Volume 44, Issue 35 - August 30, 2013

AUGUST 30 2013 VOLUME 44 I SSUE 35 U OUR COMMUNI TY, OUR STORI ES SI NCE 1969 U WASHI NGTONBLADE.
COM
with guest editor brendon ayanbadejo
02 AUGUST 30, 2013 WASHl NGTONBLADE. COM
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WASHI NGTONBLADE. COM AUGUST] U
Dr. Kings oration 50 years
ago helped us create a
better world
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
lchibbaro@washblade.com
At least a dozen civil rights leaders and
public ofcials speaking at the Lincoln
Memorial on Saturday to commemorate
the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March
on Washington joined ve gay and
lesbian speakers in embracing LGBT
equality.
Martin Luther King III, one of the
lead organizers of the 50th Anniversary
March on Washington; U.S. Attorney
General Eric Holder; U.S. House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.); NAACP
President and CEO Benjamin Jealous;
and Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights President Wade Henderson were
among those expressing the theme that
LGBT rights are part of the broader civil
rights movement.
With tens of thousands of people
assembled before her on the Lincoln
Memorial steps and the National Mall,
lesbian activist Donna Payne expanded
on that theme.
In times like this today I stand
proudly with you as an African-American
lesbian representing the Human Rights
Campaign, Payne told the gathering.
I am proud because the lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender community
and the African-American community
are working together toward justice for
all.
Payne added, There have been
many attempts to tell you that we cant
get along because we are so different.
Dont believe that hype. I come from
a mother and father that sat at the
tables at Woolworth stores ghting for
freedom from Jim Crow laws.
Payne, HRC Associate Director of
Field Outreach, was referring to black
civil rights activists who staged sit-in
protests in the early 1960s at segregated
restaurants and other businesses in the
South that restricted blacks to colored
only areas.
The majority in my family are lifetime
members of the NAACP, she said. This
commitment doesnt stop because Im
a lesbian. I am part of the fabric that
weaves our destiny together, she said.
Freedom is not about one civil rights
group but its about all of our civil rights
for everyone.
A second rally at the Lincoln Memorial
on Wednesday in connection with the
50th Anniversary March on Washington
events, was scheduled to include
speeches by Presidents Barack Obama,
Bill Clinton, and Jimmy Carter. Also
scheduled to speak was lesbian activist
Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay,
Lesbian & Straight Education Network
(GLSEN). Visit washingtonblade.com for
full coverage.
Rev. MacArthur Flournoy, HRC
director of Faith Partnership and
Mobilization, told the Lincoln Memorial
rally that LGBT people are also part of
the faith-based arm of the civil rights
movement.
Today I stand up as a black gay man
ordained in the church in love with God
lled with faith, he said. So we at the
Human Rights Campaign we join our
faith with your faith. We look for an end
to discrimination in all its forms. No
more religious bigotry. No more racist
bigotry. No more violence bigotry.
Sharon Lettman-Hicks, executive
director of the National Black Justice
Coalition, an LGBT rights organization,
and Payne of HRC were added as
speakers at Saturdays Lincoln Memorial
event after the initial list of speakers had
been released.
Every day I educate, advocate and
celebrate the contributions of the black
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community because if any of my
brothers and sisters are not equal and
free none of us are truly equal and free,
said Lettman-Hicks, a straight, longtime
advocate for LGBT rights.
Lettman-Hicks was among a number
of the rally speakers who talked about
Bayard Rustin, a gay man who served
as one of the lead organizers of the
1963 March on Washington and one of
Martin Luther King Jr.s top advisers.
Rustin was a radical visionary, a black
gay activist for freedom and justice
during a time when the conditions
of both of these identities were
perilous, she said. Rustin was as
unapologetically black as he was gay
and by his very presence challenged
the evils of homophobia and racism
throughout his life.
Adrian Shanker, president of the
statewide LGBT rights group Equality
Pennsylvania, identied himself as a
gay Pennsylvanian reecting on the
historic march 50 years ago, a march
organized by another gay Pennsylvanian
named Bayard Rustin.
Shanker said he was proud to speak
at an event with distinguished civil rights
leaders who paved the paths that allow
us to stand here today more equal than
yesterday, but with so much farther to
go before the dream Dr. King shared will
be realized.
He noted that in Pennsylvania LGBT
people can still be red from their jobs
because of their sexual orientation or
gender identity. In his home state the
governor recently signed a voter ID law
intended to suppress our votes, and
LGBT youth face school bullying every
day, he said.
In Pennsylvania my legal marriage to
my husband Brandon is not recognized
by my government, said Shanker, who
called on states and the U.S. Congress
to pass laws to eliminate the remaining
discriminatory practices faced by LGBT
people across the country.
Two out lesbians and LGBT rights
advocates that spoke at the Lincoln
Memorial rally Randi Weingarten,
president of the American Federation of
Teachers; and Mary Kay Henry, president
of the Service Employees International
Union (SEIU), stressed the importance
of organized labor in the U.S. civil rights
movement.
Dr. Kings oration 50 years ago helped
us create a better world, although we
do not yet have the world that Dr. King
dreamed of, Weingarten said. So this
must not be a commemoration. This
must be a continuation of that righteous
ght to achieve racial and economic
opportunity at the voting booth, in our
schools, in our workplaces and in our
communities.
She added, Fifty years ago another
gay person, Bayard Rustin, had to be
in the shadows. But today, I speak as
a teacher, a worker, a labor activist and
a gay person deeply committed to my
faithThis is who we must be, not only
a country that believes in equality but a
country that acts on that belief. So lets
take a lesson from King. Lets unite
Henry didnt specically mention
LGBT rights but called for the broad civil
rights and economic opportunities that
she said were the hallmark of Martin
Luther King Jr.s advocacy work.
As we rededicate ourselves to the
goals of the 1963 marchers imagined
50 years ago we stand for freedom,
she said. We stand for jobs. We stand
for equality. And the visionaries of this
march proclaimed that we were going
to ght the twin evils of racism and
economic inequality.
Holder, like many of the non-LGBT
speakers, noted that LGBT people and
other minorities have become a part of
the mainline civil rights movement since
the time of the 1963 march.
As we gather today, 50 years later,
their march now our march
goes on, Holder told the rally at the
Lincoln Memorial. And our focus has
broadened to include the cause of
women, Latinos, of Asian Americans,
of lesbians, of gays, of people with
disabilities, and of countless others
across the country who still yearn
for equality, opportunity, and fair
treatment.
Martin Luther King III said the civil
rights movement has become stronger
as it has become broader and more
diverse, with the diversity reected in
different minorities and different faiths.
Yes, we all need to love each other,
black and white, old and young, red
and brown, gay and straight, Christian,
Muslim and Jew and all of Gods children
loving one another, he told the rally.
washingtonblade.com
04 AUGUST 30, 2013 LOCAL NEWS
National March on Washington anniversary events unIolded all week on the National Mall.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY JON WOOTEN
March on Washington speakers call for LGBT equality
Editors note: Due to the special
sports-themed issue of this weeks
Blade, our usual news sections are
abbreviated. Sports coverage begins
on Page 15. Visit washingtonblade.
com for updated news, including full
coverage of March on Washington
anniversary events. Well return to our
usual wonky selves next week.
WASHI NGTONBLADE. COM AUGUST] Ux
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U.S. code denes spouse as
opposite-sex, despite DOMA
ruling
By CHRIS JOHNSON
cjohnson@washblade.com
Gay married couples are still barred
from receiving veterans spousal benets
at this time despite the court ruling against
the Defense of Marriage Act, according to
a letter from the Department of Veterans
Affairs that was obtained Tuesday by the
Washington Blade.
In a letter dated Aug. 14, Secretary
of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki says
gay veterans are currently unable to
receive the federal benets of marriage
because of Title 38, a portion of the U.S.
code governing veterans benets that
denes spouse in opposite-sex terms
independent of DOMA.
Certain provisions in title 38, United
States Code, dene spouse and
surviving spouse to refer only to a
person of the opposite-sex, the letter
states. Under these provisions, a same-
sex marriage recognized by a State would
not confer spousal status for purposes of
eligibility of VA benets. Although the title
38 denition of spouse and surviving
spouse are similar to the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA) provision at issue
in United States v. Windsor, no court
has yet held the title 38 denitions to be
unconstitutional.
Shinsekis letter continues to say that the
Department of Veterans Affairs is working
with the Department of Justice to assess
the impact of the Windsor decision on the
continued constitutional viability of Title
38s and VAs obligations with respect to
those statutes.
No decisions on benets have been
made at this point, said Josh Taylor, a VA
spokesperson. Were working with DOJ
to assess Title 38 after the ruling and no
conclusions have been drawn from that yet.
However, the letter does indicate
that a gay couple that marries in one
state, travels to another that doesnt
recognize the union wont be able to
receive veterans benets if they apply
for them there.
You also inquired about VAs ability to
recognize a marriage based on its validity
in the state of celebration, without
regard to the laws of state of residence,
Shinseki says. A same-sex spouse
whose marriage to a Veteran was valid in
the state where the parties resided at the
time they entered the marriage would
not meet the denition under [Title 38]
for purposes of VA benets.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, a
spokesperson for the Human Rights
Campaign, said an update to the law is
needed to ensure full equality even in
the aftermath of the DOMA ruling.
The end of section 3 of DOMA
unfortunately does not mean all married
same-sex couples are fully equal in the
eyes of the federal government no
matter where they live, Cole-Schwartz
said. We believe there is more work the
administration can do to faithfully interpret
the Windsor ruling in an expansive manner
but as we have said before, Congressional
action is needed to ensure all married
couples are treated equally in all ways.
Some of the spousal benets
allocated under Title 38 are disability
benets, survivor benets and joint
burial at a veterans cemetery. U.S.
Attorney General Eric Holder
announced last year that Title 38s
restriction of benets to opposite-sex
couples is unconstitutional and the
Obama administration wont defend the
law in court against challenges seeking
benets for same-sex couples.
Veterans benets remain unavailable to gay couples
3 jurisdictions now issuing
licenses to gay couples
By CHRIS JOHNSON
A district judge in New Mexico issued a
ruling this week instituting marriage equality
in the states largest county, bringing the
total number of counties with same-sex
marriage in New Mexico to three.
Along with a 25-page decision, Judge
Alan Malott issued a writ of mandamus
requiring clerks in Bernalillo and Santa
Fe counties to distribute marriage
licenses to gay couples.
Immediately upon receipt of the
Writ, Defendants Oliver and Salazar, as
the County Clerks of Bernalillo and Santa
Fe County, New Mexico, respectively,
shall comply with and shall perform their
non-discretionary statutory duty to issue
a Marriage License upon application
from each couple otherwise qualied
without regard to the couples sexual
orientation or the gender of its
members, Malott writes in the order.
In a statement on her
website, Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie
Toulouse Oliver announced her ofce
will comply with an order and was set to
begin issuing marriage licenses to gay
couples starting Tuesday at 8 a.m.
Im very happy and proud to nally
be issuing marriage licenses to same-sex
couples in Bernalillo County, Toulouse
Oliver said. Furthermore, I am beyond
relieved to have some judicial guidance
in this matter that immediately resolves
the conict that existed between state
law and our state constitution. Marriage
is a fundamental civil right that should be
acknowledged and respected at all levels
of government. Judge Malotts ruling today
has made it clear that the fundamental
assumption of that civil right outweighs
other technicalities and concerns.
The decision means Bernalillo County
will join Santa Fe, where County
Clerk Geraldine Salazar had already
begun issuing marriage licenses to gay
couples on her accord, as well as Dona
Ana County, where the clerk had done
the same, in having marriage equality.
Notably, the judge comes to the
same conclusion as a resolution passed
by Santa Fe City Council proposed by
Mayor David Coss: marriage equality
is available under current law in New
Mexico because of the gender-neutral
construction of the law.
Malott writes in his order that the
state law governing marriage doesnt
dene or limit the denition of couple
to a heterosexual pair of contractually
capable people nor those of same-sex
orientation from that term.
Although he acknowledges others
may construe the law to prohibit
same-sex marriage, Malott writes
that equal protection under the state
constitution makes such a prohibition
unconstitutional.
Additionally, the judge cites the
U.S. Supreme Courts decision against
the Defense of Marriage Act as legal
precedent among other cases in his
reasoning to bring same-sex marriage
to Bernalillo County.
Gay and lesbian citizens of New
Mexico have endured a long history of
discrimination, the order states. Denial of
the right to marry continues this unfortunate,
intolerable pattern and establishes
irreparable injury on Plaintiffs part.
The lawsuit was brought to the judge
by the American Civil Liberties Union,
the National Center for Lesbian Rights,
the ACLU of New Mexico and local
attorneys on behalf of six gay couples.
Kate Kendell, executive director
of the National Center for Lesbian
Rights, called the decision a powerful
reminder of the national momentum in
favor of marriage equality.
We are joyful for our client couples
and for every same-sex couple in New
Mexico, Kendell said. The freedom to
marry is about love, commitment, family
and security. These are universal values
and they are center stage today.
Among the plaintiffs in the lawsuit
are Jen Roper and Angelique Neuman,
who have been together for more than
21 years. Late last year, Roper was
diagnosed with an aggressive brain
tumor and was told she had 18 months
to live. Unwilling to wait for marriage
equality to come to New Mexico
at a later date, the couple led an
emergency appeal.
After the Santa Fe County clerk
began issuing marriage licenses on
her own accord, the couple obtained a
marriage license on Friday and married
at a cancer center during a break from a
chemotherapy infusion.
Attorney General Gary King has
already issued an opinion afrming that
New Mexico law does prohibit same-sex
marriage, but also that this prohibition is
unconstitutional and he wouldnt defend
the law in court. King has said he wouldnt
stop counties from distributing marriage
licenses to same-sex couples.
Republican state lawmakers, notably
State Sen. William Sharer, have said
theyll le their own lawsuit to appeal
the decisions and prevent same-sex
marriages from occurring.
Homosexual couples, by their very
existence, self-identify as not having the
procreative value that is one of the vital
components of marriage, Sharer writes
on his website.
Judge brings marriage equality to N.M. county
washingtonblade.com
08 AUGUST 30, 2013 NEWS
CONTINUES AT WASHINGTONBLADE.COM
TRACEY (left) and MAGGIE COOPER-HARRIS
have sued to receive veterans benets that
were denied under Title 38.
WASHINGTON BLADE FILE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
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Declines invitation to attend
Russian lm festival
By MICHAEL K. LAVERS
mlavers@washblade.com
Actor Wentworth Miller last week
came out as gay in a letter to organizers
of a Russian lm festival.
Miller, who appeared in the series
Prison Break and two Mariah Carey
videos, referred to his sexual orientation
in his decision to decline an invitation
to be the guest of honor at the St.
Petersburg International Film Festival
that will take place from Sept. 13-22. He
also cited Russias LGBT rights record in
his letter to festival organizers.
I am deeply troubled by the current
attitude toward and treatment of
gay men and women by the Russian
government, Miller wrote in a letter
that GLAAD released. The situation
is in no way acceptable, and I cannot
in good conscience participate in
a celebratory occasion hosted by a
country where people like myself are
being systematically denied their basic
right to live and love openly.
Millers announcement comes against
the backdrop of growing outrage over
Russias LGBT rights record ahead of
the 2014 Winter Olympics that will take
place in Sochi in February.
President Vladimir Putin in June signed
a broadly worded law that bans gay
propaganda to minors. A second statute
that prohibits same-sex couples and
anyone from a country that allows gays
and lesbians to tie the knot from adopting
Russian children took effect last month.
Russian chess champion Gary
Kasparov and playwright Harvey
Fierstein are among those who have
called for a boycott of the Sochi games.
Andy Cohen last week told E! News
he turned down a request to co-host
the 2013 Miss Universe pageant that will
take place in Moscow in November over
concerns about Russias LGBT rights
record.
Wentworths bold show of support
sends a powerful message to LGBT
Russians, who are facing extreme
violence and persecution: you are not
alone, GLAAD spokesperson Wilson
Cruz said. As people from across the
globe continue to speak out against
Russias horric law, more celebrities
and corporations should follow his
courageous lead in openly condemning
Russias anti-LGBT law.
We really wanted Wentworth Miller to
come to our festival and we are very upset
by his refusal, a festival spokesperson
told the Washington Blade. It is his
choice that deserves respect.
The spokesperson added the
festival is really sad that politics may
inuence cinematography.
Our festival is about art, not about
politics, the spokesperson told the Blade.
Actor Wentworth Miller comes out as gay
Seyfarth Shaw has pro-LGBT
reputation and perfect HRC score
By CHRIS JOHNSON
A Chicago-based law rm known as
Seyfarth Shaw is representing oil-and-
gas giant Exxon Mobil against charges
of alleged anti-gay bias in hiring
practices, according to the LGBT group
Freedom to Work.
Tico Almeida, president of Freedom
to Work, told the Washington Blade the
Chicago ofce of Seyfarth Shaw elected
this month to represent Exxon Mobil
in the lawsuit, which was led by his
organization and is pending before the
Illinois Department of Human Rights.
I believe that even the most disgusting
criminals should have access to counsel
when they violate the law, and Exxons
shareholders will now pay big bucks for
Seyfarths lawyers, who are probably
some of the most expensive corporate
defense lawyers in the country, Almeida
said. But I dont think theres any need
for Seyfarth to run up their billable hours
since Freedom to Work would like to
settle the case today.
Seyfarth Shaw is a massive
international law rm and employs
more than 800 attorneys throughout the
world. It bills itself on its website as a
national platform and an international
gateway that helps businesses in
litigation, employment, corporate, real
estate and employee benets.
Freedom to Work led the lawsuit
against Exxon Mobil in May after
conducting a test in which it sent two
ctitious resumes for a job opening at
the company in Illinois. One was from
a more qualied applicant who outed
herself as LGBT on her resume; the
other was a less qualied applicant who
gave no indications about her sexual
orientation or gender identity. The less
qualied non-LGBT applicant received
multiple callbacks, the more qualied
LGBT applicant received nothing.
The organization led a complaint
against the company on the basis that
it had violated Illinois state law, which
prohibits employment discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation.
Legal precedent within Illinois and the
U.S. Supreme Court allows for paired-
resume testing as a basis to le an
employment discrimination lawsuit
against a company.
Almeida said that Exxon Mobil could
settle the case by adopting a policy
prohibiting discrimination against LGBT
workers.
In fact, one settlement option
would be for Exxon to copy and paste
Seyfarths own LGBT workplace policies,
which have previously earned the
lawrm a 100 percent LGBT rating from
the HRC, Almeida said. Exxon could
also copy and paste the Chevron LGBT
workplace policy, and we would accept
that as part of the settlement.
The Chicago ofce of Seyfarth Shaw
didnt respond to multiple requests this
week to conrm that it has decided to
represent Exxon Mobil or explain why it
has decided to represent the company.
William Holbrook, an Exxon Mobil
spokesperson, had no comment on
whether his company selected Seyfarth
Shaw to defend it against the Freedom
to Work lawsuit.
Mike Coffey, a spokesperson for the
Illinois Department of Human Resources,
wouldnt conrm that Seyfarth Shaw is
participating in the lawsuit, but afrmed
the case is under investigation.
Seyfarth Shaw is known for adopting
pro-LGBT policies. It has a 100 percent
rating on the Human Rights Campaigns
Corporate Equality Index. In addition
to having an LGBT non-discrimination
policy, the law rm offers same-
sex partner benets, transgender
health coverage and was among the
companies that signed a legal brief
before the U.S. Supreme Court against
the Defense of Marriage Act.
In a statement from 2011, Seyfarth
Shaw Chair J. Stephen Poor touted
receiving a perfect score on the HRC
report for the fourth consecutive year.
We are proud to earn this
recognition and to have maintained
the perfect score for the fourth year in
a row, demonstrating that we dont just
talk the talk, Poor said at the time.
We know that diversity is important to
clients, and its equally important to us.
Michael Cole-Schwartz, a Human
Rights Campaign spokesperson, said his
organization would dock a hypothetical
law rm for representing Exxon Mobil
in a case alleging anti-gay bias at the
company.
Yes, we would and have done
so in the past, Cole-Schwartz said.
The rm Foley & Lardner was docked
15 points previously for their work
representing organizations trying to
stop marriage equality (engagements
which have since ended and they are
no longer docked), although it should
be noted the rm has also had a long
history of pro bono support for LGBT
causes.
Starting with the 2012 report, Cole-
Schwartz said HRC raised the possible
point deduction from -15 to -25. One
of the criteria on which companies are
judged in the report is responsible
citizenship or having no known activity
that would undermine LGBT equality.
Informed by the Washington Blade
that Seyfarth Shaw was the law rm
defending Exxon Mobil, Cole-Schwartz
said the situation is currently under
evaluation. HRC has previously praised
Freedom to Works lawsuit against the
company.
Chicago rm to defend Exxon Mobil in gay bias case
washingtonblade.com
10 AUGUST 30, 2013 NATl ONAL NEWS
SeyIarth Shaw is representing Exxon Mobil
in a lawsuit alleging anti-gay bias against the
company.
FHOTO OF EXXON SlGN BY lLDAR SAGDEJEV, FHOTO OF MOBlL
SlGN BY TERENCE ONG, COURTESY WlKlMEDlA COMMONS.
WENTWORTH MILLER starred in the series
'Frison Break.'
FHOTO BY WATCHWlTHKRlSTlN VlA WlKlMEDlA COMMONS
A walk to end shame
Slutwalk Baltimore and Baltimore United
Against Sexual Violence have partnered
with organizations in Munich (Bavaria,
Germany), Ottawa (Ontario, Canada),
Belleville (Ontario, Canada), Winnipeg
(Manitoba, Canada), Tucson, and Chicago
for this day to take a stand against slut
shaming, victim blaming, rape culture
and the general vilication of sexuality on
Sept. 7. The walk (rain or shine) will begin
at 10 a.m. at the Power Plant and end at
Baltimore City Hall.
In January 2011, an ofcer in the
Toronto police department allegedly
said, Women should avoid dressing
like sluts in order not to be victimized.
That story started the movement.
SlutWalk has become a worldwide
movement, working to end victim-
blaming and slut-shaming and to raise
awareness about sexual assault and
change cultural attitudes (rape culture) so
we can end sexual assault, Rachel Perry-
Crook, the director of SlutWalk Baltimore
told the Blade. As the survivor of sexual
assault and a victim of slut-shaming, I know
the detrimental effects it can have on a
person. I took over SlutWalk Baltimore
in 2012 because I need to help create a
world where no one else is made to feel
as I did.
Added Lucas McCahill, lead organizer
of the American Humanist Associations
LGBTQ Humanist Council of Baltimore,
SlutWalk also stands up for those in the
LGBTQ community who have been the
victims of what is called, corrective rape
whereby a person sexually assaults a
member of the LGBTQ community to, x
them.
The organizers are still accepting
speakers for the event. For more
information, email baltimore.slutwalk@
gmail.com.
PWs to host drag benet
PWs Sports Bar and Grill, Howard
Countys only gay bar, will host a crab
feast on Sept. 21 to benet one of its
favorite drag performers, Miss Anastacia
Amor. The purpose is to raise money so
that Amor can travel and compete in the
Miss Gay America contest to be held in
St. Louis, from Oct. 9-13.
Miss Gay America is important to me
because this is the system that has helped
me grow as a person and entertainer,
constantly striving to be a symbol of
excellence, Amor told the Blade.
The crab feast will take place from
12-6 p.m. Tables and tents will be set
up outside to enjoy the festivities and
there will be a DJ. PWs is located at
9855 Washington Blvd. N., Laurel, Md.
For $35 in advance ($40 at the door),
it will be an all-the-crabs-you-can-eat
event plus all the draft beer you can
drink. Tickets may be purchased at
pwssportsbar.ticketleap.com.
Forum to address HIV
among black gays
With nearly 30,000 Marylanders living
with HIV/AIDS, Baltimore Black Pride,
Inc. along with members of the Maryland
Prevention and Health Promotion
Administration, local health departments
and community based-organizations have
created an alliance to address specically
HIV infections among MSM (men who
have sex with men) in the state. This
community is targeted because a 2009
report indicated that MSM made up 46
percent of all new HIV diagnoses.
We recognize that faith-based organizations
have done much of the important work
needed to increase HIV awareness, education
and testing in the general community, said
Carlton R. Smith, President of Baltimore Black
Pride in a statement. However, a specific
reach is needed to the African-American gay
and bisexual, and/or same gender-loving
community.
Baltimore Black Pride, Inc. will convene an
open forum with spiritual leaders and the
community of Baltimore City on Sept. 27 called
Am I My Brothers Keeper? Special guest
moderator will be radio talk show host Anthony
McCarthy. The forum will take place 9 a.m. to 2
p.m. at the Eubie Blake National Jazz & Cultural
Center, 847 N. Howard St., Baltimore. Light
breakfast and lunch will be provided. Admission
is free and open to the public.
For more information, email
bmoreblackpride@yahoo.com.
STEVE CHARING
washingtonblade.com
BALTI MORE NEWS DI GEST AUGUST 30, 2013 11
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Alaska considering new policy for LGBT partners
JUNEAU, Alaska The Alaska State Personnel Board is considering including
same-sex partners of state employees in the denition of immediate family for
purposes of leave, according to an Associated Press report last week.
A proposed change in rules also would allow state employees to take leave due to
a serious health condition of a same-sex partner. Same-sex marriage is not legal in
Alaska because of a state constitutional amendment. Nancy Sutch, a deputy director
within the state Division of Personnel and Labor Relations, said by email that the
proposed change in rules stems from a recent review of a 2005 Alaska Supreme
Court decision, the AP reported.
That decision, in a case over health insurance and other benets, found it is unconstitutional
to offer valuable benets to the spouses of public employees but not to same-sex domestic
partners. Sutch told the AP the proposed regulations will set out requirements that are similar
to those for insurance coverage, which have been in effect since 2006.
Fuller descriptions of the proposed changes were not immediately available, the
AP article said. Same-sex partners of state employees currently can qualify to be on
their insurance, provided certain requirements are met.
Preview issue of new gay health journal online
NEW YORK A preview issue is now available of a new gay health journal called
LGBT Health, a peer-reviewed publication dedicated to promoting health care
among sexual minorities, LGBT Weekly, a gay media company, reported this week.
The journal provides a forum for members of the research, medical and advocacy
communities to present and discuss the latest research ndings and critical issues
related to all aspects of the health and health care of sexual orientation and gender
identity minorities, the article said. LGBT Health will be published online and in a
print edition. The preview issue is online now.
Empire State Pride releases LGBT health report
NEW YORK Empire State Pride Agenda, New Yorks statewide LGBT advocacy
group, has released a report on health disparities faced by gay residents there, LGBT
Weekly reported last week.
Reporting data collected by the New York City Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, the report found key health shortcomings related to safety and violence
(nearly one in ve lesbian and gay students have missed school because they
felt unsafe in the last 30 days), weight issues (black LGBT youth have lower rates
of physical activity than their white and straight counterparts), mental health (LGB
youth are more likely to attempt suicide), smoking and asthma (almost half of LGB
youth smoke compared to 17.1 percent of their straight counterparts), access to care
(LGB adults in poverty are much less likely to access health care than their straight
counterparts with similar limited resources) and more.
The full report is available online at prideagenda.org.
HIV researchers use Grindr to
recruit participants for vaccine trial
PHILADELPHIA Researchers in Pennsylvania are using Grindr to recruit
gay and bi men into a clinical trial for an HIV vaccine, the Philadelphia Inquirer
reported last week.
Using a bounty of online techniques Facebook, e-mail, Craiglist and
more researchers found Grindr to be the most effective, the article
said. The project is HVTN 505 at the University of Pennsylvanias HIV/AIDS
Prevention Research Division
Recruiters for HVTN 505 cherry-picked times with peak trafc and for a total
of 22 days since the fall, ads worth $9,400 were blasted to all users within 30
miles of the Penn clinic, the Inquirer reported.
Two types of ads appeared on Grindr: a pop-up ad that covered the entire
screen when the app was rst opened, and a banner ad at the bottom of the
screen that rotated out after 30 seconds.
Grindr directed 18,000 visits to the trials website. More than 300 of those
people who tapped the See More option registered online. After screening
questions over the phone, 16 Grindr users ended up in Penns study of nearly
200 people the highest enrollment rate of all social media used, the
Inquirer article said.
In April, the National Institutes of Health discontinued HVTN 505 because
preliminary data indicated the vaccine didnt prevent HIV infection or reduce
viral load. But that didnt deter participants. Many who participated asked
where they might sign up for another vaccine trial. Two trials at Penn are
recruiting participants for other HIV vaccines; six more trials have completed
enrollment. None has used Grindr, but the app is being employed in a trial
testing the pill Truvada, which has shown promise in preventing HIV when
taken daily, the Inquirer reported.
washingtonblade.com
12 AUGUST 30, 2013 HEALTH NEWS
Researchers are using Grindr to recruit gay and bi men Ior an HlV vaccine trial.
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40 years after Stonewall, no
out player in major league
baseball, football, hockey
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.

