Month: June 2011

It’s been quite a year for sports, and Outsports has certainly benefited. After Jim’s piece on Hudson Taylor was nominated for a GLAAD Award, now my piece on Kye Allums has won third place for the NLGJA Award for online journalism. The Allums piece was a project of passion for me, and it ignited a […]

Sean Avery is quickly becoming one of the fiercest advocates for gay equality in sports. After successfully lobbying the New York State Senate to vote positively on same-sex marriage, he is now turning his attention to the NHL. In a fantastic interview with the New York Post, Avery says it’s time for the League to […]

Various Web sites reported yesterday that Todd Reynolds, the hockey agent who recently Tweeted that marriage is only between a man and a woman, has lost a client because of said Tweet. The Minnesota Wild’s Andrew Brunette allegedly fired Reynolds specifically because of his homophobic Tweet and anti-marriage-equality position. However, a report today by the […]

The Phoenix Hellraisers (right) won their third straight Pride Bowl last weekend, beating the San Diego Bolts in the final, 41-33. The Pride Bowl is the annual gay flag football tournament in Chicago held the two days before the city’s pride celebration. In the third-place game, the New York Warriors avenged their loss in the […]

The Minnesota Twins are the latest to announce they will make an ‘It Gets Better’ video. This comes soon after a lesbian couple accused a Twins security guard of homophobia. The Twins are the fifth MLB team to make a commitment to the video series, joining the Giants, Cubs, Red Sox and Mariners. We had […]

The New York Times ran a full-page Sunday story on Babe Didrikson Zaharias, who is regarded as one of the greatest athletes, male or female, of the 20th Century. The piece focused on her athletic triumphs in various sports (track & field and golf, in particular), her fading public recognition and how she changed women’s […]

In the wake of New York state legalizing same-sex marriage, Andy Martino of the New York Daily News decided to see what players on the Mets thought. Mets players were reluctant to speak publicly about the issue. Still, the news from Albany led to considerable clubhouse discussion, and one player who supports same-sex marriage estimated […]

Rugby star Ben Cohen, who has just retired to focus full-time combating homophobia in sports, finished his U.S. tour where he spoke on his new StandUp foundation at several stops. One was at the University of Washington where he was joined on a panel by Dave Kopay, the former NFL player who came out as […]

This is reprinted from In Bed With Maradona with permission of the author. By Keph Senett Sports fans are an indulgent lot with our obsessive statistics, our gang colors, and our willingness to entertain a well-told fable, like the one about Paul the octopus who could flawlessly forecast game outcomes. With the recent kick-off of […]

Brenner Green’s always liked to run, but dropped out before high school. After coming out, he gave it another try and now thrives on his college’s cross-country team. He’s even had a movie made about him. By Brenner GreenOutsports.com I was out before I was a runner. My mom knew I would be both gay […]

While gay fans will be in the stands, the Inland Empire 66ers Minor League Baseball team now say they are not sponsoring Friday’s “Out at the Ballpark” event. They say the news two days ago was because of an overzealous employee. From the Riverside Press-Enterprise: The Inland Empire 66ers were doing damage control Thursday when […]

The New York state Senate just joined the state Assembly and passed a bill, 33-29, allowing for same-sex marriage in the state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo will sign the bill and marriages can start 30 days after the signing. New York becomes the sixth and by far the largest state to endorse gay marriage. It's a […]

Gareth Thomas presents jersey to David Cameron Tennis legend Billie Jean King and rugby's Gareth Thomas were among gay and lesbian athletes who met with British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss an initiative to end homophobia in sports. King, who happens to be in England for Wimbledon, talked about progress that has been made […]

On ESPN.com yesterday, columnist Jemele Hill said she accepts and respects David Tyree for being so active and vocal in his belief that gay people should be treated as second-class citizens. The column is a sorry excuse for the quality we've come to expect from ESPN. Not just because as a black woman she should […]

The Association for Women in Sports Media is hosting a free online seminar Monday called the “Rainbow Ceiling,” exploring why female athletes have been largely silent on the issue of gay marriage and on homosexuality in sports in general (the group’s news release is below). It's a great topic and one that did not strike […]

The minor league baseball team the Inland Empire 66ers in Southern California will hold their first gay pride night Friday. The team, an affiliate of the Angels, says more than half of the promotional discounted tickets have been sold. It hopes to make "Out at the Ballpark" an annual event. The minor league baseball team […]

As we continue our search to find the 100 most important moments in gay-sports history, one of the intriguing figures to arise has been swimmer Diana Nyad. What makes her so different from so many other openly gay and lesbian athletes is that she never had a big “coming out” moment; Even her Web site […]

Another sign that times are changing: Conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron will host gay and lesbian athletes at a 10 Downing Street reception on Wednesday to help fight homophobia in sports. Openly gay rugby player Gareth Thomas, cricketer Steven Davies and straight ally Ben Cohen are among those athletes expected to attend. Missing will […]

Patricia Nell Warren has released a new anthology of stories and articles about one of her favorite topics: The Western United States. Titled My West, the book is just that: a vision of the beauty and grandeur of the West through Warren’s insightful eyes. Warren is the author of the best-selling gay-themed novel of all […]

Two lesbians claim they were the victims of discrimination when a security guard for the Minesota Twins told them they couldn’t kiss one another at a Twins game. Taylor Campione and Kelsi Culpepper claim the guard said they couldn’t play “grab ass” and that they must adhere to the Ten Commandments while in the stadium. […]