Month: May 2011

We’ve written about the very gay-friendly rugby player Ben Cohen for years, and now that his career is over, it’s great to see him devote his energies into making sports a safe haven for gays and lesbians. He is now touring the U.S., visiting four cities that have gay-oriented rugby teams. Our friend John Branch […]

It was 10 years ago that I first met Rick Welts. He had been a high-powered executive at the NBA and I asked him why, at the time, he didn’t come out. I remember him not being a big fan of the question, more ignoring the topic than anything else. Still, he was a nice […]

Leave it to the unique Charles Barkley to distill the gays in sports debate to its essence: The only thing that matters is whether a guy can play or not. From Michael Hiestand at USA Today: Barkley, on SiriusXM Radio, was asked about New York Ranger Sean Avery supporting same-sex marriage and whether openly gays […]

MTV’s Sexed and Confused is looking for young gay athletes to profile and follow in their series about sex. Closeted athletes, out athletes, bisexual athletes, men, women, boys girls…they’re looking for you. Here’s more info: Do you ever feel like you don’t have it figured out when it comes to the birds and the bees? […]

Big congratulations to trans triathlete Chris Mosier, who locked up a sponsorship deal with TRX! He finished sixth out of about 100 triathletes hoping to get a sponsorship deal with the company; They gave deals to the top 10. The contest was based on YouTube video views, and we’re proud to have sent some new […]

Front Runners New York, initially inspired by Patricia Nell Warren’s best-selling novel The Front Runner, is teaming up with the It Gets Better Project for its 30th annual Pride Run next month. Check out the press release for more details: NEW YORK, NY (May 11, 2011) – Front Runners New York (FRNY) is proud to […]

Update: This post now includes the video of Craig’s interview. Programming note: Craig Cassey, the openly gay high school track athlete from suburban Philadelphia we have featured on Outsports,was interviewed by MSNBC's Thomas Roberts on his show Friday. Roberts is openly gay. Craig got a lot of attention this week after he was named prom […]

Carolina Panthers linebacker Nic Harris has become the second NFL player to do a photo shoot for the NoH8 campaign (the other was New York Jets cornerback Antonio Cromartie). I wrote Harris via Twitter to see what motivated him to do the shoot, but have not heard back yet. Here is the photo taken by […]

NC State basketball start CJ Leslie apologized today on Twitter for saying yesterday he would not want a gay teammate in the locker room. Leslie said he saw an ESPN show (my guess is Outside the Line’s segment on gay rights yesterday) and that opened his eyes. His two apologetic tweets read: Wanna apologize for […]

Damian Goddard Damian Goddard, an anchor with Rogers Sportsnet in Toronto, decided to weigh into the gay marriage debate prompted by Sean Avery's support for same-sex couples and his tweet got him fired. The tweet: “I completely and whole-heartedly support Todd Reynolds and his support for the traditional and TRUE meaning of marriage,” Goddard wrote […]

NC State basketball star CJ Leslie tweeted last night that he wouldn’t want gay people in his locker room, and that John Amaechi is “to [sic] big to be gay.” We reached out to Amaechi, who was also on ESPN’s Outside the Lines earlier today, for a response to Leslie’s comments. I would advise him […]

NC State basketball star CJ Leslie decide to follow Uptown Sports' lead yesterday and spew homophobia on his Twitter account last night. He also said that John Amaechi is too big to be gay; I guess he hasn't met Esera Tuaolo. He has since deleted the offending posts (captured below). We have contacted the school […]

Prom queen Molly and king Craig Here's a story to warm the heart: Craig Cassey, an openly gay high school track athlete in Pennsylvania, was crowned his high school's prom king this weekend. He then had his own special prom moment with his boyfriend. I have written several times about Craig and his awesome blog, […]

NC State assistant athletic director for media relations Annabelle V. Myers has released a statement to Outsports regarding the anti-gay tweets of basketball star CJ Leslie. She said Leslie will not be available for comment until after his final exams are over: CJ is in exams right now and Coach Gottfried is attending ACC meetings. […]

Uptown Sports president Donald G. Reynolds Hockey professionals are speaking out quickly and clearly against anti-gay comments made by Uptown Sports management. Agent Scott Norton, who helped bring the Stanley Cup to last year's gay pride in Chicago, told Outsports: I think they are very small minded comments. The world has changed, and people need […]

Uptown Sports is a Canada-based sports management company representing various professional hockey players. Their motto is: "Commitment. Dedication. Integrity. The Way We do Business." On Twitter today they decided to lash out against New York Ranger Sean Avery and equality for gay people: Uptown Sports is a Canada-based sports management company representing various professional hockey […]

Today we bring you the story of another captain of a college sports team who has come out. Seth Pamperin of Carroll University in Wisconsin has actually been out to his tennis team for two years, but this is the first time he has talked about it to a national publication. Seth’s story is like […]

New York Ranger enforcer Sean Avery has cut a new video in support of marriage equality for New York’s gay couples. I treat everyone the way I expect to be treated, and that applies to marriage. … Committed couples should be able to marry the person they love. Join me in supporting marriage equality. We've […]

I’ve only been watching professional basketball for about 30 years, so I can’t speak about the whole history of basketball. But Los Angeles Laker Andrew Bynum’s flagrant, intentional foul on Dallas Maverick J.J. Barea in the final quarter of Game 4 of their series was, as commentator Mike Tirico said, “one of the biggest bush-league […]

In conservative, small-town Wisconsin, yet another openly gay athlete finds unconditional acceptance in sports