LGBT sports enthusiasts were thrilled
earlier this year when professional
basketball player Jason Collins and
pro soccer player Robbie Rogers came
out as gay, becoming the rst two out
gay men to emerge as current players
in the professional leagues for the two
sports.
Around the same time, Brittney
Griner, the top-rated 2013 college
basketball player in the Womens
National Basketball Association
(WNBA) draft, came out as a lesbian.
Her coming out made no difference
to the Phoenix Mercury WNBA team,
which quickly signed her on as a player.
The decision by Collins, Rogers,
and Griner to disclose their sexual
orientation followed coming out
stories last year of another womens pro
basketball player, Seimone Augustus,
and a womens pro soccer player,
Megan Rapinoe.
While these developments are viewed
as encouraging signs by LGBT sports
fans and activists, they come at a time
when no open gays have ever emerged
as players in three of the nations most
popular professional sports baseball,
football and ice hockey. And though
the NBAs Collins came out four months
ago, he remains a free agent. (See
related story, Page 38)
No male professional golfer has ever
come out as gay anywhere in the world
and just one pro tennis player who is
male has ever come out, according
to Cyd Zeigler, editor and publisher
of OutSports, a widely read online
publication covering LGBT people in
sports.
People call it the last closet. And I
think thats what it is, Zeigler told the
Blade in discussing the lack of LGBT
people in professional sports. I think
homophobia for decades has been
more entrenched in sports than it has
in most other areas in our culture, he
said.
It starts when these kids are young.
And theyre ve years old and 10 years
old and playing sports and the coach
calls them a faggot and tells them not
to be a sissy and this idea that being
a faggot is less than being a man, he
said. It starts there.
Zeigler and other experts in the eld
of gays in sports say they are optimistic
that cultural and political changes
that opened the way for LGBT rights
advances in recent years, including
the approval of same-sex marriage in
a growing number of states, will soon
spill over into the realm of professional
sports.
Forty-three years after the Stonewall
riots in New York sparked the modern
LGBT rights movement, LGBT activists
say they are hopeful that baseball,
football and hockey along with other
professional sports will soon join the
ranks of other professions in becoming
more welcoming for LGBT people.
Zeigler said nearly all professional
sports leagues have policies that
ban discrimination based on sexual
orientation along with other categories
such as race, religion and ethnicity.
Earlier this year, at the request of
New York State Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman, the National Football
League and Major League Baseball
agreed to strengthen their non-
discrimination policies pertaining to
sexual orientation.
In a statement released in April,
Schneiderman said he pushed for the
strengthened policies after his ofce
learned of complaints by at least three
prospective NFL players that they were
asked questions about their sexual
orientation at the leagues recruitment
scouting meeting held in February in
Indianapolis.
According to one prospective
player, representatives of NFL
teams asked prospects if they had
a girlfriend, were married, or liked
girls, a statement released in April by
Schneidermans ofce says.
The statement and a follow-up
statement released in July says both
the NFL and Major League Baseball
adopted their initial non-discrimination
policies on sexual orientation in
2011 as part of collective bargaining
agreements with the NFL and MLB and
their respective players associations,
which act as player unions. (See page
64 for an op-ed by DeMaurice Smith,
executive director of the NFL Players
Association.)
The statements say that in response
to Schneidermans request, the NFL
and MLB agreed to adopt a workplace
code of conduct specically addressing
sexual orientation discrimination and
to post the policy document in all team
locker rooms among other places.
Both on the eld and away from
it, Major League Baseball has a zero-
tolerance policy for harassment
and discrimination based on sexual
orientation, MLB Commissioner Bud
Selig said in a statement related to the
code of conduct document.
It couldnt immediately be
determined whether the new non-
discrimination policies would
encourage gay baseball or football
players to come out. But experts
familiar with LGBT people in sports
say factors other than homophobia
and anti-LGBT bias may be playing a
role in discouraging LGBT people from
coming out in professional sports.
I think the athletes themselves are
ready to have an openly gay teammate,
said Patricia Grifn, Professor Emerita
in Social Justice Education at the
University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
Grifn, a former swimming coach
and author of the book Strong
Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and
Homophobia in Sports, told the Blade
that concern over media attention may
be keeping some LGBT athletes from
coming out.
I think one of the things that keeps
athletes in the closet is not necessarily
that theyre afraid of the homophobia
of their teammates, but that its still
such a news story, especially for the
men, Grifn said. You have to be
prepared to deal with all of the media
attention. And I think there are a lot of
gay athletes and thats not what they
want to do, she said.
They would like to be out. They want
to be out. But they dont want to have
to deal with the attending media crush
as well as probably requests from every
gay organization in the world to be a
spokesperson and so on, she said.
Zeigler said he, too, believes
reasons other than anti-LGBT bias
have prompted many LGBT athletes in
professional sports to stay in the closet.
He noted that in the NFL, the average
career often ends after three and a
half years. The average baseball and
hockey career is likely to be longer, but
most players are ready for retirement
by their late 30s, he said
These guys from high school are
working essentially full-time jobs and
going to school, he said. And a lot
of them say they dont have time to
explore their sexual orientation. Their
idea of coming out in the middle of the
pressure of trying to make a college
squad, trying to get playing time, trying
to make an NFL squad, trying to get a
good contract is not something that
appeals to them, he said.
So coming out is a complication, an
unnecessary complication for some of
them, said Zeigler.
u.s. professional sports
called the last closet
CONTI NUES ON PAGE 48
W A S H I N G T O N B L A D E
washingtonblade.com U august 30, 2013 U 15
BRITTNEY GRINER, seen here accepting the Wade Trophy, came out as a lesbian but didnt receive a
lot of media attention, even though she is recognized as the best woman basketball player to enter
the WNBA draft in 2013.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA
Looking back on inuential
coming out stories since 1975
By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
This timeline reects the highlights
of professional U.S. athletes who
have come out in the most popular
American sports based on reports in
various news media outlets, including
OutSports. It is not a denitive list of
all athletes who have come out, but
experts consider those identied here
to have had an important impact in
paving the way for more LGBT athletes
to come out.

