New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the cover boy for the upcoming issue of the Boston Spirit, the city’s leading gay and lesbian magazine. But, alas, this is not a coming out story.
The Evil Genius, sporting his shiny barber smock in the photo, really isn’t the focus of the Spirt cover story. Sadly. He’s just a prop to illustrate the piece that asks the age-old question: “If one of Boston’s professional athletes announced he was gay would his team and the fans rally around him?” …
Spirit Publisher David Zimmerman said they chose Belichick to be their March/April covercoach because “he is, currently, the most recognizable coach in the New England area.”
The piece, which is not available online, was written by Outsports' own Cyd Zeigler, and he discovered a real reticence in getting people to talk.
"BTW, not one of the city’s sports teams, except for the Boston Cannons, the lacrosse bunch that drafted an openly gay goalie in 2005, would talk to Spirit reporter Cyd Zeigler, Jr. for the story. But, the scribe notes in a sidebar, at least Patriots spokesman Stacey James returned his calls."
Note from Cyd: This statement is not accurate; the Celtics did respond to my calls and emails, and the Cannons said that no one at the organization was even able to discuss their drafting of an openly gay goalie two years earlier. I have a sidebar in the article that talks about it.
Using Belichick on the cover is a pretty shrewd marketing choice by the Spirit, and seeing Bill Belichick and "lesbians love" on the same page is kind of funny, but the editors could have been much more provocative by using an active jock to tease the piece. —Jim Buzinski
New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is the cover boy for the upcoming issue of the Boston Spirit, the city’s leading gay and lesbian magazine. But, alas, this is not a coming out story.
The Evil Genius, sporting his shiny barber smock in the photo, really isn’t the focus of the Spirt cover story. Sadly. He’s just a prop to illustrate the piece that asks the age-old question: “If one of Boston’s professional athletes announced he was gay would his team and the fans rally around him?” …
Spirit Publisher David Zimmerman said they chose Belichick to be their March/April covercoach because “he is, currently, the most recognizable coach in the New England area.”
The piece, which is not available online, was written by Outsports' own Cyd Zeigler, and he discovered a real reticence in getting people to talk.
"BTW, not one of the city’s sports teams, except for the Boston Cannons, the lacrosse bunch that drafted an openly gay goalie in 2005, would talk to Spirit reporter Cyd Zeigler, Jr. for the story. But, the scribe notes in a sidebar, at least Patriots spokesman Stacey James returned his calls."
Note from Cyd: This statement is not accurate; the Celtics did respond to my calls and emails, and the Cannons said that no one at the organization was even able to discuss their drafting of an openly gay goalie two years earlier. I have a sidebar in the article that talks about it.
Using Belichick on the cover is a pretty shrewd marketing choice by the Spirit, and seeing Bill Belichick and "lesbians love" on the same page is kind of funny, but the editors could have been much more provocative by using an active jock to tease the piece. —Jim Buzinski
