There are a lot of gay sports stories making the rounds, from the Big Lead declaring February the gayest sports month ever, to Jamie Lee Curtis producing the Glenn Burke story; to a gay writer's great award; to Billie Jean King and Sochi to Jason Collins and his awesome week.
February Was The Gayest Month In The History of Sports (And That’s a Good Thing) | The Big Lead
Missouri’s star defensive lineman Michael Sam came out in the buildup to the NFL Combine. Already-out Jason Collins signed with the Brooklyn Nets, checked in and became the first active, openly gay male in a "big four" sport. The biggest story entering the 2014 Olympics was Russian state-sponsored homophobia. The most enduring memory exiting the Olympics was Johnny Weir’s sartorial dominance. Landmarks were hit. "History" was made. But it all fell flatter than most anticipated. Sam’s Combine "circus" had neither clowns nor elephants. It was just a bloated press conference. While Jason Collins set his first pick as an openly gay player, our readers were far more intrigued by Danica Patrick slamming into a wall at Daytona.
Ross Katz To Pen Story Of Gay Ballplayer Glenn Burke
Ross Katz, who produced The Laramie Project and Glenn Burke Movie Gay Baseball Playerthe superb HBO pic Taking Chance, has signed on to write Out At Home: The Glenn Burke Story. He joins Juma Entertainment’s Jamie Lee Curtis and Robert Horowitz as producers of the film that tells the story of Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland A’s player Burke, who was honest with his teammates and management that he was gay at a time in the 1970s when such a revelation was unheard of.
Bill Konigsberg's current novel, "Openly Straight," has won the prestigious Sid Fleischman Humor Award.
Konigsberg first came to our attention more than a decade ago after he chronicled life as a gay man at ESPN. "Openly Straight" has received great reviews, including the New York Times, which called it "beautiful."
Blake Skjellerup Gets Goosebumps Watching Jason Collins' Standing Ovation
Last night I was a part of something I thought I would never witness. I was a part of history, and to put it bluntly, it was pretty damn exciting.
Jason Collins: 'My life is just so much better' – CBSSports.com
"Everything has been so exciting," Collins said. "My life is just so much better. Living an authentic life and being accepted for who I am, it's been terrific. "I want to be able to go on a date, hang with all of my friends, and not be outed on someone else's terms by some reporter," he said. "Especially with social media these days."
Akil Patterson: Playing sports is no game for gay men
I know what it feels like to be Michael Sam: young, black and gay, with hopes of being a high-round draft pick for the NFL. Ten years ago, that was me. But there's a vast difference between how my life unfolded and how Sam is being received after announcing that he is gay. A decade ago, no one in football was ready for this kind of truth.
Billie Jean King: On Sochi Olympics, Putin, gay equality | LGBT Pride | Wisconsin Gazette – Smart, independent and revealing. News, opinion and entertainment coverage
Billie Jean King’s taxi ride home after the Sochi Olympics included a revelation. She learned Jason Collins had joined the Brooklyn Nets, becoming the first openly gay male player in the NBA. "I was totally stoked and texted him immediately," said King, who saw the news on a TV in her cab in New York. "When my mom died, he called and left a message. I talked to him when he first came out. We’ve just hit it off."