1975: David Kopay, an NFL player
with the Washington Redskins, San
Francisco 49ers and other teams,
comes out as gay shortly after retiring
from football. He becomes the rst
known NFL player, active or retired, to
openly discuss his sexual orientation
rst with the news media and later in
his 1977 bestselling book, The David
Kopay Story: An Extraordinary Self-
Revelation.

1976: Ophthalmologist and tennis
player Dr. Renee Richards is outed as
a transgender woman when the U.S.
Tennis Association refused to allow her
to play in the U.S. Open on grounds
that she was born as a male and could
not compete against women. She
challenged the denial in court and won
her case the following year, enabling her
to become the rst known transgender
person to play in a professional sport.

1981: Billie Jean King, the nationally
acclaimed tennis star, was outed by her
ex-partner Marilyn Barnett in a palimony
lawsuit. King said later that the disclosure
that she was a lesbian resulted in her
losing about $2 million in commercial
endorsements from companies that
dropped her immediately after learning
she was gay.

1981: Martina Navratilova, the
internationally acclaimed tennis star,
willingly disclosed that she is a lesbian
just months after the outing of Billie
Jean King. Navratilova became the
rst big name professional athlete
to come out of the closet during the
height of her playing career. Although
the tennis establishment for the most
part supported her she later told the
LGBT blog OutSports she lost as much
as $10 million in endorsements from
companies that spurned her because of
her sexual orientation.

1988: Major League Baseball
umpire Dave Pallone is red by
then Commissioner of Baseball Bart
Giamatti, who cites unsubstantiated
allegations that Pallone had sex with a
minor. Although authorities in Saratoga
Springs, N.Y., dropped an investigation
into the allegations and in Pallones view
exonerated him of any wrongdoing,
the umpire said Giamatti and other
baseball ofcials didnt want him in
baseball because hes gay. In his 1990
book Behind the Mask: My Double
Life in Baseball, Pallone says his ring
reinforced the perception that Major
League Baseball would not allow gay
players or umpires.

1992: Roy Simmons of the NFL, who
played for the New York Giants and
Washington Redskins in the 1980s,
came out as gay in a TV interview on
the Phil Donahue Show, several years
after his football career ended.
1993: Then former Major League
Baseball player Glen Burke came out
publicly in 1993 in interviews in Sport
magazine and NBCs Today show.
According to subsequent reports in the
media, Burke came out to his fellow
players and manager Tommy Lasorda
when he played for the Los Angeles
Dodgers in the 1970s. The Dodgers
traded him to the Oakland As reportedly
because top management feared news
of Burkes sexual orientation would
become public, leading to negative
publicity for the team. He is credited
with being the rst Major League
Baseball player to come out to an entire
team. Burke died of AIDS in 1995.
1996: Mufn Spencer-Devlin, a three-
time tournament winner on the Ladies
Professional Golf Association Tour in the
1980s, came out as a lesbian in a March
1996 article in Sports Illustrated, becoming
the rst female or male professional golfer
to come out while still playing.
1999: Major League Baseball player
Billy Bean publicly disclosed hes gay in
1999, four years after his baseball career
ended. He began his Major League
Baseball career in 1987 and played
for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles
Dodgers, and San Diego Padres. He
wrote about his life as a closeted gay
ball player in his 2003 book Going the
Other Way: Lessons from a Life In and
Out of Major League Baseball.
2002: Esera Tuaolo, a defensive
lineman for nine years in the NFL before
retiring in 1999, came out as gay in a
2002 interview on ESPN. He became
the third widely known NFL player to
come out shortly after retiring. Like the
other two David Kopay (1975) and Roy
Simmons (1992) Tuaolos post-career
coming out reinforced the longstanding
belief that no NFL player could come
out while still playing without facing dire
consequences.

2005: Sheryl Swoopes, a seven-
time Womens National Basketball
Association (WNBA) All-Star who was
chosen three times as the leagues most
valuable player, came out as a lesbian
in 2005 at the height of her career.
After being hailed as a role model for
lesbians in sports, Swoopes startled
LGBT basketball fans in 2010 when news
surfaced that she ended her relationship
with her female partner and announced
she was engaged to marry a man. She
has since retired from basketball and is
head coach for the womens basketball
team at Loyola University in Chicago.

2007: John Amaechi, a professional
basketball player who retired in
2003, came out as gay four years
later, becoming the rst player in the
National Basketball Association (NBA)
to come out, either during or after his
playing days. His coming out was timed
to coincide with the publication of his
autobiography, Man in the Middle.

2011: Rick Welts, president of the
Golden State Warriors, an NBA team,
came out as gay in a New York Times
interview in May 2011, becoming
the rst openly gay executive of the
NBA and any of the other top U.S.
professional sports. LGBT sports
enthusiasts say Welts status as an out
gay person in a high-level executive
post in the professional sports world set
a precedent for encouraging more pro
sports executives as well as players to
come out.

2012: Megan Rapinoe, a womens
U.S. professional soccer player with the
Seattle Reign team and who is credited
with helping the U.S. womens national
soccer team win a Gold Medal at the
2012 Summer Olympics in England,
came out as a lesbian in an interview
with Out magazine. The sports blog
SB Nation reported earlier this month
Reign team ofcials will allow the
internationally acclaimed soccer star to
play for the French soccer team Lyon for
the remainder of this year and next year,
with the expectation that she will return
to Seattle in June 2014.
2012: Seimone Augustus,
considered a WNBA superstar with
the Minnesota Lynx team, surfaced as
an out lesbian and strong advocate for
same-sex marriage when she backed
the campaign to oppose a 2012 ballot
measure in Minnesota to ban same-
sex marriage in the state constitution.
After the defeat of the ballot measure,
Augustus announced plans to marry her
partner Lataya Varner in a Minnesota
ceremony.

2013: Robbie Rogers, an American
professional soccer player, startled the
soccer establishment in February of this
year by announcing he is gay and was
retiring from soccer at age 25, ending
his tenure as a member of Englands
championship team Leads United. In
May, Rogers changed his mind and was
quickly snatched up by the Los Angeles
Galaxy, making him the rst openly gay
professional mens soccer player in the
U.S. having the status of an active player.
a timeline of progress
in u.s. sports
16 U august 30, 2013 U washingtonblade.com
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Tennis, football, diving and
much more on tap
By WILL OWEN
As the summer cools down, many
LGBT sports leagues are just heating
up. From Flag Football to Diving, Team
D.C. has a wide array of LGBT sports
opportunities this fall.
The Federal Triangles, D.C.s
LGBT soccer organization, kicks off its
Rehoboth Beach Classic tournament
over Labor Day weekend today (Friday)
through Sunday. Participants are still
needed. Members can register for
$87.26 and non-members for $97.49 at
federaltriangles.org.
The Triangles have indoor and
outdoor coed, womens and mens
teams over the fall. The Turkey Bowl,
an annual tournament for all skill levels,
is held each year the Saturday before
Thanksgiving, with a potluck dinner
party afterward.
Membership dues are $50 each year. Visit
federaltriangles.org to become a member
and nd other ways to get involved.
The Capital Tennis Association has
a fall league that runs from Sept. 17
through Dec. 29. The Capital Classic XXI
Tournament is Sept. 13-15, with doubles
and singles tournaments at the Rock Creek
Tennis Center (16
th
and Kennedy streets,
N.W.) and the East Potomac Center (1090
Ohio Dr., S.W.). Registration ranges from
$70-130. For more information and to
register, visit capital-tennis.org.
The Capital Tennis Association has six
leagues that play weekly and three remain
open, including Saturday Singles at Hains
Point (972 Ohio Dr., S.W.), Saturday Faixfax
Doubles and Sunday Fairfax Singles (9860
Lee Hwy., Fairfax, Va.). All skill levels are
encouraged. Registration ranges from
$165-330. Visit capital-tennis.org for more
information and to register.
The Washington Wetskins water
polo team hosts its annual Columbus
Day Classic tournament on Oct. 12 at the
Takoma Aquatic Center (300 Van Buren
St., N.W.). Teams can register for $100
before Sept. 17, or for $450 afterward.
The Wetskins practice each week on
Monday and Wednesday nights at the
Takoma Aquatic Center. New members
can register monthly for $30, quarterly
for $90 or annually for $300. For more
information on the tournament and to
register, visit wetskins.org.
The D.C. Gay Flag Football League
kicks off its seventh season on Sept. 7.
The teams play every Sunday from 10
a.m.-2:30 p.m. at Carter Barron Fields (16
th

