This is something we've been dealing with for a couple weeks. We've decided to invoke our First Amendment rights. We simply can't let athletes or anyone try to bully or withhold certain rights and privileges from the gay media.
STORY: Triathlete says he's not gay
Full Version: Swiss triathlete doesn't want to be on gay sites
Maybe he's not gay. Maybe he's a biathlete? Bah-da-bump! 
Why did I laugh at that? I didn't mean it.
QUOTE(shep71 @ Jun 7 2007, 06:23 PM) 
Why did I laugh at that? I didn't mean it.
I don't know, but I did too...
R
Cyd I'm glad you started a thread on this topic. I just think that anyone who's that paranoid about being admired on a gay sports website is way too paranoid & insecure about who he is. 
Besides hasn't he learned that to get a gay following will only increase your chances of fame & fortune not derail them. 
Some people I swear.
Besides hasn't he learned that to get a gay following will only increase your chances of fame & fortune not derail them.
Some people I swear.
I feel you could have removed the link to the athlete's picture by courtesy. He took the time to write so it must bother him enough that it comes up high in a search engine. Nothing will be lost on Oustports if a link to a photo is removed. No big deal. The man will be happy.
Maybe he doesn't have the legal right to force you to remove a link. Removing it would show goodwill instead of refusing to fedend a principle over something that adds nothing to your website.
Maybe he doesn't have the legal right to force you to remove a link. Removing it would show goodwill instead of refusing to fedend a principle over something that adds nothing to your website.
Cyd, I just want to take a moment to tell you that I think you are absolutely doing the right thing by declining to surrender your First Amendment rights in this matter. I don't think any of us gay people want special rights, despite propaganda to the contrary: all most of us want is to have the same rights as straight people. Outsports should not be treated differently than SI.com or Deadspin or any other sports website. You presented the athlete's photo in a dignified manner with a very unassuming caption. I can't for the life of me see how you did anything wrong: you weren't ridiculing the guy, you weren't openly fantasizing about doing intimate things with him, and you didn't claim that he was gay. You simply posted a photo of this nice-looking young man taking part in a public event, with the unspoken message: "Here is an attractive athlete that those of us who appreciate male beauty will enjoy seeing and learning more about."
If you had published a story saying that this guy was gay, and he wasn't gay or didn't want to be out of the closet, or if you had posted details of his personal life that should have remained private, then I can see how you would have been in the wrong, morally if not legally, and then I think the athlete would have had the moral right to ask you to delete the references to him. But I don't believe that he has any moral or legal right to make his request simply on the grounds that a "gay" sports website should be held to a different standard than a "straight" sports website.
I think that this young man should be flattered that some gay men find him attractive or interesting. Whatever his orientation is, he should be glad to have fans who are interested in reading about him or seeing him. All of us today lead such busy and hectic lives: what an honor it is for this athlete that people should take from their schedule to post his photo and read about him and take an interest in him as a person and a competitor.
Let me sum up by saying that I am proud of you for taking a stand for equal rights for gay people. We all have to live together in this world and try to get along with one another, even though we'll have many different values systems, and different views about gay issues, but I for one just don't believe that this athlete is suffering any harm, or can prove that he has suffered any harm, simply by having gay men admire his photograph. If that simple fact causes problems for him, then he will have to deal with it as best he can. But with millions of people starving in the world every day, people dying in wars, and all of the other tragedies that take place everyday, forgive me if I feel that this young man is extremely lucky if this incident is the only thing he has in his life to worry about.
I should also note that I had never heard of this guy, and I briefly glanced at his photo to see if that anything about hit seemed objectionable, but I have no interest in looking at his photo again or paying any attention to him in the future. The world is just full of great-looking, sexy athletes for me to look at and read about and follow in their activities. I barely have time to keep up with the guys I really admire, so I have no interest in devoting my precious time to a guy who seems to be lacking in maturity and who, while nice-looking on the outside, seems to be not very nice-looking on the inside. Again, Cyd, my congratulations on standing up for what is right. The struggle for gay equality must be fought on a million fronts, and I am so glad that you are willing to take a stand on this front. Little by little, we must fight intolerance so that life will be a bit easier for the generations of gay people who will follow us, and so while this issue might not seem that significant at first glance, in the big picture it truly is important.
