This week’s list of winners and losers is dedicated to Stan Musial, who was born a century ago today. Biographers and fans consider the late Cardinals outfielder the nicest guy in baseball. Read Luke Epplin’s 2013 obituary in The Atlantic for a full picture of Stan The Man.
But in the meantime, check out the winners and losers of the week in LGBTQ sports, set to the theme of Nice and Naughty. Speaking of which, Ralph Lauren reminds us there are only 34 days until Christmas…
Nice: Robbie Rogers shows off his family in new Ralph Lauren holiday ads
In a new promotion, Robbie Rogers and Greg Berlanti become the latest LGBTQ athlete family to be embraced by Madison Avenue.
Naughty: Australian sports announcer and Lord Mayor insults trans community
Perth Lord Mayor and football broadcaster Basil Zempilas expresses hacky transphobic views on his morning radio show.
Nice: Caster Semenya is taking her fight against World Athletics to the European Court of Human Rights
The Olympic champion is appealing against World Athletics’ rule restricting testosterone levels in female runners.
Naughty: Trans healthcare rights again come under threat, but trans pro wrestlers stand defiant
‘Our communities have been surviving, fighting and doing the work… we’re always going to be here.’
Nice: These English cricket stars are in love, and literally play on the same team
Katherine Brunt and Natalie Sciver are teammates on England’s national team. They’re also engaged.
Naughty: Tommy Lasorda is critically ill, and has never admitted the truth about his gay son
Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda is in intensive care at a hospital in Orange County, Calif. His son, Tom Jr., died of complications related to AIDS in 1991.
Nice: NHL forward Kurtis Gabriel and his Pride Tape head to San Jose
Longtime ally Kurtis Gabriel has played for the Devils, the Wild and most recently the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Now he has a 1-year contract with the Sharks.
Nice: After trying to save Minnesota’s track & field team, this gay All-American runner is heading west
Dawson LaRance will run track and start his graduate program at Colorado State University next spring.
Nice: Gay fitness trainer visited 100 CrossFit gyms and found excellence led to quick acceptance
Sam Leicht also found the faster he ran the hurdles in high school, the more his teammates accepted who he was.
Nice: He’s gay, a Coast Guard officer and a rower with Olympic dreams
John Olbrys discovered his sports passion on the water and his career in the Coast Guard, and after coming out has found it progressively easier to be himself.
Nice: Tom Daley how de we love thee? Let us count the ways
Tom Daley has inspired many with his vulnerability. Ken Schultz, with his parallel journey, has been a superfan all the way.
Nice: Homophobia not widespread in men’s sports, professor’s 20 years of research show
Eric Anderson came out as a gay coach in 1993. Since then the dozens of studies he and others have conducted show homophobia in men’s sports evaporating.
Nice: Mourning via Zoom: TDoR brings us together while we are apart
Every Nov. 20, the names of hundreds of transgender and non-binary individuals who lost their lives to violence are read, all around the world, on the Transgender Day of Remembrance.
Nice: ‘I decided I wanted to live.’ Caroline Layt talks transition and inclusion in The Trans Sporter Room
The Australian rugger, trans rights activist, and renaissance woman discussed her diverse journey.
Nice: When this trans swimmer came out, her old college teammates were her biggest supporters
After a multi-year sabbatical, Elin Lindström is getting back in the pool, and this time as her true self.
Nice: Trans long-distance runner finds freedom as she lives her life fearlessly
Lauren Harrigian spent years struggling with her transition, but she can now say she is ‘both a competitive marathon runner and also an amazing trans woman.’
Nice: Just in time for Trans Awareness Week: USA Gymnastics adopts pro-transgender inclusion policy
“This policy will help ensure athletes who identify as transgender or non-binary feel at home in our sport,” said USA Gymnastics CEO Li Li Leung.
Nice: When trans athletes come out, their teammates and coaches embrace them
For Trans Awareness Week, we’re celebrating the brave trans athletes who serve as trailblazers in their communities each day.
Nice: Out wrestler Parrow’s return to Major League Wrestling feels ‘like coming back home’
Parrow rejoins the MLW roster ahead of “The Restart” focused on making history and increasing LGBTQ visibility within pro wrestling
That’s all for this week! I’ll bring you a fresh list of winners and losers next Saturday. Got a name I missed, or want to challenge my choices? Comment here or on Facebook or Instagram, tweet at us, message me via any social media, or just plain email me at [email protected] Thanks, and be good to yourself and one another!