and Kennedy streets, N.W.) and on Friday
nights at Randall Field (820 South Capitol
St., S.W.). All skill levels are welcome.
The game schedule for the fall is TBA.
Registration is full, but those interested can
be put on a waitlist. For more information
and to be waitlisted, visit dcgf.org.
The Chesapeake and Potomac
Softball league starts its fall season
on Sept. 7, with registration through
Sept. 2. The group plays every Saturday
through Oct. 12, with teams playing at
10 or 11 a.m., or noon or 1 p.m., at the
Tucker Road Complex (1771 Rucker Rd.,
Fort Washington, Md.). Registration is
$30. For more details and to register,
visit capssoftball.leagueapps.com.
The Lambda Links Golf Club
continues membership through Oct. 31.
The league hosts two fall tournaments,
including the Club Championship on
Sept. 7 and the Oct. 27 Halloween
Tournament, with times and locations to
be announced.
Lambda Links play at a variety of
courses in the area, such as the Poolesville
Golf Course (16601 West Willard Rd.,
Poolesville, Md.). Membership is $20
after Aug. 15. All skill levels are welcome,
but members are expected to have
played 18-hole rounds of golf and know
golf etiquette. For more information
and to register, visit lambdalinks.org.
The Lambda Divers, an LGBT scuba
diving group, host a diving trip to Curacao,
an island in the Caribbean, from Sept. 21-
28. The trip is part of the International
Gay and Lesbian Diving Jamboree, and
requires a minimum deposit of $515.
Two-year membership dues for
Lambda Divers range from $30-67.50.
To register and for more information
on the Curacao trip and the group, visit
lambdadivers.org.
The D.C. Front Runners start back up
their regular fall Saturday fun run on Sept.
7 from 10 a.m.-noon at 23 and P Streets,
N.W. The Fun Run is their most popular
weekly run, and includes 3-, 4- or 6-mile runs
through scenic Rock Creek Park.
The Front Runners will also be
participating in the Arlington Police, Fire
and Sheriff 9/11 Memorial 5K run on Sept.
7 at the Crystal City Double Tree Hotel (300
Army Navy Dr., Arlington, Va.) at 6 p.m.
The 9-11 Memorial 5K draws over 25,000
participants each year, and raises up to
$400,000 for 9-11-related charities, like
the American Red Cross and Wounded
Warrior Project. Registration is $40.
The group will have a lot of races
during the fall and participate in many
more marathons in locations all over D.C.
and as far as Baltimore and Philadelphia.
For more information and to register for
events, visit dcfrontrunners.org.
The Washington Renegades rugby
league start their season on Sept. 7,
which lasts through Nov. 23. Practices
are held every Tuesday and Thursday at
6:45 p.m. at Cardozo High School (1300
Clifton St., N.W.).
Matches will take place each
Saturday, with times and locations TBD.
Membership for fall recruits is $50,
and full-year membership is $100. For
more information and to register, visit
dcrugby.com.
d.c. athletes gearing
up for busy fall
The D.C. GAY FLAG FOOTBALL League starts its new season Sept. 7.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY MICHAEL KEY
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WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KEY
Seeks to encourage
inclusion, empower athletes
By WILL OWEN
Team D.C., the Washington areas
largest LGBT athletics organization,
has a mission beyond organizing
sports leagues and events for D.C.s
LGBT community. With its student-
athlete scholarships, handed out
annually to four to six outstanding
LGBT athletes in the region, Team
D.C. helps empower gay youth and
encourage inclusion.
By doing things like [the
scholarships], I think we help push the
conversation forward to be inclusive
of LGBT athletes, and LGBT athletes
themselves know they are supported
and not alone, said Brent Minor,
executive director of Team D.C. The
scholarship program has given us
more to be about than just organizing
participation in the Gay Games. This
helps to establish a stronger and a fuller
identity for Team D.C.
Team D.C.s scholarships provide
up to $2,000 for graduating high
school seniors who reside in the D.C.
metropolitan area and identify as LGBT.
Recipients are chosen based not only on
athletic success, but also on academic
excellence and their promise of serving
as positive role models for other LGBT
youth.
A diverse committee of educators and
parents of LGBT student-athlete college
graduates decide which students
in the area fulll the scholarships
criteria. Although the scholarships
are exclusively for LGBT youth, Team
D.C. does not require the recipients to
publicly disclose their sexual orientation
or gender identity.
People think all gay youths are
coming out now, but thats denitely
not true, Minor says. This program is
not outing anybody at all. Were happy
to respect their desire to not be out. It
adds extra difculty to talk about not
just openly gay students, but openly
gay athletes.
Team D.C. awarded four local LGBT
student-athletes scholarships this year,
including Laura Ventura and Sarah
Kerndt.
Ventura, a Silver Spring, Md., native
who identies as pansexual, received
the Team D.C. scholarship for her
talent as a rower on the crew team at
Walter Johnson High School where
she recently graduated. Ventura had
positive experiences being out to
her teammates, despite sometimes
having to explain what pansexuality
attraction to people of all gender
identities and biological sexes is.
A lot of people on my team were
extremely accepting, or somewhere on
the LGBT spectrum themselves. I had
to explain [pansexuality], but after the
initial explanation that was it, Ventura
says. My team is a very close-knit team,
where we call each other family.
Ventura was heavily involved with
raising awareness of LGBT issues at
Walter Johnson, particularly as the
president of the schools Queer-Straight
Alliance.
We did a lot of events, she says. We
went to D.C. Pride together, saw a lot of
the Gay Mens Chorus of Washington
shows and did Day of Silence. We did
a lot of events not just with the club,
but with the whole school. I was really
excited to win the scholarship because I
felt like I had done a lot for my school in
trying to gain awareness on my team
and at the school in general. It shows
that what Ive done to teach acceptance
has been appreciated by the scholarship
committee.
Ventura is studying nursing at Pace
University in New York City next year,
which does not have a rowing team. She
plans to row for outside clubs in the city.
Sarah Kerndt is a lesbian from
Springeld, Va., who graduated earlier
this year from West Springeld High
School. Team D.C. awarded her with
a scholarship for her gift as a forward
on her high schools basketball team
and as a lacrosse goalie. Like Ventura,
she largely had positive experiences
being out on both teams and was able
to confront teammates who made
homophobic remarks.
There were only a couple of incidents
where somebody made a remark like
Thats so gay. I felt comfortable enough
around my teammates to approach
them about it, Kerndt says. I had other
teammates who would support me.
Basketball had always been Kerndts
sport, but during her junior year she
picked up lacrosse. Next year she
starts her college career at Christopher
Newport University in Newport News,
Va., and plans to play for the schools
lacrosse team rather than continuing
basketball.
Kerndt was initially waitlisted by
Christopher Newport, which was her
top-choice, but a chat between her
high school lacrosse coach and the
universitys lacrosse coach helped to
expedite a decision. She wants to play
college lacrosse not only because she
loves the sport, but also to honor her
coach who helped her out.
I started applying to colleges, and
from Christopher Newport I actually got
waitlisted. My coach told me she knew
the lacrosse coach there, and she told
me she could probably get me off the
waitlist and she did, Kerndt says. I
denitely love lacrosse, but I also want
to play it for my coach who helped me
out.
Kerndt was ecstatic to win the Team
D.C. scholarship because she says
it demonstrates the support LGBT
students can nd from their community
and allows her to tell younger students
about this support.
My rst reaction was freaking out
over it, because I guess, its amazing to
see that there are scholarships like Team
D.C. out there, Kerndt says. There is
a strong LGBT community out there to
support everybody, including athletes. I
was really honored to be accepted for
this who wouldnt be?
Kerndts sense of responsibility in
educating others and setting a good
example is precisely the goal of the
Team D.C. scholarship program.
Coaches and administrators are
often unaware that gays and lesbians
play sports, or that thats even an issue.
Sports are one of the last bastions where
LGBT participation is not particularly
encouraged, Minor says. The core
mission of Team D.C. is how to dispel
stereotypes. Its about educating
people about the LGBT community
and offering more opportunities to play
sports.
Applications for the 2014 Team D.C.
scholarships will start being accepted
on Sept. 1. Visit teamdc.org for more
information, or to apply for or donate to
the Team D.C. scholarship program.
team d.c. assists youth
with scholarships
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Provi di ng an i ncl usi ve, l ow- cost, and hi gh
FUN sports ENVI RONMENT si nce 2010
w w w . s t o n e w a l l s p o r t s . o r g
Permit process, lack of elds
often vex D.C. players
By KEVIN MAJOROS
D.C. is home to one of the largest
and most organized LGBT sports
communities in the world. The list of
LGBT sports teams has grown to more
than 30 clubs and the athlete base is
well over 3,000 members.
Those kinds of numbers would not be
possible without the leadership that is
demonstrated by members of each of
the clubs.
But the success of local organizers
doesnt mean they dont encounter
obstacles to growth. Some of the
challenges facing them include lack
of playing space, high costs for space,
accessibility and the local permit
process.
The permit process, especially for
a new team forming, can cause major
frustration for those not familiar with the
process. There are cross-jurisdictional
issues and some of the entities that may
present a challenge are the National
Park Service, the D.C. Department of
Parks and Recreation, the Department
of General Services Realty Ofce as well
as the facility or school that the space
sits on.
One person who knows the permit
process well is Alex Bearman, executive
director of District Sports who manages
leagues and playing space for 240
primarily straight soccer teams at 15
different locations in the area.
District Sports primarily uses playing
elds that are run by schools, which
means that their process includes being
approved by the athletic director, the
vice principal or the principal. There is
a lot of hand-holding, showing up and
talking, says Bearman. You can make
it through the permit process and then
be turned down by the facility because
there are just not enough incentives for
the facility to offer their space. There
is also the added cost of paying for a
maintenance man to be on site.
Nick Napolitano leads the permit
process for the Federal Triangles Soccer
Club and agrees that the schools do not
have enough incentives to risk having
their elds torn up by an adult sports
league.
You really have to establish a
relationship with the school principal
and prove that you will respect
the condition of their eld, says
Napolitano. In the past we have had to
enlist the help of D.C. Council member
Jim Graham just to get our foot in the
door. Even when you get to that point, it
is still hard to budget for the fees as they
can uctuate.
When the DC Gay Flag Football
League (DCGFFL) began, it targeted
the elds near the FDR Memorial as
their home base and came up with no
results during the permit process.
We ended up going through our
roster of players just to nd someone
who knew someone or at least knew
the process, says JJ Johnson, league
commissioner. Even after securing the
spot, we were still confronted by a park
ranger on the rst day.
The DCGFFL outgrew that eld almost
immediately and is now ensconced at
the Carter Barron Fields on Sundays.
The group considers themselves lucky
to have access to such a large amount
of space as they have grown to 276
players.
Carter Barron is federally owned,
administered by the National Park
Service, and permitted by the DC
Department of Parks and Recreation.
It was very confusing at rst, says
Johnson. We now show up at the
permit ofce several times a year just
to shake hands and chit chat. We want
them to know who we are and that we
are appreciative.
Martin Espinoza of Stonewall Kickball
agrees that the permit process can be
stressful as the kickball league faces
two permit renewals each year. They
generally have their calendar set up for
the upcoming season without knowing if
their permit will be renewed. To be safe,
league registration is always scheduled
after the permit approval date.
Currently, the kickball league plays
on Sundays at Stead Park Field. When
the club started in 2010, the city was not
allowing use of Stead Park on Sundays.
We were very fortunate, admits
Espinoza. The city made an exception
to allow us to play on Sundays.
Stonewall Kickball has seen incredible
growth since its inception with a current
member list of 550 players. Because
they were unable to secure a permit for
an additional night, they have spilled
over into the predominately straight DC
Kickball League, which holds the permit
for Thursday nights at Stead Park Field.
We are hoping to grow this season by
securing additional time on Sundays,
says Espinoza. Even though we arrive
at the permit ofce with all of our
paperwork on the rst day of renewal, it
is still a waiting game. Youth, senior and
city programs are looked at rst. Adult
sports come last.
Stonewall Kickball will face another
obstacle in 2014 when the $1.6 million
renovation of Stead Park Field will
begin. It is unclear at this time whether
they will have a place to play or not.
In March of 2013, a new LGBT sports
team joined the fray in the struggle
for playing space. The Washington
Scandals Rugby Club has not yet found
a eld to call home. Being new to the
process, they are running into the same
obstacles that seem to plague all new
sports teams.
We have been looking for space
on weeknights in the District and there
is nothing available for adult sports
groups, says Arc Riley of the Scandals.
The eld we are practicing on is so
small that half of our 40 players are
standing on the sidelines while the
other half practice.
The struggle with getting a response
from the Department of Parks and
Recreation has led the Scandals to
start looking for space in Montgomery
County for the winter months. We are
hoping to be back in the District by
spring, says a hopeful Riley.
Faced with a similar space shortage
back in the 1990s, New York City, along
with the Randalls Island Park Alliance
(RIPA) created a 273-acre sports and
recreational playground oating on the
East River.
Randalls Island boasts more than 60
sports elds, accommodating sports
such as soccer, baseball, softball,
lacrosse, eld hockey and rugby. Also
included on the island is a world-class
track stadium, a tennis center, golf
facilities as well as cultural and natural
areas.
Formerly used over the centuries for
a range of public facilities including a
boys home, a hospital, and a home for
Civil War veterans, the island was rst
designated as a park in 1936 by Franklin
Delano Roosevelt. By the early 1990s it
was in serious disrepair.
RIPA was formed in 1992 as a 501c3
non-prot organization to work with
New York and local communities to
transform the island. Today, Randalls
Island is New Yorks premier recreational
destination and home to dozens of
sports leagues for youth, adult, senior
and the LGBT sports communities.
The bottom line in the D.C. area is
that although the permit process can
be tedious, the lack of playing space is
the primary obstacle in accommodating
the ever-growing sports community.
The overwhelming success of the Long
Bridge Park sports complex in Arlington
in November 2011 is a perfect example
of the need for more sports space in the
area.
The possibility of 190 acres opening
up in the future at Metro accessible RFK
Stadium is giving many in the sports
community dreams of a dedicated
sports complex in Prince Georges
County.
RFK Sports Park anyone?
challenges of organizing
local sports leagues
New York City created a 273-acre sports and recreational playground oating on the East River.
Could D.C. nd similar space for its local amateur athletes?
PHOTO COURTESY NEW YORK CITY
PROOF # 1 ISSUE DATE: 8/30/13 SALES REPRESENTATIVE: Jeryl Parade <jparade@washblade.com>
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Gay Rehoboth volleyball
enthusiast recalls 25 years
of drag event
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
Drag volleyball in Rehoboth Beach
is a tradition on Labor Day weekend.
Always held that Sunday at 1 p.m. (Sept.
1 this year), it pits two teams of gay guys
in drag against each other in an event
organizers have insisted on keeping
just for fun.
And like the High Heel Race in D.C.,
the event which draws thousands of
spectators each year had modest
origins.
Forrest Park, 75, is one of the originals.
He says it started with simple and casual
pick-up volleyball games on Poodle
Beach at the end of the boardwalk.
An older gay man Park only knew as
Mother owned the net and gave it
to Park, the same net they used until it
wore out two years ago.
All the players nine on each team
have drag names, which they use with
each other throughout the summer, not
just during the drag game. Each team
picks a theme for the year. Parks team
has been everything from Navy Waves to
Hawaiian princesses to Dallas Cowboys
cheerleaders to Dorothys from Wizard
of Oz (they arranged to have a plane
y overhead during the game with a
banner that read Surrender Dorothy).
Parks team doesnt ofcially have
a name, but when they make other
random appearances, theyve called
themselves the Delmarva Divas, named
after the Delmarva Peninsula, which
includes Rehoboth Beach.
Its just sort of a celebration of the
end of the summer I guess you could
say, says Park, who retired at 57 from
the Smithsonian accounting ofce and
spent the last nearly 20 years visiting 73
different countries.
It started 26 years ago but since they
sat one year out Park remembers
gays had a bad name in town briey,
which inspired them to lay low so this
is the 25
th
anniversary. The rst game
was against a group of lesbians they
met on the beach. The opposing team
is now led by Ron Crognale. His group is
also in drag each year.
And as much fun as it is, Park says it
started to get out of hand with each
year getting more and more elaborate.
It got to the point that I was spending
the whole summer sewing costumes,
Park says. It started out we just played
a game and maybe some other little
thing, but then it started getting more
and more complicated. Thered be
a song, a routine, a dance number, a
sound system. I found I was wishing my
summers away just waiting for it to be
over with so I nally said, Im done. So
for the next 15 years, I just lmed it.
Brent Minor Barbara Anne on the
team knew Park and his partner,
Will, from Washington. He says theyve
known each other so long, we can
practically complete each others
sentences, a reality he says is endearing
but also kind of scary.
Its really surprising the way its grown
over the years, Minor says. The rst
year it was just completely a surprise.
It wasnt like we were trying to spring
this on people. We just said, Lets have
some fun, but now its progressed into
this extravaganza with routines and
cheers and stuff like that. Its a bit crazy.
Mark Kimble Myrna on the court
and also an original member says the
crowds that come to watch have added
a lot to the event.
So many people come out to watch
that we wanted to keep it going, he
says. A lot of it is to entertain the crowd
so we come up with stuff we think the
crowd will think is funny, a lot with skits
and stuff like that. But yes, it is actually
a volleyball game that can get pretty
competitive.
Nobody keeps track of who wins each
year. Park guesses his team has won
more years than the other but hes not
sure. And yes, there have been some
wardrobe malfunctions and wigs ying
off occasionally.
We just put them back on and keep
playing, Kimble says.
The players have purposefully
avoided using the event for charity,
despite occasional requests to do so
over the years.
Theres no money involved at all,
Park says. We just want to keep it fun.
bump, set, wig
A group shot at one of the previous drag volleyball matches.
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRENT MINOR
FORREST PARK on the beach in Rehoboth, site
of the annual drag volleyball match.
PHOTO BY JOHN BATOR
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Saturday, September 14 } 4 P.M. } RFK Stadium
S30 sideline seat. S5 savings plus a portion of
proceeds will be donated back to the community
METRO ROLLERS
CARA SUNDAY MIXED
TEN-PIN PRIDE
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LEAGUE OF WOMEN BOWLERS
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START TIME
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LEARN MORE AT WWW.CARABOWLING.ORG
anyone can have a ball!
the capital area rainbowlers association (cara) offers
bowling leagues to fit everyones needs. see below.
cara has leagues every day of the week, with different start times to accommodate your
schedule, at locations all across the metro area (and near you!), open to members of the lGbt
community and their straight/ally friends, and open to players of all skill levels.
Sexuality never part of our
scouting reports, says Nats
GM
By STEPHEN RUTGERS
srutgers@washblade.com
With support for LGBT athletes
growing, some cities teams do a better
job than others of walking the walk.
Baltimore Orioles fans, for example,
are still waiting for a team-sanctioned
LGBT appreciation night. The situation
is much better in D.C.
Professional soccer team DC United
was the rst D.C. team and rst Major
League Soccer (MLS) team to make a
You Can Play video in support of LGBT
players. In an interview, midelder John
Thorrington, told the Blade, MLS has
done a very good job in spreading a
very inclusive message and has become
more and more LGBT friendly. I believe
this has been a conscious effort that the
league and players are behind.
When asked if having a gay player on
DC United would change anything with
the team, especially in the locker room,
he said, a locker room is a place where
you make everyone feel included and
build team chemistry.
Midelder Chris Pontius added
in an interview with the Blade, it is
common knowledge that we would
accept a person for who they are. As a
player you accept them as they are as
a player. Both said anything other than
respect would not be tolerated by the
organization.
The Washington Nationals are a fan
favorite in the LGBT community and the
team supports one of the largest LGBT
sports nights in the country.
We look for players who have the
skills and athleticism to win baseball
games and the sexuality of a player is
never part of our scouting reports, Mike
Rizzo, Nationals president of baseball
operations and general manager, told
the Blade. In our eyes, teammates are
teammates and everyone has equal
standing here at Nationals Park.
Former Washington Wizards center
Jason Collins came out earlier this
year. There are dozens of interviews
and quotes from his former Wizard
teammates supporting him. The
Wizards sent the Blade a statement
from President Ernie Grunfeld that
read, We are extremely proud of Jason
and support his decision to live his
life proudly and openly. He has been
a leader on and off the court and an
outstanding teammate throughout
his NBA career. Those qualities will
continue to serve him both as a player
and as a positive role model for others
of all sexual orientation.
Ted Leonsis, founder and CEO of
Monumental Sports & Entertainment,
which owns the Capitals, told the
Blade in a statement that his company
supports the LGBT community.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment
and its teams are committed to
fostering a supportive environment
for our players, fans, employees and
their families, Leonsis said in the
statement. Equality and diversity are
two important components in sports
culture and in life and the Capitals,
Wizards, Mystics and Verizon Center
each embrace an atmosphere where all
are welcome. We encourage players to
feel comfortable with their orientation
and are proud to stand in support of the
LGBT community.
Redskins quarterback Robert Grifn
III is one of the most popular players
in the NFL. In a recent interview with
GQ magazine, he said this about gay
players: Yeah, man. I think there are
[gay players] right now, and if theyre
looking for a window to just come out, I
mean, now is the window. The Redskins
organization did not return a request for
comment on its stance or preparations
for gay players.
d.c. teams ahead
of the pack on gay
support
D.C. is a leader when it comes to supporting gay fans. About 4,000 turned out for a recent Night
Out at the Nationals event.
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Ohh, Ahh!
Local soccer team takes on
L.A. Galaxy in televised match
By KEVIN MAJOROS
The Federal Triangles Soccer Club
(FTSC) and Team DC in conjunction with
D.C. United will host the fourth annual
United Night OUT at RFK Stadium as
D.C. United takes on L.A. Galaxy on
Sept. 14.
D.C. United has a history of supporting
the LGBT community. It was an early
and avid supporter of the FTSC when
they hosted the International Gay and
Lesbian Football Association World
Championships in 1997 and again in 2009.
I think our name sums it up, says
Doug Hicks, chief marketing ofcer of
D.C. United. United refers to what is in
our DNA. We are all united regardless
of socioeconomic status, ethnicity or
sexual identity.
In 2011, D.C. United released a much-
lauded It Gets Better video that
showed a few players taking some major
hits on the eld. They were the rst Major
League Soccer (MLS) team and rst
local professional team to participate in
the anti-bullying campaign founded by
Dan Savage.
In 2012, D.C. United lmed a video
for the You Can Play Project that was
launched that year within the National
Hockey League by Patrick Burke and his
father Brian Burke. United was again the
rst MLS and local professional team to
participate in the project.
D.C. United is donating a portion of
each ticket sale from the United Night
OUT to the You Can Play Project.
The You Can Play Project is dedicated
to ensuring equality, respect and safety
for all athletes, without regard to sexual
orientation. It is working to guarantee
that athletes are given a fair opportunity
to compete, judged by other athletes
and fans alike, only by what they
contribute to the sport or their teams
success.
It also aims to rid professional sports
of casual homophobia in the locker
rooms and spectator areas by focusing
only on an athletes skills, work ethic and
competitive spirit.
The United Night OUT event will kick
off at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 14 with
a tailgate party in Lot 8 of RFK Stadium
where you can join fellow members of
the LGBT community for food on the
grill and beverages.
Group participation levels for United
Night OUT are:
Team Caprain (10 rickers)
recognition on the ofcial website and
one rafe ticket to win a United jersey.
Supporrer's CluL (25 rickers) live
link on the ofcial website, recognition
on the scrolling ticker at the stadium,
representation on the eld during the
pregame activities and two rafe tickets
to win a United jersey.
Communiry Farrners (50 rickers)
logo and live link on the ofcial website,
recognition on the scrolling ticker at
the stadium, representation on the eld
during the pregame activities, one spot
in the Superstar T-Shirt Toss (limited to
15 roups) anc lve ralle rickers ro win
a United jersey.
Tickets are available at Nellies Sports
Bar and at unitednightout.com for $30
and ticketholders will have access to
the Capital View Club from 3:30 p.m.
throughout the game.
The match between United and
Galaxy, live and in its entirety, will
be televised regionally by Comcast
SportsNet the result of a joint broadcast
created by the two teams and their
broadcast partners. A national
broadcast also remains on UniMas.
dc united to host
4th night out game
DC UNITED takes on L.A. Galaxy on Sept. 14.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY KEVIN MAJOROS
Status of gay player Robbie Rogers
unclear after injury
The L.A. Galaxy come to RFK
Stadium to take on D.C. United
on Sept. 14 in a match that
will begin at 4 p.m. Arguably,
the Galaxy is the most visible
and most talked about team
in Major League Soccer (MLS),
thanks in part to the six seasons
that David Beckham played for
them.
The Beckham Effect brought
Major League Soccer onto
the world stage and helped to
increase the popularity of soccer
in the United States. During
Beckhams six seasons with the
Galaxy, seven expansion teams
debuted in MLS, new stadiums
were built and attendance for
regular season and post-season
matches soared.
The Galaxy is the two-time
defending MLS Cup champion
from 2011 and 2012, and this
season they are in a tight battle
in the Western Conference
with seven other teams. The
prospects of the team making it
into the post-season tournament
are looking better over the past month as the chemistry between Galaxy stars
Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane has really begun to emerge.
Also on the 2013 roster of the L.A. Galaxy is midelder Robbie Rogers.
Rogers played one season of college soccer at the University of Maryland and
helpec leac rhe Terrapins ro rhe 2005 NCAA Championship.
Shortly thereafter, he began his professional soccer career, which included stints with
Orange County Blue Star, Heerenveen, Columbus Crew, Leeds United and Stevenage.
He retired from soccer in January 2013 and came out as gay in the following month.
In May, he signed with the L.A. Galaxy, becoming the rst openly gay male athlete to
join MLS or any of the ve major North America professional sports leagues.
Rogers has spent the 2013 season trying to return to form and keep his
spot on the 18-man roster in regular season play. He has made nine regular
season game appearances and six game starts. Last month, he injured his
rihr hamsrrin anc was our unril a 45minure appearance aainsr Feal
Madrid on Aug. 1 in the International Champions Cup.
On Aug. 20, Rogers earned a start in a CONCACAF Champions League
match against Cartagines where he injured his left hamstring. The extent of
the injury is still unclear at this time and it remains to be seen whether Rogers
will travel to D.C. with the L.A. Galaxy for the match against United on Sept. 14.
Rogers has been on a media blitz over the past several months appearing on
Anderson Cooper 360, Nightline, CNN, MTV and Chelsea Lately among others. Most
of the conversations have been about the struggles of being a closeted gay athlete.
So what do Los Angeles sports fans think about their gay soccer player?
One only has to look as far as the L.A. Galaxy blogs to nd that the subjects
most fans are talking about is their wish for Rogers to get healthy and stay
focused on the game rather than his media tour. Truth be told, they basically
said the same thing about Beckham during his tenure.
Will there be a Rogers Effect?
KEVIN MAJOROS
ROBBIE ROGERS came out earlier this year.
PHOTO BY NOAH SALZMAN
Swimmers take 11th
championship in Seattle
competition
By KEVIN MAJOROS
The District of Columbia Aquatics
Club (DCAC) recently returned
home to D.C. after competing in the
International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics
Championships (IGLA) in Seattle. Since
winning their rst IGLA world title in
1995, DCAC has been hard to beat,
racking up a total of 10 IGLA titles. The
championships are held each year with
every fourth year off during the year of
the Gay Games. The only teams that
have managed to defeat DCAC since
1995 are New York Aquatics, Paris
Aquatique and Team Florida.
We were happy to see New York
Aquatics step up and take the title in
2012, said swimmer Neill Williams after
DCAC came in second in Iceland. But we
will do what we can to win it back in 2013.
The DCAC team showed up in Seattle
with 69 swimmers in tow on Aug. 12 for
ve days of racing in 51 events. There
were 38 teams from around the world
competing at this years championships.
Over the past two decades, DCAC has
had a large core of strong swimmers who
have continued to swim fast into their 40s,
50s and 60s. This years meet in Seattle
saw the emergence of a new crew of
20 and 30-year-olds, to compliment the
older swimmers, including some strong
female swimmers. Points are scored by
age groups in ve-year increments. Each
age group competes in all 51 events and
each person is limited to ve individual
events and four relays.
After two days of racing, DCAC held a
small lead over New York Aquatics. On day
three, the records started to fall and the
strength of DCACs relays proved too much
for the New York team. The D.C. swimmers
pulled away in commanding fashion to win
their 11th IGLA championship in the large
team category. The Long Beach Grunions
won the medium team category and the
Philadelphia Fins won the small team
category.
Also on hand from D.C. for the
championships were 12 players from
the Washington Wetskins water polo
team. After several matches during the
week, the Wetskins captured 5th place
in the water polo competition. The
championship match was won by San
Francisco Tsumadre.
Other sports contested during the
week were synchronized swimming, open
water swimming and diving. The diving
events included a judging appearance
by Olympic diver, Kent Ferguson.
After all the pool events are concluded,
IGLA always wraps up with the ever popular
Pink Flamingo Follies. The event is a judged
pool deck and water performance set to
music and is generally lled with camp and
drama. The DCAC performance was set
in the Emerald City Starbucks and told the
story of Dorothy and Glinda falling in love
despite the attempt by the evil dominatrix
Wicked Witch of the West to take Dorothy
for herself. After getting married, the happy
couple rode off into the sunset on blow up
Orcas accompanied by their Speedo-clad
entourage. DCAC was awarded second
place for the performance.
Next year there will be no IGLA, but
DCAC will be in Cleveland for the Gay
Games.
My DCAC teammates showed
determination, endurance and
camaraderie during the week of IGLA.
Each race was a ght for the wall especially
seen during the relays when most
everyone posts times faster than their
individual swims. Also, a big thank you
goes out to the Washington Wetskins for
joining us in the swimming events to make
our presence even more formidable.
d.c. aquatics
win world title
Members of the DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AQUATICS CLUB recently returned home from a
competition in Seattle.
WASHINGTON BLADE PHOTO BY KEVIN MAJOROS
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Meet & Greet
OCTOBER 1 | 7-9 PM
with the men and women of DC Strokes Rowing Club,
fresh o international success at the 2013 World Outgames
How long have you been out and
who was the hardest person to tell?
Ive always known who I was.
However, I didnt always have the
vocabulary to describe myself. When
I was 14, I came out to my friends as
a gay female. The hardest person to
tell was my best friend at the time. In
the end I never told her. I let someone
else (who loved to spread other
peoples business) tell her for me.
When I was 18, I found out what being
a trans man meant. Then I came out
to myself. Honestly Id say coming out
to myself was harder than coming out
to anyone. I had these negative views
of trans people and what I thought
it meant and I hated that I t under
that label. Little did I know that
being trans is simply customizing my
identity to what I want it to be. Not my
parents, friends or society. Me. I get
to be who I choose to be and I love
everything about that. Oh yeah, and I
recently came out as a gay man!
Whos your LGBT hero?
Thats difcult. There are so many
people in the LGBT community who
have helped me get to where I am
today, and are still doing so as I write
down these answers. The rst people
who come to mind are:
L: Pat Grifn, Sue Rankin and Helen
Carroll
G: LZ Granderson and Cyd Zeigler
B: Anna Aagenes and Robin Ochs
T: Laverne Cox and CeCe McDonald
Whats Washingtons best
nightspot, past or present?
I love a crowd and I love to dance.
Town nightclub (on a Friday) has yet to
let me down.