If you had published a story saying that this guy was gay, and he wasn't gay or didn't want to be out of the closet, or if you had posted details of his personal life that should have remained private, then I can see how you would have been in the wrong, morally if not legally, and then I think the athlete would have had the moral right to ask you to delete the references to him. But I don't believe that he has any moral or legal right to make his request simply on the grounds that a "gay" sports website should be held to a different standard than a "straight" sports website.
I think that this young man should be flattered that some gay men find him attractive or interesting. Whatever his orientation is, he should be glad to have fans who are interested in reading about him or seeing him. All of us today lead such busy and hectic lives: what an honor it is for this athlete that people should take from their schedule to post his photo and read about him and take an interest in him as a person and a competitor.
Let me sum up by saying that I am proud of you for taking a stand for equal rights for gay people. We all have to live together in this world and try to get along with one another, even though we'll have many different values systems, and different views about gay issues, but I for one just don't believe that this athlete is suffering any harm, or can prove that he has suffered any harm, simply by having gay men admire his photograph. If that simple fact causes problems for him, then he will have to deal with it as best he can. But with millions of people starving in the world every day, people dying in wars, and all of the other tragedies that take place everyday, forgive me if I feel that this young man is extremely lucky if this incident is the only thing he has in his life to worry about.
I should also note that I had never heard of this guy, and I briefly glanced at his photo to see if that anything about hit seemed objectionable, but I have no interest in looking at his photo again or paying any attention to him in the future. The world is just full of great-looking, sexy athletes for me to look at and read about and follow in their activities. I barely have time to keep up with the guys I really admire, so I have no interest in devoting my precious time to a guy who seems to be lacking in maturity and who, while nice-looking on the outside, seems to be not very nice-looking on the inside. Again, Cyd, my congratulations on standing up for what is right. The struggle for gay equality must be fought on a million fronts, and I am so glad that you are willing to take a stand on this front. Little by little, we must fight intolerance so that life will be a bit easier for the generations of gay people who will follow us, and so while this issue might not seem that significant at first glance, in the big picture it truly is important.
Perhaps he thinks "Outsports" stands for outing athletes who are in the closet.
Maybe the story will get to all those blogs and other sites, and the picture can be linked there. That'll keep the dimwit busy.
QUOTE
Perhaps he thinks "Outsports" stands for outing athletes who are in the closet.
No, we explained to him exactly what the Picture This feature was all about.
This is my first posting in a long time but I had to say how funny this is. Volkswagen may be asking what kind of a fragile personality they are sponsoring. Probably a nice guy but he has too much on his mind.
QUOTE(longhornsfan212 @ Jun 7 2007, 10:18 PM)
Cyd, I just want to take a moment to tell you that I think you are absolutely doing the right thing by declining to surrender your First Amendment rights in this matter. I don't think any of us gay people want special rights, despite propaganda to the contrary: all most of us want is to have the same rights as straight people. Outsports should not be treated differently than SI.com or Deadspin or any other sports website. You presented the athlete's photo in a dignified manner with a very unassuming caption. I can't for the life of me see how you did anything wrong: you weren't ridiculing the guy, you weren't openly fantasizing about doing intimate things with him, and you didn't claim that he was gay. You simply posted a photo of this nice-looking young man taking part in a public event, with the unspoken message: "Here is an attractive athlete that those of us who appreciate male beauty will enjoy seeing and learning more about."
