Hello and welcome to On Deck Circle for today, Thursday, March 25, 2021.
Your need to read time today is 2 minutes.
Today’s LGBTQ Sports History Highlight:
On this day in 1918, sportscaster and homophobe Howard William Cohen was born. The varsity basketball player from Brooklyn’s Alexander Hamilton High School would change his last name to Cosell while attending New York University, claiming it was closer to the Polish name his family had before emigrating to America.
In 1991, he would write a book, What’s Wrong With Sports, and had this to say about gay athletes: “I don’t condone it (homosexuality), and you won’t find me marching in any gay rights parade.” He also wrote that during his 38 years in television, he worked with some bisexuals “who were excellent professionals and some who weren’t.” Despite his pompous, arrogant and otherwise controversial statements about, well, everything, he was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Cosell died in 1995. My fondest memory of Cosell was watching him with Don Meredith and Frank Gifford on Monday Night Football, as my father joined the chorus all across America, shouting at the television, “Shut up, Howard!”
Cosell shares a birthday with Sir Elton John and the late Aretha Franklin. And me.
Today’s Outsports Headlines:
Gay college gymnast came out with confidence and assist from teammates
Quill Graham is a trans college swimmer and our student-athlete Triumph Award winner
It’s time to celebrate trans sports heroes
During Covid-19, this gay out-of-work airline employee is biking across North America for LGBTQ youth
Other LGBTQ Sports stories making news…
The massive Republican push to ban trans athletes, explained
by Vox contributor Katelyn Burns
- North Carolina House members file bill on transgender students in sports
- ‘I’m not going to let my kid be a statistic’: Kansas bill on transgender girls in holding pattern
- Florida bill aims to prohibit transgender student-athletes
- Youth activists lead the fight against anti-trans bills
At White House, Megan Rapinoe says she’s been ‘disrespected and dismissed because I am a woman’
LGBT groups want equality law in Japan before Tokyo Olympics
Today’s SB Nation’s top stories…
Texas A&M’s Jordan Nixon gave us the first buzzer-beater of March Madness
The biggest NBA trade rumors and deals ahead of 2021 deadline
Top LGBTQ News…
Safety Report: 20 Worst Places For Gay Travelers
Murders of Gay, Bi Men Show How Police, Media Fail the Queer Community
Justin Ling Reveals the Full Story of Gay Serial Killer Bruce McArthur
Bisexual Erasure: What It Is, Why It’s a Threat to Health, and How to Put an End to It
Bisexual (In)visibility in the LGBTQ+ Community
Am I A Lesbian? The Lesbian Masterdoc Is a Popular Source of Answers To This Elusive Question
Why I Embraced Looking ‘Like A Lesbian’
A walk in his shoes: A BYU administrator’s life as a gay Latter-day Saint
Today’s OutShout:
Thanks to out UCLA softball coach and ECA/GO!SPACE co-founder Kirk Walker for spreading the word about our survey! Watch Kirk’s TikTok video here:
@sportsequalityfdn Calling all out athletes! #gaytiktok #queer #sportsequality #queerathlete
♬ AIN’T GONNA STOP – Carol Kay
If you’re an LGBTQ person in sports looking to connect with others in the community, head over to GO! SPACE to meet and interact with other LGBTQ athletes, or to Equality Coaching Alliance to find other coaches, administrators and other non-athletes in sports.
Social Media Spotlight:
LGBTQ sports icon Billie Jean King saluted Dr. Rachel Levine, an out trans woman, for her historic accomplishment in being confirmed to the be U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Services in the Biden administration. What a shame that every Republican except for Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against her confirmation. Sad, but not surprising.
Congratulations to Dr. Rachel Levine, the first-ever openly transgender person to hold a Senate-confirmed position in the federal government of the U.S. 🏳️⚧️#Trailblazer #WomensHistoryMonth https://t.co/PzeXq9lVsw
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) March 24, 2021
If you want your social media post to be included here, or to share one showcasing LGBTQ sports, email us the link at [email protected] or tag @Outsports on Instagram or Twitter!
Today’s Outsports Podcast:
Nearly every day of the week, Outsports has a new podcast for your enjoyment. Today, our Brian Bell unpacks his feelings in this new episode of LGBT In The Ring, around a week of events in pro wrestling that unfortunately touched on personal past traumas and internal struggles. Brian discusses the accusations against this week’s previously scheduled guest, Joshua Wavra, the Will Ospreay angle from NJPW’s New Japan Cup Final and why the personal connections to these events sent him into a mental health haze this week. It isn’t all dour though. Listen here:
This and all Outsports podcasts are available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and on every platform where you find Outsports!
Today’s Sports Calendar:
MLB Spring Training:
Exhibition games are underway! Click here for MLB’s guide to your favorite teams’ schedules.
NHL:
Click here for ESPN’s schedule of men’s pro hockey action today.
NBA:
Click here for ESPN’s schedule of men’s pro basketball action today.
NCAAM:
Click here for ESPN’s schedule of men’s college basketball action today.
NCAAW:
Click here for ESPN’s schedule of women’s college basketball action today.
SOCCER:
Click here for ESPN’s schedule of soccer action today.
Share your thoughts in the comments below or email us at [email protected]
A new On Deck Circle posts every weekday morning on Outsports.com