Describe your dream wedding.
Marrying my best friend and love of
my life, all my friends being there and my
mother in attendance with love and support.

What non-LGBT issue are you
most passionate about?
Racial justice.

What historical outcome would
you change?
Slavery and all of the deaths that
occurred/are still occurring because
of the color value system we have
been taught to embrace.
Whats been the most memorable
pop culture moment of your
lifetime?
Seeing Usher at the Verizon Center.

On what do you insist?
Do what makes you happy. Life is
too short.
What was your last Facebook post
or Tweet?
I was in London for the rst time
working on a project so I asked this of
my Facebook friends: For those of
you who have been to London before
where exactly is the gayborhood? It
was well worth asking.
If your life were a book, what
would the title be?
Its Not a Guy Thing, Its a Kye
Thing

If science discovered a way to
change sexual orientation, what
would you do?
Continue to be the person I worked
so hard to love unconditionally a
black gay man.

What do you believe in beyond
the physical world?
I believe there is something greater
than us and this world we live in.
Whats your advice for LGBT
movement leaders?
Dont reinvent the wheel. Ive seen
many people go into this work, myself
included, making their lives harder than
it has to be. Many times, something that
we are thinking of doing has already been
done, or is being done right now. Look
to collaborate with others and take your
leadership and efforts to the next level.

What would you walk across hot
coals for?
I would walk across hot coals for
my family, a pint of Magnolias banana
pudding and Hugh Jackman.
What LGBT stereotype annoys you
most?
I dont know which is worse,
assuming that all trans people are
straight or that all trans people must
have surgery or take hormones to
complete the transition. Life is a
transition. We all transition. Not just
trans people. Remember that.

Whats your favorite LGBT movie?
Noahs Ark: Jumping the Broom.
Whats the most overrated social
custom?
Men opening doors for women.

What trophy or prize do you most
covet?
My siblings loving me as their brother
is a trophy and prize in itself. Without
their love I dont know what I would do.

What do you wish youd known at
18?
Everything I know now. College
would have been a lot different if I had
this focus and drive that I have at age
23.