If you had published a story saying that this guy was gay, and he wasn't gay or didn't want to be out of the closet, or if you had posted details of his personal life that should have remained private, then I can see how you would have been in the wrong, morally if not legally, and then I think the athlete would have had the moral right to ask you to delete the references to him. But I don't believe that he has any moral or legal right to make his request simply on the grounds that a "gay" sports website should be held to a different standard than a "straight" sports website.
I think that this young man should be flattered that some gay men find him attractive or interesting. Whatever his orientation is, he should be glad to have fans who are interested in reading about him or seeing him. All of us today lead such busy and hectic lives: what an honor it is for this athlete that people should take from their schedule to post his photo and read about him and take an interest in him as a person and a competitor.
Let me sum up by saying that I am proud of you for taking a stand for equal rights for gay people. We all have to live together in this world and try to get along with one another, even though we'll have many different values systems, and different views about gay issues, but I for one just don't believe that this athlete is suffering any harm, or can prove that he has suffered any harm, simply by having gay men admire his photograph. If that simple fact causes problems for him, then he will have to deal with it as best he can. But with millions of people starving in the world every day, people dying in wars, and all of the other tragedies that take place everyday, forgive me if I feel that this young man is extremely lucky if this incident is the only thing he has in his life to worry about.
I should also note that I had never heard of this guy, and I briefly glanced at his photo to see if that anything about hit seemed objectionable, but I have no interest in looking at his photo again or paying any attention to him in the future. The world is just full of great-looking, sexy athletes for me to look at and read about and follow in their activities. I barely have time to keep up with the guys I really admire, so I have no interest in devoting my precious time to a guy who seems to be lacking in maturity and who, while nice-looking on the outside, seems to be not very nice-looking on the inside. Again, Cyd, my congratulations on standing up for what is right. The struggle for gay equality must be fought on a million fronts, and I am so glad that you are willing to take a stand on this front. Little by little, we must fight intolerance so that life will be a bit easier for the generations of gay people who will follow us, and so while this issue might not seem that significant at first glance, in the big picture it truly is important.
Very well said longhorn, I agree 110 percent. The right decision was made!
Wouldn't it be ironic if his sponors pulled the plug on his deals for being an adamant homophobe?
QUOTE
I feel you could have removed the link to the athlete's picture by courtesy. He took the time to write so it must bother him enough that it comes up high in a search engine. Nothing will be lost on Oustports if a link to a photo is removed. No big deal. The man will be happy.
Zeno, it's not about courtesy at this point. It's about right and wrong and not being bullied.
If I pinched his cute butt, do you think he would get mad at me?
He sure knows how to wear those tight, tight outfits. Do you think he is a paranoid closet case?
He sure knows how to wear those tight, tight outfits. Do you think he is a paranoid closet case?
QUOTE(Zeno @ Jun 7 2007, 03:41 PM)
I feel you could have removed the link to the athlete's picture by courtesy. He took the time to write so it must bother him enough that it comes up high in a search engine. Nothing will be lost on Oustports if a link to a photo is removed. No big deal. The man will be happy.
Maybe he doesn't have the legal right to force you to remove a link. Removing it would show goodwill instead of refusing to fedend a principle over something that adds nothing to your website.
I think that would constitute internalized homophobia on the part of Outsports.
This swiss triathlete should have followed the lead of Switzerland and stayed neutral on the posting of a link to his picture.
Gacond needs to give it a rest.
-Marc
Gacond needs to give it a rest.
-Marc
This might be a case of the lady does protest too much.
Ok, I've been waiting for days for this to be addressed. This is not "A Pat on the Butt as described in the penultimate Picture This; not even in the NFL.
QUOTE(sportinlife @ Oct 25 2010, 06:57 AM)
Ok, I've been waiting for days for this to be addressed. This is not "A Pat on the Butt as described in the penultimate Picture This; not even in the NFL.
how far in is the pic out of 150? I don't know if I have time to dig for the "pat on the butt" as appealing as it sounds.
Best,
Drew
I was tempted enough to volunteer. It is photo number 77.
You are welcome.
You are welcome.
thanks Fin
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