The Opening Day On Deck Circle for April 1, 2021

On Deck Circle is a round-up of what’s new in LGBTQ sports news along with today’s social media spotlight.

By Dawn Ennis@lifeafterdawn Apr 1, 2021, 10:51am PDT

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A baseball player stands in the on deck circle ready to face a pitcher in an MLB game at what was once known as AT&T Park in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hello and welcome back to On Deck Circle. Today, Thursday, April 1, 2021, is Opening Day for Major League Baseball (well, for all but four teams). No foolin’!

Your need to read time today is 2-minutes.

Today’s LGBTQ Sports History Highlight:

American champion golfer Bobby Jones (1902 - 1971) driving off at St Andrews where he won the British Open Golf Championship with a record score of 285. — American champion golfer Bobby Jones (1902 - 1971).

On this day in 1930, an American golfer named Bobby Jones started his Grand Slam season by winning the Southeastern Open by 13 strokes over Horton Smith at the Forest Hills-Ricker Golf Course in Atlanta, Ga.

Bobby Jones tends goal for his Puget Sound Premier League soccer team. — Bobby Jones.

And this week, just in time for the Trans Day of Visibility, a transgender soccer player named Bobby Jones succeeded in his efforts to lobby the Puget Sound Premier League to establish a gender inclusive policy! The Washington State league has now adopted a policy that will allow Bobby and many other athletes to play on their teams, in line with their authentic gender identity.

Congratulations to Bobby and to the leaders of the Puget Sound Premier League for being inclusive and acknowledging that trans boys are boys and trans girls are girls.

Read more about Bobby and his successful journey to live and play as the boy he is by clicking here.

Today’s Outsports Headlines:

LGBTQ guide to the Major League Baseball season

MLB: New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals Francisco Lindor rounds the bases. — Sources tell MLB the New York Mets have reached an agreement to a 10-year extension of his contract with shortstop Francisco Lindor.

It’s time for an active player to come out. Baseball needs it

MLB: Chicago Cubs-Touchless Entry — Wrigley Field.

‘Find The Joy’: Gay college basketball coach’s amazing year after coming out

Pro wrestler Donnie Janela comes out as pansexual

National champion marathoner is out and has a great shot at the Summer Olympics

Aoife Cooke competed for Arkansas Tech. — Aoife Cooke.

We celebrated the historic achievements of girls and women in LGBTQ sports in March

New Feature on Outsports:

Today we launched a new hub featuring a collection of resources for athletes, coaches, teachers and parents looking to support LGBTQ high school athletes. Here are just some of the stories you’ll find there:

Resources for LGBTQ high school student-athletes

Get connected and get involved with the LGBTQ sports community

Trans inclusion resources for high school sports

Inspiring videos of athletes and others coming out and being out in sports and in life

Resources for parents who have LGBTQ children

LGBTQ-inclusion resources for athletic departments and coaches

Check out these LGBTQ student-athlete scholarship opportunities

Tell your coming out story on Outsports

Today’s SB Nation’s top story...

Roy Williams is retiring after 18 seasons at UNC

Arkasas v North Carolina — Head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels yells to his team during their game against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second round of the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament East Regional on March 23, 2008 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Top LGBTQ News...

LGBTQ students file class-action lawsuit against Department of Education

Not an April Fools Prank: First Openly Gay Man Could Soon Travel to Space

Housing crisis takes toll on Bay Area LGBTQ seniors

Fiancée and Friends Mourn Lesbian TikTok Star Rochelle Hager

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier fans think Bucky just confirmed he’s bisexual

Bucky is the Winter Soldier. Or was. — Sebastian Stan plays James “Bucky” Barnes aka The Winter Soldier in the Avengers movies and new Disney+ streaming series.

Today’s OutShout:

Today we salute Mack Beggs, who announced his retirement from collegiate wrestling in a TikTok conversation this week with fellow trans athletes Chris Mosier and CeCé Telfer, cis lesbian Brooke Rundle and cis straight duathlete Lucy Hochschartner.

Trans and cis athletes discuss inclusion — Clockwise from left to right: Chris Mosier, CeCé Telfer, Lucy Hochschartner, Brook Rundle and in the center, Mack Beggs.

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:

The Jay Boy Project on Instagram remembers the passing of Gilbert Baker four years ago.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jay Blotcher (@thejayboyproject)

If you want your social media post to be included here, or to share one showcasing LGBTQ sports, email us the link at outsports@gmail.com 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 welcomes DJ Accident Report back to the Outsports podcast LGBT In The Ring to break down all the hard-hitting LGBTQ action of Butch vs. Gore’s Cassandro Cup. 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 Opening Day:

PLAY BALL! Click here for MLB’s guide to today’s Opening Day games. Sadly, the Mets will not be playing until Saturday and the Orioles-Red Sox game in Boston is postponed by rain until Friday. The reason the Mets aren’t playing the Nationals is because of ongoing contact tracing involving members of the Nationals organization,

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 outsport@gmail.com

A new On Deck Circle posts every weekday morning on Outsports.com