Why Washington?
It was the farthest place from
Minnesota, and at the time I
thought it was cool to live right
down the street from the White
House, which gets old pretty fast.
I have grown to love it though. Its
not as fast as New York and not as
chill as Chicago. Its perfect.
The former GWU basketball player and
trans advocate answers 20 gay questions
By JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
joeyd@washblade.com
When Kye Allums told his fellow players on the womens basketball
team at George Washington University during his sophomore year that he
wanted them to start using male pronouns and his new name it took a little
time for them to get it.
They laughed at rst, the 23-year-old St. Paul, Minn., native says. They
were like, Yeah, you woke up, now youre a boy, whatever, but when they
knew I was serious, they didnt understand it at all, but they started seeing
how it was affecting me. I was smiling then. In the end, they started to
switch because they could see using the appropriate name made me happy
and in the end they wanted to support me.
Allums says the issue of being male on a womens team didnt bother
me at all.
After graduating, Allums (imenough.org) parlayed his career into trans
advocacy work mostly visiting college campuses where he spreads his
belief that I am enough what I say, what I feel, that is enough. You
shouldnt have to tweak yourself to make somebody else happy. He splits
his time between New York and Washington when hes not traveling (which
he says was about 93 percent of the time in the last year). He just got back
from London and Scotland where he worked on a documentary about the
experiences of trans people around the world. He hopes to nish it with a
trip to the United Arab Emirates and Thailand in December.
Allums is single one of the downsides of constant travel, he says. He
enjoys writing, shopping for shoes, Netix and traveling in his down time.
QUEERY: KYE ALLUMS
Filling a void fostered by
bullying, harassment in schools
By KEVIN MAJOROS
Locker room fears, bullying and
anti-LGBT bias have prevented
many within the LGBT community,
especially in high school and college,
from even attempting to play sports.
In some cases, they have also chosen
not to be spectators because of
feeling unsafe.
There are likely thousands of LGBT
teenagers in America who are not
playing sports because they fear the
repercussions of joining a community
that is historically unwelcoming.
Research studies by the Gay, Lesbian
& Straight Education Network (GLSEN)
found that high school LGBT students
avoid locker rooms (39 percent), physical
education class (32.5 percent) and
the school sports eld (22.8 percent)
because of feeling unsafe.
LGBT sports advocacy groups have
been producing resource guides
for everyone involved in the sports
community in an attempt to educate.
Diversity training is now pretty much
inescapable from grade school sports
to professional sports.
Most of the athletes competing
in the LGBT sports community of
Washington, D.C. are post-college age
and are experiencing exactly what the
national LGBT sports advocacy groups
are trying to accomplish: They are
competing in a safe space and they are
ourishing.
Brandon Waggoner grew up in West
Texas and Tennessee. He never played
sports growing up but had the desire
as he taught himself how to throw a ball
when he was a teenager.
I never joined a team because I
was nervous about being in the locker
room, says Waggoner.
In college, through his dorm, he
began playing intramural sports as a
closeted gay man and was instantly
hooked. After arriving in D.C. he was
playing on a team with his employer
when he heard about a local gay ag
football team.
I had just come out and was
unfamiliar with the athletic capabilities
of gay people, says Waggoner. I
joined the team thinking I was going to
be a dominant player. Instead, I was the
one who was dominated.
Besides quarterbacking in the DC
Gay Flag Football League, Waggoner
has also played on the Washington
DC Gay Basketball League. Along with
his teammates, he has made it to the
playoffs in both leagues.
Alison Samuels went to a small
private high school in California and
played soccer and eld hockey. She
was the rst openly gay person at her
school and despite her efforts to t in
and create a comfortable environment,
she was asked by her teammates not to
use the locker room.
That happened in my junior year,
says Samuels. I continued to play
but the perception became that any
female friends I had were likely gay, so
I stopped having close female friends
and I refused to touch or hug my female
friends.
She tried the club soccer team at Mary
Washington University in her freshman
year but did not t in and decided to
stop playing sports. She eventually
found a safe environment on a club
rugby team in her junior year.
After moving to D.C. she saw a
Craigslist posting for the Federal
Triangles Soccer Club and joined the
team. It is a completely different
environment, says Samuels. More fun,
more relaxed and less stress.
Samuels is now president of the
Federal Triangles Soccer Club.
Brian Sparrow grew up on naval
bases including some time spent at
Guantanamo Bay. His father taught him
the basics of sports but his assignments
took him away on ships for up to nine
months at a time.
My mom would sign me up for
sports leagues, says Sparrow. But I
spent most of my time playing sports by
myself.
Sparrow was small for his age so
after his family settled in Maryland
he continued to play sports in his
neighborhood instead of joining
team sports. After coming out,
he discovered the LGBT sports
community in D.C.
Playing sports has dened me as a
gay man, says Sparrow. I really began
to ourish when I started joining the
LGBT sports leagues.
Sparrow has played with the Capital
Tennis Association, Chesapeake
and Potomac Softball, DC Gay Flag
Football League, Capital Punishment
Volleyball and the Washington, D.C.
Gay Basketball League.
These athletes and thousands like
them in leagues across the country
express a similar appreciation for LGBT-
specic programs that allow all athletes
to reap the many benets of playing
sports.
local athletes on
why they joined lgbt
sports teams
I never joined a team [growing up] because I
was nervous about being in the locker room,
said BRANDON WAGGONER, who went on
to serve as commissioner of the D.C. Gay Flag
Football League.
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LR12103
Many oppose Sochi boycott
despite Putins anti-gay laws
Growing outrage over Russias LGBT
rights record threatens to overshadow
place in the country in February.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in
June signed a broadly worded law
that bans gay propaganda to minors
under which individuals will face nes of
between 4,000 and 5,000 rubles ($124-
$155.) Government ofcials would face
nes of between 40,000 and 50,000 rubles
($1,241-$1,551,) while organizations could
face penalties of up to 1 million rubles
($31,000) or suspension of their activities
for up to 90 days.
Foreigners who violate the law would
face up to 15 days in jail and deportation
from the country.
A second law that Putin signed in July
bans same-sex couples and anyone from
a country in which gays and lesbians can
marry from adopting Russian children.
A 2012 statute requires LGBT advocacy
organizations and other groups that
receive funding from outside Russia to
register as foreign agents.
These laws have come into effect against
the backdrop of increased anti-LGBT
violence and discrimination in the country.
Two men near Volgograd in May
allegedly sodomized a man with
beer bottles before killing him after
he reportedly came out to them.
Authorities on the Kamchatka Peninsula
in Russias Far East said three men
stabbed and trampled a gay man to
death a few weeks later before they set
his car on re with his body inside.
Police in May arrested 30 LGBT rights
activists who tried to stage a Pride
celebration outside Moscow City Hall.
Authorities in June detained dozens of
LGBT advocates who sought to hold a
similar gathering in St. Petersburg
Ofcials in Murmansk in July arrested four
Dutch LGBT rights activists who were lming
a documentary about gay life in Russia.
Reports of ultra-nationalists torturing gay
Russian teenagers whom they met though
fake accounts they created on a Russian
social media network continue to emerge.
CALLS FOR BOYCOTT
Actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein
in July called for a boycott of the Sochi
games.
Author Dan Savage and LGBT rights
advocates Cleve Jones are among those
who have called for a boycott of Russian
vodka. Gay bars in Chicago, New York
and Seattle stopped serving Stoli and
other brands, but D.C. establishments
have not backed the boycott.
Andy Cohen on Aug. 14 told E! News
he turned down a request to co-host
the 2013 Miss Universe pageant that will
take place in Moscow in November, in
part, because he didnt feel right as a
gay man stepping foot into Russia.
Donald Trump, who co-owns the
pageant along with NBC Universal,
did not respond to the Washington
Blades request for comment on
Cohens decision. The Miss Universe
Organization said in an Aug. 20
statement it is deeply concerned over
the gay propaganda ban and anti-LGBT
violence in Russia.
Both the law, as well as the violence
experienced by the LGBT community
in Russia are diametrically opposed to
the core values of our company, the
statement read.
Gay Olympic diver Greg Louganis,
who was unable to compete in the
1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
because then-President Jimmy Carter
boycotted them over the Soviet Unions
invasion of Afghanistan the year before,
is among those who feel the U.S. should
compete in the Sochi games. President
Obama, retired tennis champion
Martina Navratilova and a coalition of
LGBT advocacy groups that include
Outsports.com and Athlete Ally also
oppose an Olympic boycott.
Retired tennis champion Billie Jean
King, who came out in 1981, told the
Blade on Monday she feels individual
athletes themselves should decide
whether to compete in Sochi.
They should get the vote, she said.
This is the Olympics. This is about the
athletes and the fans, so its a really hard
call.
Gay New Zealand speed skater Blake
Skjellerup in July announced he will
wear a Pride pin in Sochi if he qualies
for the Olympics.
Its been a positive reaction so far,
he told the Blade on Monday during an
interview from Calgary, Alberta, where
he continues to train. Outsports.com
and other LGBT sports groups and
others have backed a fund that seeks to
raise at least $15,000 to help Skjellerup
qualify for the games. Everybody is
behind the idea and are excited to see
that I am proud of who I am and that Im
going to show that in Sochi.
American runner Nick Symmonds
earlier this month criticized the gay
propaganda ban during an interview
with the Russian news agency RIA
Novosti after he competed in the mens
800 meter nal at the World Athletic
Championship in Moscow. High jumper
Emma Green Tregaro and sprinter Mao
Hjelmer, who are from Sweden, painted
their ngernails in rainbow colors as
they competed in the same event.
Figure skater Johnny Weir, whose
husband is of Russian descent, told
CBS News he is not afraid of being
arrested while at the Sochi games.
If it takes me getting arrested for
people to pay attention and for people
to lobby against this law, then Im willing
to take it, Weir told the network.
RUSSIA TO ENFORCE LAWS
Russian authorities have repeatedly
said authorities will enforce the gay
propaganda ban during the Sochi
games, in spite of repeated assurances
the International Olympic Committee
said it has received from the Kremlin that
the law would not impact athletes who
plan to compete in the Olympics. The
IOC told the Blade those who participate
in the games could face disqualication
or loss of their credentials if they publicly
criticize Russias gay propaganda ban
while in Sochi.
Green Tregaro wore red ngernail
polish during a high jump competition
at the World Athletic Championship
on Aug. 17 because Swedish athletic
ofcials reportedly asked her to change
their color.
The athletes are always going into
countries with laws different than his
or her own country, U.S. Olympic
Committee CEO Scott Blackmun told
RIA Novosti during an Aug. 14 interview.
Theyre going to agree with those laws
in some ways, theyre going to disagree
with those laws in other ways. Its our
strong desire that our athletes comply
with the laws of every nation that we
visit. This law is no different.
USOC spokesperson Patrick Sandusky
later sought to clarify Blackmuns
position on the gay propaganda law,
saying on his Twitter account on Aug. 16
that it is inconsistent with fundamental
Olympic principles. He said the
organization has also shared our view
with the IOC.
Skjellerup applauded the Canadian
Olympic Committees response to
the gay propaganda law and Russias
LGBT rights record. He also plans to
march with COC members during this
weekends Calgary Pride.
Canada is probably one of the
countries that is actually leading the
growth of support for their athletes and
[against] the atrocity that is going on in
Russia at the moment, Skjellerup told
the Blade.
Yelena Isinbayeva, an Olympic
pole vault champion, criticized Green
Tregaro and Hjelmer during an Aug.
15 press conference after she won her
third world title at the World Athletic
Championships. Isinbayeva also
defended the gay propaganda ban.
We are Russians. Maybe we are
different than European people, than
other people from different lands,
she said during the press conference.
We have our law that everyone has to
respect.
Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit
Red Wings defended Isinbayevas
comments.
Im an Orthodox and that says it all,
he said, according to Russian journalist
Igor Eronko.
russian crackdown threatens
to overshadow olympics
Outsports.com and other LGBT sports groups
have backed a fund that seeks to raise at least
$15,000 to help Gay New Zealand speed skater
BLAKE SKJELLERUP qualify for the games.
PHOTO BY JONI ANDERSON
Navratilova on getting booed
after coming out and why
the Sochi games must go on
Martina Navratilova broke more than
one glass ceiling during her career.
She won 18 Grand Slam singles
titles including nine womens singles
championships at Wimbledon during her
time on the tennis circuit that spanned
more than three decades from 1975 to
her ofcial retirement in 2006. Navratilova
also won 31 major womens doubles and
10 major mixed doubles titles.
She also made history in 1981 as one
of the rst professional athletes who
came out as gay.
Navratilova, 56, told the Washington
Blade during an interview that fans had
a mixed reaction to her decision to
publicly disclose her sexual orientation.
Id get some ovation from some, the
retired Czech-born tennis champion said,
noting she didnt receive endorsement
deals after she came out. From some
they would just not clap at all and some
would be whistling and booing.
Navratilova credited positive media
coverage over the last decade with improving
the way LGBT athletes are treated.
Back then it was people who cheered
me on that were looked at funny, so its
just totally come around, she said. I
didnt know how bad it was in the stands
until I met some people that were my
fans back in the day and theyre like,
you had no idea what people used to
say, so its nice to know that its kind of
full circle. People couldnt get away with
that stuff anymore.
Navratilova spoke to the Blade a few
weeks after former Washington Wizards
center Jason Collins came out as gay in
a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
His coming out will have a positive
impact on an untold amount of lives,
she said. Its just adding to the
groundswell of acceptance.
Collins representatives have declined
the Blades requests to interview him.
Collins described Navratilova as one
of my heroes during an interview with
ABC News George Stephanopoulos
shortly after he came out. He also said
she is one of his role models.
You never know how you affect
somebody in what way and it was
just really nice to know just by being
who I am made a difference a
positive difference in somebody else,
Navratilova said, noting she and Collins
have exchanged e-mails since he
came out. Its very empowering and
humbling at the same time.
Navratilova spoke to the Blade shortly
after Russian lawmakers unanimously
passed a bill by a 436-0 margin that
sought to ban the promotion of
homosexuality to minors. President
Vladimir Putin on June 30 signed the so-
called gay propaganda measure into law.
Putin also signed a bill that bans
foreign same-sex couples and those from
countries that allow same-sex marriage
from adopting Russian children. Groups
that receive funding from outside Russia
that do not register as foreign agents
under a 2012 law face a ne of up to
500,000 rubles (or $15,220.)
I feel like Putins just trying to go
against whatever the West is doing,
Navratilova said. If the West would
be bad about gays, he would have gay
marriage, but because the West is good
with the gays or getting better, he
goes the other way.
Navratilova is among the current
and former LGBT professional athletes
who oppose calls to boycott the 2014
Winter Olympics in Sochi over Russias
gay rights record. Others include
Olympic diver Greg Louganis, who was
unable to compete in the 1980 Summer
Olympics in Moscow because the U.S.
boycotted the games over the Soviet
Unions invasion of Afghanistan the year
before; gure skater Johnny Weir and
former George Washington University
basketball player Kye Allums.
Blake Skjellerup, a gay speed skater
from New Zealand, plans to wear a
rainbow pin during the Sochi games.
Navratilova said Russia shouldnt have
gotten the Olympics in the rst place, but
stressed she never believed in boycotts.
She referenced the gay advocacy
groups that boycotted Colorado after
voters in 1992 approved a constitutional
amendment that barred the state from
enacting anti-gay discrimination laws to
further prove her point.
The U.S. Supreme Court struck it down
in 1996 in the Romer v. Evans decision.
Its more effective to get in peoples
faces and prove them wrong rather than run
away, Navratilova said. To me a boycott
kind of runs away from the problem.
She was also a Tennis Channel
commentator during the mens nal at
the French Open in early June when
opponents of Frances same-sex marriage
law interrupted the match between
Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and
David Ferrer. Navratilova said the shirtless
protester who ran onto the court with a
are in his hand near Nadal reminded her
of the man who stabbed Monica Seles
during a German tennis match in 1993.
Youre like holy shit, youre still not
safe on the tennis court, she said. On
top of that, its these asshole protesters
who have nothing better to do but
complain about gay people having the
same rights as they do.
coming full circle
MARTINA NAVRATILOVA came out in 1981 and
lost endorsement deals for her bold stance.
PHOTO COURTESY JOHN WRIGHT
BILLIE JEAN KING was outed in 1981 and
promptly lost all of her endorsements.
PHOTO BY ANDREW COPPA PHOTOGRAPHY
Billie Jean King looks back
Retired tennis champion Billie Jean
King this week said individual athletes
should decide whether to compete in
place in Sochi, Russia, early next year.
The athletes who have the most to
derive from it and the least to derive
from it if they dont go, I think they should
get the vote, she said in response to a
Washington Blade question about the
issue on a conference call during which
she discussed an episode of the PBS
series American Masters that proles
her that debuts on the network Sept. 10. This is the Olympics. This is about the
athletes and the fans, so its a really hard call.
King, who came out as a lesbian in 1981 after her relationship with her
secretary became public, spoke about calls to boycott the Sochi games as
outrage over a law that bans gay propaganda to minors in Russia and the
countrys overall LGBT rights record continues to grow.
King, 69, won 39 Grand Slam titles during her professional career that
spanned more than a decade from 1968 to 1983.
She founded the Womens Tennis Association in 1973, the same year she
defeated Bobby Riggs in a match that became known as the Battle of the
Sexes. King the same year founded the Womens Tennis Association, and in
1974 she co-founded the co-ed Mylan World TeamTennis league.
King came out as a lesbian after her relationship with her then-secretary
and hairdresser Marilyn Barnett became public when she led a palimony
lawsuit against her while she was still married to her husband.
The retired tennis champion told reporters during a conference call on
Monday she lost all her endorsements within 24 hours of publicly declaring
her homosexuality. King noted the companies that had once backed her
wrote me about how horrible a person I was.
The culture at the time was not accepting, at all, she said, noting she had
planned to retire in 1981, but delayed the decision two years because she lost
more than $2 million because of the lost endorsements. It was completely
different than it is now.
King added she feels gay Americans currently nd themselves at a tipping
point in terms of the LGBT rights movement, even though she noted more
than 30 states still lack transgender-specic employment protections.
If I went back to 1981, I cannot tell you how tough it was, King said. I
cant even imagine the pioneers before me and all the people that couldnt
come out that wanted to accomplish things not only for themselves, but for
others.
1974 she co-founded the co-ed Mylan World TeamTennis league.
King came out as a lesbian after her relationship with her then-secretary
and hairdresser Marilyn Barnett became public when she led a palimony
lawsuit against her while she was still married to her husband.
The retired tennis champion told reporters during a conference call on
Monday she lost all her endorsements within 24 hours of publicly declaring
her homosexuality. King noted the companies that had once backed her
wrote me about how horrible a person I was.
The culture at the time was not accepting, at all, she said, noting she had
planned to retire in 1981, but delayed the decision two years because she lost
more than $2 million because of the lost endorsements. It was completely
different than it is now.
King added she feels gay Americans currently nd themselves at a tipping
point in terms of the LGBT rights movement, even though she noted more
than 30 states still lack transgender-specic employment protections.
If I went back to 1981, I cannot tell you how tough it was, King said. I
cant even imagine the pioneers before me and all the people that couldnt
come out that wanted to accomplish things not only for themselves, but for
others.
C
M
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CM
MY
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USATF_US_Print_Final_July_29.pdf 1 7/31/13 11:32 AM
outsports next play
PHOTO: Mashup of Zeigler and Buzinski photos
CUTLINE:
10 years after debut, gay sports
site acquired by SB Nation
By PHIL REESE
preese@washblade.com
For more than 10 years, OutSports.
com has been a leader in sharing stories
from the amateur and professional
sports world with a decidedly gay point
of view.
OutSports denitely lls a needed
niche within the realm of sports, says
avid sports fan and gay man, Ken Nash.
If youre wanting news about the gay
boycott of Sochi or events like the Gay
Games, its the rst site people go to.
Three years before creating
