released the following week.
Note: Read full article on www.outsports.com
(Germany) - Politicians, pop stars and artists coming out of the closet hardly raise eyebrows in Germany. But it's an entirely different ballgame on the soccer field, where being openly gay remains strictly taboo. German professional soccer hasn't seen a gay player to date. At least not officially. That isn't because there aren't any, but because they've decided keeping their sexuality hidden is preferable to the career-ending scorn, ridicule and even physical danger they would face if they came out of the closet.
Note: Read full article on www.dw-world.de
(Brighton, UK) - The Gay UK Sailing Team has announced that Barclays will be sponsoring the seventh annual EuroGay Cup Regatta, to be held in Brighton on the 9th and 10th of June. This is the second time GUST will be hosting the event in the UK. The regatta is expected to attract up to 60 competitors in teams of four or five crew. Read more...
(MANCHESTER, UK) - Village Manchester FC, the city’s gay football club, has clinched a major three-year sponsorship deal with Recon.com, a fetish site for gay men. The deal was announced by Philip Hamil, managing director of Recon and head of communications at Village Manchester, Jason McAuley. Both the first and second teams at the club are involved in the deal which will see Village Manchester change their traditional blue ‘home’ shirts in favour of a new red one emblazoned with the Recon logo.
Note: Read full article on UK Gay News
(MONTREAL, CANADA) - The Montreal Outgames has filed for protection from its creditors while seeking a way out of debt to its suppliers. ``We didn't want to go into bankruptcy,'' Outgames co-chairperson Marielle Dupere said Wednesday. ``We want to pay our suppliers.'' Dupere said she would release a statement Thursday or Friday to explain the manoeuvre. Filing for protection under the federal Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act temporarily protects the Outgames from being forced into bankruptcy or sued for payment.
Note: Read full article on www.canada.com
(Dublin, Ireland) - Ireland has won the scrum to host the next gay rugby world cup in 2008. The biennial competition was awarded to Dublin at a meeting in Seattle of representatives from 30 countries. Paris and Sydney had been Ireland’s main rivals to host the Bingham Cup, a three-day competition.
Note: Read full article on www.timesonline.co.uk
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