OutSports.com, gay sports enthusiasts
and ag football players Cyd Zeigler
and Jim Buzinski met playing in the
Los Angeles league in the late 1990s.
They bemoaned the lack of an LGBT
voice in coverage of sports news, and
it dawned on them to ll the void
themselves.
Why dont we just do this thing
called a website, Buzinski told the
Blade, who said Zeigler came up with
the name OutSports when the pair
discovered gaysports.com was taken.
Once he said it, it was like oh, thats it,
and we never went back.
In March, OutSports which has
grown from a small site with pages
dedicated to the promotion of gay
sports into a reputable news source
that covers all aspects of LGBT issues
in sports was acquired by Vox
Media, a Washington, D.C.-based web
publishing company, and became part
of their agship site, SB Nation. Buzinski
and Zeigler maintain creative and
editorial control.
People were afraid that becoming
part of a mainstream publication would
mean that OutSports is going to be de-
gayed, and that has not been the case,
Zeigler told the Blade about SB Nation
a massive site of sports-related
community-driven editorial content.
The fact that a mainstream publication
wanted to acquire a very gay website
says a lot about where sports media is
today and where this company is today.
Buzinski and Zeigler began to
consider joining a larger organization
several years ago, and reached out to
several other LGBT publications, but
after the New York Times proled the
pair in April 2011, SB Nation reached
out to the two pioneering gay sports
bloggers.
Sports fans are coming out of the
closet en masse in the LGBT community
recently, and cities like Washington
D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago and New
York have seen an explosion of amateur
LGBT leagues in every sport imaginable.
But when the duo met in 1998, gay
sports fans were less open about their
passion.
Its an area that older gay people
shunned for a variety of reasons, a lot of
it legitimate, Buzinski says about why
organized sports were not considered
a part of the LGBT identity in the early
years of the site.
It felt like you almost had to defend
yourself for being a sports fan. Because
people would talk about how bullying
the culture was, and you felt like I just
love the sport, I love the action, I love
the players, Buzinski continued. They
just didnt feel a part of it or accepted
except for sports like softball, which
has had gay teams forever but now
it seems that every city has dozens of
teams of active gay clubs. So I think at
the recreational level, people are saying,
Hey, we can be in any eld. Were not
restricted.
Buzinski and Zeigler say the Internet,
and sites like OutSports have helped
change the perception of organized
sports in the LGBT community, as well as
change the perception of LGBT athletes
in the community of athletics.
As a huge gay sports fan growing
up, [OutSports] seemed like one
of the only places where you could
actually nd sports news from an
LGBT perspective, and also nd other
openly gay sports fans, Change.org
senior campaign director and longtime
reader, Michael Jones, told the Blade.
I denitely think the site has had a
tremendous amount of inuence in
getting outlets like Sports Illustrated,
Sporting News, ESPN and more to
cover LGBT issues in sports.
Buzinski and Zeigler see the
partnership with SB Nation as a sign of
a changing landscape in sports media,
where a general sports audience is
more open to and interested in stories
of LGBT athletes, and gay sports fans
will continue to be de-ghettoized, as
Zeigler says.
I think having a partner like SB
Nation gives us more resources to do
things that weve not been able to do
until now, Buzinski says.
The vibe and feel of OutSports has
changed since it was acquired by SB
Nation, and it now has a much more
polished, Grantland-esque feel to it
than a charming and scrappy blog,
says Change.orgs Jones. But looks
aside, Ive still enjoyed the content, still
visit the site multiple times a week, and
still hope that the exposure stories on
OutSports get among the fans of SB
Nation open up LGBT sports coverage
to even greater numbers of readers,
particularly straight readers, who havent
been used to reading about the lives of
LGBT people in the sports world.
Zeigler says that as LGBT sports
issues change, OutSports will continue
to evolve at its new home.
We cover things differently than we
did 10 years ago, and ve years from
now well cover things differently, he
tells the Blade. With SB Nation, were
not just read by a mostly gay audience
anymore, were now read by a lot of
straight people.
That means the ability to expose a
mainstream audience to new issues, and
bring wider attention to ways athletics is
adapting to an era of the out and open
athlete.
Transgender people are
misunderstood, but transgender
athletes have the furthest to go [in
terms of acceptance in sports],
Zeigler says about one of the next
LGBT issues needing to be tackled.
I think we need education in terms
of what it means to transition in the
sports world.
Zeigler also sees casual homophobia
as a problem.
I think this is the No. 1 problem. I
think systemic homophobia is not really
the issue here, its the perception of
homophobia in sports, Zeigler says.
And heterosexism.
OutSports avoids trying to be all
things to everyone, but concentrates on
shedding light on issues of interest of
LGBT athletes and fans.
For more substantive game-by-
game analysis, I prefer ESPN but that
isnt what OutSports tries to be, sports
fan Ken Nash says.
CYD ZEIGLER (left) and JIM BUZINSKI have guided OutSports through 10 years of change, and see their acquisition by SB Nation as the next chapter in their
story.
PHOTOS COURTESY ZEIGLER AND BUZINSKI
JASON COLLINS came out as gay while a free agent and has yet to nd a team.
PHOTO COURTESY NBA PHOTOS
Will former Wizard nd a new
team after announcing hes gay?
More than four months after he
became the rst male athlete who
actively plays in a major American
sports professional league to come
out as gay, former Washington Wizards
center Jason Collins has yet to sign with
another team.
Both the Pistons and Nets have
passed on signing Collins, according
to a CBS News report. Collins averaged
one point and one rebound per game
last year while with the Celtics and
Wizards.
NBA training camps begin in late
September. ESPN reported that, An
informal survey of league executives
at Las Vegas Summer League suggests
that Collins, who remains a free agent,
stands a good chance to be in uniform
on opening night this fall as teams esh
out their rosters with 12th, 13th and 14th
men in the weeks leading up to training
camp.
Collins has repeatedly declined the
Washington Blades requests for an
interview since he announced hes
gay in an op-ed that Sports Illustrated
published in its May 6 edition, but he
has appeared at a number of LGBT-
specic events since then. These
include attending an LGBT fundraiser
for the Democratic National Committee
in New York City on May 29 that First
Lady Michelle Obama attended and
marching in Bostons annual Pride
parade in June with Massachusetts
Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy, III, with whom
he lived while they attended Stanford
University.
Collins, 34, introduced Seattle rappers
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the MTV
Video Music Awards in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
on Aug. 25 before they performed their
song Same Love that advocates for
marriage rights for same-sex couples.
I was certain that my world would fall
apart if anyone knew, Collins wrote in
his Sports Illustrated op-ed. Yet when I
acknowledged my sexuality I felt whole
for the rst time.
NBA Commissioner David Stern,
Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld, D.C.
Mayor Vincent Gray, Kobe Bryant of
the Los Angeles Lakers, New York City
Council Speaker Christine Quinn and
Human Rights Campaign President
Chad Grifn are among those who
applauded Collins after he came out.
His coming out will have a positive
impact on an untold amount of lives,
retired tennis champion Martina
Navratilova, who came out in 1981,
told the Washington Blade during a
June interview. Its just adding to the
groundswell of acceptance.
President Obama also reached out to
Collins after he came out.
I told him I couldnt be prouder
of him, Obama told reporters after
Sports Illustrated posted Collins op-ed
to its website in late April. One of the
extraordinary measures of progress that
weve seen in this country has been the
recognition that the LGBT community
deserves full equality, not just partial
equality, not just tolerance, but a
recognition that theyre fully a part of
the American family.
collins remains
unsigned 4 months
after coming out
and warranties.
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KIRK WALKER left Oregon State University as the all-time winningest softball coach in the schools
history.
PHOTO COURTESY KIRK WALKER
Catching up with Kirk Walker, rst
out coach in Division I NCAA
By KEITH LORIA
When Kirk Walker and his partner
Randy Baltimore decided to adopt a
child in 2005, the process required the
couple to ll out public records, which
led to Walker making the important
decision to do what no other head
coach in Division I NCAA had ever
done come out to his team and the
world. (Since his announcement, Sherri
Murrell, head womens basketball coach
at Portland State, has also come out.)
For probably ve or six years before I
came out, I was denitely in a place where
I would not hide it and I wouldnt lie
about it, but I wasnt necessarily sharing
it and it wasnt a point of conversation,
he says. It certainly wasnt something I
shared with my team. In fact, my team
was a very big turning point for me in
terms of being more vocal.
Walker was in his 11
th
season as
head softball coach with Oregon State
University at the time and it was important
to him that his players learn he was gay
from him, rather than through the news
reports that were certain to follow.
I brought up the topic and I shared it
with them, he says. For the next year or
so, I was a little reluctant to do a lot of articles
and interviews, because I didnt want that to
be the rst thing listed on my resume, that I
was the gay coach, and that was partly my
ego. I wanted my record to stand from my
coaching world for who I was.
Eventually, Walker decided that he
was being selsh and that his attitude
was diminishing the impact he could
have, and proudly wore the label as
the coach who came out.
Last season, Walker was offered an
assistant coaching position for UCLAs
softball program and decided to make
the move. He was an alumnus of the
school and had previously served as a
coach for the Bruins from 1984-1994,
helping his alma mater to six NCAA
National Championships.
Walker left OSU as the Beavers all-
time winningest softball coach, with a
594-491 record, and led the team to 10
postseason appearances, including the
College World Series in 2006 and the
NCAA regionals in 2012.
Somewhat surprisingly, Walker
believes he is making a bigger impact
with LGBT students in his new role.
As the role of a head coach, I know
I was an example for people and they
were respectful and appreciative, but a
head coach is someone who is hard to
seek out and share personal issues, he
says. Now, being an assistant, I am in
a different role and I certainly see more
accessibility to me as a resource.
In April, Walker, in conjunction with
UCLA Athletics and UCLA Recreation, held
an event for Athlete Ally, an organization
that educates athletes, coaches and fans
on issues regarding sexual orientation
and sports. UCLA released a You
Can Play video, which encourages
acceptance and tolerance for gay athletes
in all levels of athletics, and UCLA head
football coach Jim Mora became the rst
current major college football coach to
encourage gay athletes to play for his
team.
CONTI NUES ON PAGE 51
out and
embracing it
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Bobbie Dittmeier combines dual
passions for sports, journalism
By CHRIS JOHNSON
A day at the ofce at MLB.com for
Bobbie Dittmeier is just about the same
for her as it is for other editors working to
produce news stories on developments
in Major League Baseball.
Upon coming to the New York ofce,
shell speak with the copy chief about
potential articles for the day with other
editors, who will then assign the stories
to reporters.
We have a lot of stories coming in
everyday, Dittmeier says. We have 30
different reporters plus other columnists,
part-timers and interns. We have a lot
of writers for our staff. We cover all 30
teams full time. So, theres a lot of copy
that comes into the desk every day.
The big news in recent weeks? The
biogenesis investigation, which has led
to the suspension of several players,
including New York Yankees shortstop
Alex Rodriguez.
Waiting for the news on Alex
Rodriguez is like waiting for your wife
to go into labor, she says. You got
the bags packed and the cars gassed,
and youre just going about your regular
routine waiting for the pager to go off.
And knowing that when the pager does
go off that the next 12 to 18 hours is
going to be crazy.
But Dittmeier, who spoke to the
Washington Blade earlier this month,
is unique among other editors and
baseball enthusiasts working at MLB.
com: Shes transgender and the only
openly LGBT person on staff at the site.
Dittmeier says being the only openly
transgender person on staff hasnt
been an issue on the job, which she
attributes to changing attitudes over
time and her own job performance.
I think the most signicant part of it
is that I have a lot of experience and I
do good work, if I may say so myself,
Dittmeier says. And I think that the
people I work for value that. They
certainly didnt want to throw me out of
the ofce for being transgender.
One exception to the acceptance
shes found was what Dittmeier calls a
blip among two individuals upon her
announcement she would transition.
Reluctant to go into detail, she characterizes
it as more of a misunderstanding and says
neither of those people works at MLB.com
any longer.
In 2007, after working for MLB.com
for six years, Dittmeier announced
she would would transition from male
to female. She had already married
and had a child. And it wasnt her rst
attempt; she made an earlier attempt at
transitioning in the 1990s.
It was really only after I had been
at MLB for a number of years that I felt
comfortable and condent enough that
transition wasnt going to put me on the
street, Dittmeier said. So, I felt I had
job security, I knew the people I worked
for, I knew that they knew I do a good
job, that Im good at what I do, so I
didnt think it would be that much of an
issue. So, I worked toward it for a couple
years, starting probably around 2005,
and then nally culminating in coming
out at work in 2007.
Dittmeier says she always kind of felt
something different about her when
she was growing up in Rhode Island
during her youth, but wasnt at the time
able to identify it because of a lack of
information.
I kind of gured it out in my teens,
but you dont act upon it because,
again, it was a different time, Dittmeier
says. You didnt know if you were going
to be ostracized from your family, you
didnt have the resources, you certainly
didnt have the Internet. Going to a
shrink was really frowned upon. You
certainly didnt talk about these things
with your parents.
At the same time growing up,
Dittmeier was an avid enthusiast of all
things baseball and newsprint. After
school, she would read the sports
columns in Newsday, a Pulitzer Prize-
winning paper that was distributed in
her hometown.
And it was an afternoon paper, so it
would come to the house during the day,
and I would come home from school,
and the rst thing I would do before I
went out to play ball was I would make
myself a sandwich and I would read the
newspaper, then I would go out and play
ball, Dittmeier says. So, I always loved
journalism. I always loved writing.
Dittmeier started in the business
of sports writing as a beat reporter
covering hockey and horseracing,
mostly in Westchester County just
outside of New York, and then in Albany
for a number of years. She wanted to
get involved in baseball, but didnt
have the opportunity. Landing the job
at MLB.com 12 years ago made that
dream come true.
One recent big news story hit close
to home. In July, Major League Baseball
announced that it had adopted an
employment non-discrimination policy
prohibiting discrimination based on
sexual orientation. Dittmeier says
she didnt cover the story personally,
although MLB.com had a reporter, Paul
Hagan, covering it.
Personally, it doesnt impact me
at all, I dont think, Dittmeier says.
But Im certainly glad to see Major
League Baseball take it to that level and
respond like that. I think thats more for
clubhouses, players, the teams more
than me.
The policy doesnt cover gender
identity and New York doesnt have a
law prohibiting discrimination based
on gender identity, but Dittmeier isnt
discouraged.
Its not troubling for me personally,
Dittmeier says. It would be nice if they
took a look at that. But again, for me,
personally I dont think that Im at any
kind of risk as long as Im doing my job
well. If I dont do my job well, then Im
subject to changes just like everybody
else. If its not there, it would be nice if
they would include it, Im sure.
Asked about the prevalence of gay
players in Major League Baseball,
Dittmeier insists there are such
players who havent made their sexual
orientation or gender identity public yet.
There has to be, Dittmeier says.
I remember having a debate with
a hockey coach years and years ago
who insisted there were no gay players
anywhere in professional hockey, and I
told him I thought that was ridiculous.
If the number is 10 percent of the
population is gay, then there has to be.
But even with the MLBs non-
discrimination policy on sexual
orientation in place, Dittmeier says it
would take a player with exceptional
skills to come out as gay more talent
than what an average baseball player
normally has.
If you are hitting 300 and youre a
perennial all-star, and you happen to
be [gay, bi or trans], your chances of
successfully coming out are pretty good,
Dittmeier says. If youre going up and
down between Triple-A and the major
leagues, thats a tough one, because if it
comes down to a decision between that
player and someone else as to whether
theyre going to make the roster, then you
have to worry about someone, consciously
or unconsciously, choosing the other
player because of your sexual orientation.
Although hes not a baseball player,
the most notable coming out of a gay
athlete this year was former Washington
Wizards center Jason Collins. Its his
status as a veteran that Dittmeier says
made that coming out possible.
Hes 34 years old, Dittmeier
says. Hes a good ball player at this
point in his career. If, for some reason,
he discontinues to play, hes had a pretty
good career. So he doesnt have very
much to lose. When he was 23, 24, 25
years old, he certainly had a lot more to
lose than he does now. I think security is
really, really important.
Dittmeier says shes seen attitudes
change positively in recent decades,
and expects those to change even
further as time progresses particularly
for transgender people like herself.
I know most people dont know
someone who is transgender, but
certainly most people know someone
else whos LGBT, Dittmeier says. And
20 years ago, I dont think you could say
that. Once you know someone, either
someone in your life or someone you
get to know, someone they work with
or whatever, they understand it better. I
guess thats probably like anything in life.
meet the trans editor
covering major league baseball
BOBBIE DITTMEIER (left), pictured here with a friend, leads a large editorial team at MLB.com.
PHOTO COURTESY BOBBIE DITTMEIER
EVAN DARLING (left) and STEPHEN RHODES say NASCAR is not as leery of gays as one might suspect.
DARLING PHOTO COURTESY EVAN DARLING; RHODES PHOTO COURTESY STEPHEN RHODES
Gay NASCAR vets hope to
return to racing
By SANTIAGO MELLI-HUBER
To the casual observer, NASCAR may
seem conservative, but the sport has been
largely welcoming to LGBT professionals
in the industry. The main hurdle for drivers
of any demographic, including some
openly gay drivers, is nding sponsors.
Michael Myers, founder of
Queers4Gears, a website aimed at
gay and lesbian NASCAR fans, sees
NASCAR as warm and inclusive of the
LGBT community. He notes that Mathew
Pattison, a prominent ofcial in the Timing
and Scoring Department, is openly gay
and feels accepted by NASCAR. On his
website, Myers wrote in 2011 about an
incident in which a crew member with Red
Bull Racing (now Inniti Red Bull Racing),
Tweeted an inappropriate comment
about gay people. Within two days, the
crew member was red.
Stephen Rhodes, an out driver, is
currently working toward returning to the
NASCAR Camping World Track Series for
the 2014 season. Rhodes took a hiatus in
2010 to help his partner open a cafe.
Rhodes sexuality was common
knowledge in the garage for the
majority of his career and had little
impact. He did, however, experience
a single negative experience related
to his sexuality, but it is an anomaly he
chooses not to dwell on.
Having 15 years in this business and
having that one experience isnt going
to hold me back, he said, and I dont
want to entertain and bring it back up
because it is in the past.
There are at least 77 million NASCAR
fans, said Rhodes. And if I get one
percent of them and the LGBT community
behind them, Ill have a huge fan base.
His role in the sport could help pave
the way for future out drivers. Rhodes
sees himself as, following in Danica
[Patrick]s footsteps ... I look forward to
potentially being a spokesperson in the
business for [my] community and trying
to create some equality.
The NASCAR Diversity Affairs
department manages a Driver
Development Program, which aids the
careers of female and minority drivers.
The mission statement does not include
LGBT drivers. Representatives from
Diversity Affairs were unavailable for
comment.
Recently, Rhodes has spent time
putting together media packages for
sponsors and building his name in the
NASCAR community in anticipation of
the 2014 season.
He is encouraged by the leverage his
sexual orientation may provide, saying,
by being a driver that happens to be
gay and approaching LGBT-supportive
corporations, I think its going to pique
a little interest and set me apart from
many other drivers that are out there.
Like Rhodes, Evan Darling, an openly
gay Grand-Am Road Racing driver,
noticed positive reactions from those
around him when he came out in 2007.
Since then, however, he has lost sponsors,
though he points to the economic crash
of 2008 as a major factor.
Darling has not raced professionally
for a year and is seeking sponsors to re-
enter professional driving.
The demographic that I race in front
of is very conservative, Darling said.
And all those people have kids that,
whatever percentage are LGBT, get to
see someone doing something positive
in their community, in their little world. It
could really make a big difference.
Its a very expensive sport, Darling
said. I have to nd ... a good company
that wants to get in front of a new
demographic, a demographic they
dont generally market to.
Myers echoed his sentiments, saying,
The nding of sponsors these days for
racers is difcult whether youre Dale
Earnhardt Jr., Evan Darling, Justin Mullikin
(an out driver in the NASCAR Grand
National Sportsman division), or anyone
in these cash-strapped times. If a person
could drive a racecar and win, then theres
going to be an owner and a sponsor out
there that are going to want to be a part of
that.
Each year, Myers crosschecks
NASCAR sponsors with the Human
Rights Campaign Corporate Equality
Index. Most recently, he found that
many companies earned a perfect score
of 100, including Toyota, Ford, Best Buy,
Budweiser and Coca-Cola.
According to Myers, the companies
currently sponsoring NASCAR earned
an average score of 80 from HRC. He
notes that ExxonMobil brought down
the average. In 2013, the company
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Cleveland prepares for its
close-up after controversies
By PHIL REESE
The two quadrennial international
sports competitions taking place in 2014
the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia,
and the Gay Games in Cleveland
couldnt be setting more dissimilar tones.
Though it hasnt been without its own
controversies, next August, organizers
of the Cleveland Gay Games are
prepared to welcome the LGBT athletes
that Russia vows to muzzle.
Rob Smitherman, sports and
operations director for Clevelands Gay
Games 9, said that, even as much of the
western world begins to embrace LGBT
rights, the continued need for the Gay
Games couldnt be more obvious since
Russia and the IOC have begun warning
athletes not to attempt to test the
nations new anti-gay propaganda law.
People need a place to come to
feel that they are safe and to express
themselves fully, Smitherman said. To
be who they are, not feel like they have to
hide in any way. And its still important.
He said athletes from around the
world still contact him saying they
cant compete and be open anywhere
besides the Gay Games.
Even in the United States and
Europe, we still need this. For the kids
in small towns and states like Alabama.
Atlanta-based 10-year hockey veteran
Chuck Hagel who will be attending
for the rst time as an ofcial and a
participant with his group Gay Hockey
International said the games are
much different than other traditional,
non-sporting events because they are
inclusive of people of all ages, ability
levels, and even include a focus on non-
competing attendees.
This particular event is incredible
because it brings together athletes
of all different playing levels, different
types of sport, Hagel told the Blade,
adding that the games are perfect for
those who may have felt less included
or sidelined in other championship
events. Promoting athleticism and
camaraderie at all different age groups.
Smitherman touts the walkability of all
of the venues from the ofcial 30 host
hotels in Cleveland and Akron offering
registrants special rates through the
Games site. Early bird registration ends
Sept. 1, but Team D.C. announced in
its Facebook group a special discount
through Sept. 15 for Team D.C. members.
Team DC President Les Johnson who
attended the 2010 games in Cologne,
Germany with more than 100 other Team
D.C. participants as a bowler said that
for most athletes at the Gay Games,
competing is about personal best.
Its something that ordinary people
dont experience, Johnson said of
experiencing the festive and afrming
spirit of the Gay Games. Getting that
medal really means a lot because youre
competing against all of your peers
Cleveland is going to be totally
different because we can drive to
Cleveland, Johnson said, contrasting
it with Cologne. Johnson said Team DC
could bring more than 500 athletes.
Ten percent of the 11,000 expected
attendees have already registered.
Most competitive events are free for
spectators, making this an ideal getaway
for LGBT sports fans assuming there
are hotel rooms left.
People need to get a move on and
get registered, said Smitherman, who
has attended and played basketball in
four Gay Games.
Smitherman said participants should
be excited about the non-sporting
events too, with opening ceremonies
at the home of the Cavaliers basketball
team, Quicken Loans Arena, and closing
ceremonies taking place at the Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame all within walking
distance of the hotels.
Pink Flamingo is an event that many
who attend Gay Games look forward to,
where aquatics teams compete for prizes
performing synchronized swimming
routines in outrageous costumes.
Its kind of a highlight of the games
every time, said Smitherman.
Besides ofcial Gay Games events,
Johnson said the games always feature a
multitude of unofcial parties every night
around town, and Smitherman said that
his group is working with local theaters
and galleries to offer even more cultural
opportunities. Additionally, the Gay
Games is partnering with the International
Gay Rodeo Association to bring an event
to Akron as part of the festivities.
Smitherman said the Gay Games 9
organizers are eager to move on after a
previous group, the Synergy Foundation,
had its license revoked by the Federation
of Gay Games, which the Washington
Blade reported on extensively.
Our organization is a gay
organization that has a really diverse
board. We have straight people on our
board, Smitherman tells the Blade,
saying while their involvement with
the Gay Games ended abruptly, had
it not been for Synergy Foundation,
Cleveland would not have won its bid for
the games against other the larger cities
competing, including Washington, D.C.
and Boston. Were way past the drama
of who should host the games.
Johnson said Russian athletes also
plan on taking part in the Gay Games.
Im not for boycotting personally,
but it does seem some kind of action
needs to take place, Johnson said
regarding the legal quagmire faced by
athletes, coaches, personnel, trainers
and fans heading to Sochi, where any
demonstration of support for LGBT
people could be penalized.
let the gay games begin
LES JOHNSON and Team D.C. expect to eld a strong contingent at next years Gay Games in
Cleveland.
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CONTI NUED FROM PAGE 15
Robert McGarry, senior director of
education and youth programs for
the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education
Network (GLSEN), said his organization
is working with public schools and
teachers, including physical education
teachers, to curtail anti-LGBT bias
among youth.
What you see at the pro level really
starts in kindergarten and on the
playground on recess time, McGarry
said. The kind of exclusion of kids who
step outside of what society expects
of their gender fuels that. What fuels it
also is educators not addressing anti-
LGBT language and bias.
He said GLSEN retained Patricia
Grifn to develop a GLSEN sports
project called Changing the Game,
which is designed to address
homophobia and trans phobia in school
sports programs from kindergarten to
the 12th grade.
Weve been doing training across
the country with mostly high school
coaches and physical education
teachers who seem very receptive and
anxious to have this kind of training
because its not something that they
get in their preparation and they dont
really know what to do, he said. So
were trying to ll that gap.
Grifn said educational programs
like GLSENs sports project and the
changing attitudes throughout the
country on LGBT equality will soon
lead to more openly LGBT professional
sports players, including players in the
NFL and MLB.
I think one of these days theres
going to be a quarterback from some
college football team, Division 1, who
gets recruited up high in the draft
and hes going to come in to the
NFL as an out gay man, Grifn said.
I actually think thats more likely to
happen than having an established
star come out after hes been playing
for a while.
Added Grifn, They never knew
what it was like to be in, she said
of the up and coming young athletes.
They are out and thats how they
live their lives. That alone is going to
change the face of sports in the next
few years.
McGarry of GLSEN cautioned that
although it will help the cause of LGBT
people in sports if more big name stars
come out, that alone wont address the
underlying cause of homophobia in
sports.
Its a shame that everybody is sort of
waiting for the rst NFL player to come
out, he said. There are many people
who think thats going to be the great
solution to have a football player
come out of the closet. I think theres a
lot more work to be done.
D.C. Police Sgt. Brett Parson, the
gay former head of the departments
Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, is a
longtime amateur ice hockey player
and former referee with the National
Hockey League who says he witnessed
rsthand the culture of professional
hockey players.
While weve come a long way,
football, basketball, baseball, ice
hockey those sports still have the
machismo that inhibits people from
coming out and disclosing theyre gay
for fear of being ostracized, Parson
said.
I think were maybe not a generation
away but were still a few years away
before more people feel comfortable
doing that, he said.
Grifn said more womens
professional athletes have already
come out than male professional
athletes, but this often goes unnoticed
because historically the public and the
sports media pay more attention to
men in sports.
She noted that Brittney Griner didnt
receive a lot of media attention when
she came out this year, even though
she is recognized as the best woman
basketball player to enter the WNBA
draft in 2013.
Part of that is because its sort of
like a weird kind of sexism, where we
always think mens sports are more
important and we pay more attention
to mens sports, she said. So it makes
sense that if a gay man comes out in
mens sports we pay more attention.
According to Grifn, the less-noticed
coming out by Griner may be the
better path for all LGBT athletes going
forward.
With women its not such a surprise
because people assume that there
are lesbians in sports, she said. But
when she came out it wasnt like a
giant announcement. She was just very
matter of fact. Its who I am. Im proud
of who I am and, you know, lets move
on, said Grifn.
And I think thats going to be the
future of more athletes who come out
rather than having this be this giant,
traumatic announcement that they
make and feel like theyre risking their
career by coming out, she said.
The NFL and Major League Baseball adopted non-discrimination policies on sexual orientation in
2011 as part of collective bargaining agreements with the NFL and MLB and their respective players
associations.
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Nats, Ravens assert support
for gay employees
Professional sports teams continue
to make strides toward protecting their
gay employees from discrimination and
harassment in the workplace.
A spokesperson for the Washington
Nationals noted to the Washington
Blade the teams policies and
procedures are designed to support
the provisions of the D.C. Human
Rights Act that ban discrimination
based on more than a dozen factors that
include sexual orientation and gender
identity and expression. The Baltimore
Orioles have a zero-tolerance policy for
anti-gay harassment and discrimination
as outlined in Major League Baseballs
Workplace Code of Conduct.
Harassment and discrimination
based on sexual orientation are against
MLBs values and will not be tolerated
anywhere in the major or minor
leagues, the policy reads.
The Baltimore Ravens have also
adopted a policy that bans discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender
identity and expression.
The franchise repeatedly defended
then-linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejos
advocacy for marriage rights for same-
sex couples after state Del. Emmett
Burns (D-Baltimore County) urged
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti that
Ayanbadejo should concentrate on
football and steer clear of dividing
the fan base after he learned he had
donated two Ravens tickets as part of
a Marylanders for Marriage Equality
fundraiser.
Brendon is permitted to express
his viewpoints, team spokesperson
Patrick Gleason told the Blade before
the Ravens defeated the San Francisco
49ers in this years Super Bowl. The
Ravens have always supported his right
to free speech.
The Washington Wizards did not
respond to the Blades request for
comment, but the collective bargaining
agreement the NBA reached in 2011
includes sexual orientation in its anti-
discrimination policies. The league also
has those protections in place for its
employees.
The Washington Capitals did not
respond to the Blades request for
comment, but the National Hockey
Leagues anti-discrimination policy
has included sexual orientation
since 2005. The National Football
Leagues handbook states harassment
and discrimination based on sexual
orientation are contrary to our values.
National Center for Lesbian Rights
Sports Director Helen Carroll told
the Blade that more fans are asking
professional sports teams to adopt
LGBT-inclusive policies.
She said she feels Ayanbadejo, Chris
Kluwe of the Oakland Raiders and other
athletes who back marriage rights for
same-sex couples have contributed to
this increased support. Carroll added
societal shifts in support of LGBT rights
are also a factor.
It has put everything front and center
in a brand new light, she said.
teams make strides
in lgbt protections
The support of NFL players like CHRIS KLUWE has inspired fans to ask teams to extend bias
protections to LGBT players and staff.
PHOTO BY JOE BIELAWA
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Apparel company, NFL
Players Assoc. among groups
with pro-LGBT clothing lines
By RYAN ROSADO
There was a time when the
thought of professional sports
supporting the LGBT community
was unthinkable.
But those days are coming to an end
as major sports apparel companies and
professional sports associations are
coming together to raise awareness for
respect and acceptance of the LGBT
communitys presence in sports.
This display of support was most
evident in June when sports apparel
powerhouse Nike expanded its
#BeTrue Free Run 5.0 line. The #BeTrue
line aims to promote awareness of
LGBT respect and acceptance working
in tandem with Nikes LGBT partner,
the LGBT Sports Coalition, whose goal
is to end anti-LGBT discrimination in
sports by 2016. Net proceeds from
the lines purchases also go to the
Coalition.
Released in June 2012, the Nike
#BeTrue line saw further growth this
summer with an expansion including
more apparel items such as sandals,
graphic T-shirts, tanks and iPhone
cases. Nike has also amped up its
LGBT outreach efforts by gaining
an unofcial spokesperson for the
#BeTrue line, recent out pro-NBA
athlete Jason Collins. The basketball
star took to Twitter showing his support
for the Nike line by donning a #BeTrue
T-shirt while attending the Boston Pride
parade in June.
Although Collins hasnt ofcially
been announced as the #BeTrue
line spokesperson yet, a Nike
spokesperson recently said, Jason
is a Nike athlete. We are a company
committed to diversity and inclusion.
This statement comes just after
Collins recent endorsement contract
with Nike.
Another out athlete who recently
signed an endorsement deal with Nike is
Brittney Griner. The female NBA athlete
has recently been seen bedecked in
Nike gear.
The apex of Nikes recent outreach
efforts to support the LGBT sports
community this Pride season was
further reinforced through the second
annual Nike LGBT Sports Summit
held in Portland from June 12-15. The
event brought together a wide range
of college and professional athletes,
coaches, athletic administrators,
political gures, LGBT advocates and
journalists all in support of furthering
respect and acceptance of LGBT
athletes.
Also entering the sports marketing
LGBT movement is the NFL Players
Association. In June, the Association
launched a collection of Pride T-shirts
called the One Team Pride Shirts. The
Association is working with a nonprot
organization, Athlete Ally, in support
of its mission of promoting equality in
organized sports.
The T-shirts feature the names of nine
NFL straight allies in support of raising
awareness of respect and acceptance
of LGBT athletes including: Brendon
Ayanbadejo, Connor Barwin, Scott
Fujita, Steve Gleason, Chris Gocong,
Chris Kluwe, Donte Stallworth, Terrell
Suggs and Eric Winston.
The One Team Pride Shirts feature
black T-shirts with rainbow-colored
graphics. All net proceeds from sales of
the shirts go to Athlete Ally.
Another organization that shares
the same mission as Athlete Ally is the
You Can Play Project, which seeks to
challenge the culture of locker rooms
and spectator areas by focusing only
on an athletes skills, work ethic and
competitive goals.
To achieve this mission, the You
Can Play Project has produced a line
of apparel products that sport the
organizations logo with hoodies,
eeces, caps and bag tags.
The You Can Play Project has also
acquired straight LGBT allies in both
the professional sports arena and
celebrity arena such as various athletes
from the Bay Area (San Francisco 49ers
and Oakland Raiders) and hip-hop
duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The
You Can Play Project supporters have
been featured in various public service
announcements vocalizing their support
in promoting the You Can Play Projects
goals.
These efforts are starting to make
business sense as well. According to a
recent Pew Research Center study of
LGBT consumers, 51 percent reported
refusing to purchase a product or
service due to lack of support for LGBT
rights.
inclusion? nike just does it
One of Nikes pro-gay T-shirts, part of its #BeTrue line.
PHOTO COURTESY NIKE
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CONTI NUED FROM PAGE 39
Coach Mora is fantastic and has
been since I was hired, Walker says.
I didnt doubt for one minute that he
wouldnt be on board with the video
we were producing and I certainly was
very pleased he was so honest about
how he felt, and I believe that was very
powerful.
Athletes from throughout the UCLA
program male and female were
on-board and Walker was impressed
with the younger generations
acceptance and support for teammates
and individuals who might be LGBT.
Walker was happy that NBA player
Jason Collins felt secure enough to
come out and doesnt believe that
moments like this are as big a deal as
many others do, calling it a safer climate
today.
I think anytime a high-prole person
identies as LGBT, especially in the
sports world, its important, but I often
said that there are many people in
the media and the LGBT community
who believe the rst pro athlete or
rst football player or rst basketball
player that came out would be an
earth-shattering moment, but I never
really ascribed to that, he says. I
think its fantastic, I think its great, but
I dont think an event like that means
everything has changed.
So, when contemplating why more
athletes arent following Collins lead,
Walker admits part of it is the perception
of the public and part the perception of
teammates. Still, he thinks the external
struggle is the greatest challenge.
For high-prole athletes, they worry,
Will I still be one of the guys? Will they
still value me as a teammate and want
me to be part of their family? and I think
thats a big roadblock, Walker says. I
think the dialogue and having more
conversations about LGBT athletes,
coaches and individuals has created an
opportunity in the locker room where
there are some vocal people who will
stand up and be supportive.
As the new UCLA softball season is
set to get underway, Walker is looking
forward to more excitement and success
from the team in his role as assistant to
coach Kelly Inouye-Perez.
I have relished the opportunity to
be back in that role as an assistant
and its been great. I have no regrets
about making the move at this point
in my career, he says. My passion in
coaching is about changing lives and
building individuals into the best person
they can be moving into the real world.
KIRK WALKER on the eld at the University of California at Los Angeles, his current coaching post and
alma mater.
PHOTO COURTESY KIRK WALKER
catching up
with kirk walker
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Athlete Ally trains NBA players
to challenge anti-gay slurs
By PHIL REESE
The National Basketball Association
has had its share of notable anti-gay
scandals.
In April 2011, Los Angeles Lakers
star Kobe Bryant caused a stir and was
ned $100,000 when he was caught
on camera calling a referee a fucking
faggot. The incident forced Bryant
and the league to take a serious look at
homophobia in professional basketball.
Enter college wrestling three-time All
American, Hudson Taylor. Taylor holds
the records for most pins and wins in
the history of the University of Maryland,
and is ranked in the top ve pinners
in NCAA wrestling history. He is also
the founder and executive director of
Athlete Ally, an organization that seeks
to use straight allies to foster a culture
of inclusion in sports for LGBT athletes.
Bryant has since begun speaking out
against using homophobic language,
and took to Twitter to support NBA
player Jason Collins when the former
Washington Wizard came out in the
pages of Sports Illustrated. But Taylors
organization sees opportunity for a
greater impact in the major leagues than
merely supportive tweets from superstars.
Theres a denite recognition in
the sports world, beginning with the
NBA, that [athletics] shouldnt be
the last closet in America, baseball
commentator and Athlete Ally board
member, Sam Marchiano, told the
Blade.
In 2012, Athlete Ally announced it was
taking its college ally training program
to the NBA. The organization not only
seeks to train allies in how to become
more outspoken and challenge anti-gay
words in the locker room, but to train
allies to recruit and train more allies.
An alumnus of the 2012 NBA training
which Taylor himself leads with
groups of various sizes for NBA players,
personnel and coaches starting
power forward of the Denver Nuggets
and child of two moms, Kenneth
Faried became the rst Athlete Ally
ambassador in the league, and when
the standout rookie participated in
ESPN Magazines 2013 body issue, he
specically cited Jason Collins coming
out, and the courage of LGBT athletes
as his inspiration for posing nude.
Marchiano said that the trainings have
an impact on the organizational culture,
because many of the participants are
discussing LGBT inclusion in the context
of sports for the rst time.
You want everyone on your team
being true to themselves and being
who they are and you want to have
everybody on your team, anyone who
can help, Marchiano said.
Marchiano said that for some players,
there is already a great deal of comfort
with LGBT players, but for others
these discussions help them see LGBT
athletes and fans as integral to the team.
Once people start to talk about
the issue, and get comfortable, the
acceptance grows from there, Marchiano
says. You dont go backward.
For many LGBT sports fans, the
ultimate goal is to create a culture
of sports where every locker room
welcomes openly gay, bi and trans
athletes.
Athlete Ally has done a great
job building awareness around the
importance of being a straight ally
on the eld, which is tremendously
valuable for equality and inclusion in
sports, says Connor Gaughan, a sports
enthusiast and managing partner at
Collective Conscience. The next stage
is for organizations that focus on gay
and lesbian athletes to leverage the
work of [Athlete Ally] and collaborate
for more out players at every level of
sports.
NCAA wrestler Dylan Ryan is about t

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