Badminton tells female players they are ugly in shorts

From The Telegraph, a sad story of another lame attempt to stimulate (straight male) media and (straight male) public interest in a sport by making women wear "sexier" clothing. We can assume that when the BWF says that women need to wear skirts to ensure "attractive presentation" of the sport, they consider that a woman in shorts is... ugly. 

For all those who thought sport was about performance and athletic achievement, you're wrong: it's about sex. 

Rest assured that at the Gay Games, women can wear shorts. 


 
And men can wear skirts.




World badminton pushes back women's skirt rule to improve guidelines
World Badminton has pushed back the implementation of new rules requiring female players to wear skirts on court in major tournaments after protests from some shuttlers.

The Badminton World Federation's new dress code was due to come into effect from May 1, requiring all female players to wear skirts or dresses in Grand Prix tournaments and above "to ensure attractive presentation of badminton". It will now come into force on June 1.

"BWF have for many years encouraged both badminton clothing manufacturers and players to produce and wear clothing that would enhance the presentation of the game in general," BWF Deputy President Paisan Rangsikitpho said.

"We are, however, always willing to listen to the players, which is why we have decided to delay the implementation date to advise and have a dialogue with the players on the guidelines," he added.

The BWF said it would consider feedback from players, but it underlined that the skirt requirement does not "in any way discriminate against any religious or other beliefs and respects women".

The ruling had evoked mixed reactions from players, with most saying the problem was not so much with wearing skirts but making the dress code mandatory.

"You can't force anyone to become more glamourous. Probably, they can ask the sponsors to design better clothing like the tennis girls wear," said India's doubles specialist Jwala Gutta.

A few Chinese and Indonesian players have also expressed reservations, saying they preferred to play in shorts instead of skirts.

Akron: sports city

Gay Games IX are not just about Cleveland: they're also taking place in neighborhing Akron, which will host women's softball and golf, among other events. Akron, like Cleveland, is a great city for sports and sports events.

Akron hosted the 2009 & 2010 National PONY (Protecting Our Nation’s Youth) Softball Championships at the iconic Firestone Stadium, welcoming more than 125 teams annually. Each year since 2005, Akron welcomes 550+ high school basketball teams from around the country for the annual King James (LeBron James) Shooting Stars Classic. Recent events have also included: Ohio Special Olympics, Boys of Summer Freedom Classic Showcase, Ohio High School State Softball Championships; Mid America MAC Tournament.

In addition to a broad spectrum of youth and amateur athletics, Akron is proud to host the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational, All-American Soap Box Derby Championship, and the Road Runner Akron Marathon, which attracted 11,000+ U.S. and international runners.

In recognition for their efforts to position Greater Akron as an ideal sporting event destination, the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) received a 2011 SportsEvents Magazine Readers’ Choice Award for “Places to Watch in 2011.” This year also marks the Akron/Summit CVB’s 14th Top Destination Award from Facilities & Destinations Magazine – a particularly meaningful award bestowed by their readers. The Top Destination distinction recognizes Greater Akron’s commitment to providing exceptional service, the area’s flexibility/affordability and the myriad of cultural/entertainment options available to visitors.

28 April 2011 / Cleveland to host 10th edition of CLAW: Cleveland Leather Awareness Week

Cleveland is hosting CLAW 10 (Cleveland Leather Awareness Week) at the Hilton Garden Inn and Gateway Conference Center in downtown Cleveland from 28 April to 1 May.

Because of the huge growth of this event, CLAW has moved its headquarters to a larger hotel. Close to 1,000 attendees from around the country are expected to converge on downtown Cleveland.

Info (for adults only) HERE

Twist Creative to create Gay Games IX brand

Posters for 2011 Cleveland International Film Festival

Cleveland Special Events Corporation (CSEC), the host organization for Gay Games IX, has selected a partner to create the brand identity for the 2014 Games.

Twist Creative, a Cleveland-based brand design firm, is one of the hottest brand design consultancies in the region and has a strong connection to the LGBT community both in Northeast Ohio and New York City. Along with the pro bono work it will be doing for GGIX, Twist has helped make the Cleveland International Film Festival one of the top five such events in the US.

CSEC will be launching the GGIX brand as the country’s PRIDE celebrations begin in late May and early June.

Hudson Taylor and the message of sports for ending "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

The connection between homophobia in sport and the US military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy has been made before, in particular by Dave Pallone (read HERE). We recall as well that after his "Fearless Campus Tour" on out LGBT student athletes, our friend Jeff Sheng turned his sights on DADT, with a moving series of photos of closeted military personnel. Now Athlete Ally's Hudson Taylor points out the lessons from sport that can be applied to a post-DADT military:

With the high rates of athletes who enter military service, sports have the potential to prepare straight recruits with positive attitudes toward gay and lesbian teammates. They can be a training ground of inclusiveness for tomorrow's military leaders. Between 80 and 90 percent of the incoming classes at West Point and the Naval and Air Force Academies include high school varsity athletes. Recognizing the transferability of small-squad sports experiences to military units, the website on West Point's Physical Program includes this quote from General Douglas MacArthur: "Upon the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds, that upon other fields, on other days, will bear the fruits of victory."

Read the full essay HERE.

The unlikely friendship of Christian Louboutin and Gareth Thomas...

From the London Evening Standard:

High heels and drop kicks: Christian Louboutin and Gareth Thomas
What does 101kg of Welsh man meat have in common with 74kg of French aesthete?

As the most successful captain of his national rugby team in recent times, Gareth Thomas tears down opponents to the delight of the crowd; as the most outrageous shoe designer of his age, Christian Louboutin coaxes women into precarious heels for the sexual thrill of men. So you could say that both are used to inflicting pain in the name of pleasure - but their friendship runs deeper than that.

Alfie (as everyone calls Thomas) and Louby (as only Thomas calls Louboutin) met last year, shortly after Thomas revealed that the strain of keeping his homosexuality a secret had destroyed his marriage and nearly driven him to suicide. That made him arguably the most high-profile 'out' sportsman in the world. Louboutin was so moved by the story, he fashioned a special pair of shoes for Thomas and the two became firm - platonic - friends. (Louboutin is in a long-term relationship with a landscape gardener, while Thomas is currently single.)

Keep reading (and view the entertaining photos) HERE.

Roger Brigham on the context of homophobia and sexism for the Kobe Bryant and Tara Sullivan incidents

Roger Brigham usually has something interesting to say in his Bay Area Reporter column, and this week was no exception, with a look at the background behind Bryant's homophobic insult and Sullivan's exclusion from the sexist Augusta locker room. Here's an extract:

In predictable order, television apologists – err, I mean, analysts – began parsing Bryant's words to minimize the damage, gay rights groups raised their hackles, Bryant issued a non-apology apology, the NBA announced a $100,000 fine against the player (which he says he will appeal), and the Human Rights Campaign said it accepted Bryant's apology and would work with him to raise sensitivity. Move along folks, we are told, nothing to see here.

Not so fast.

Let's start with the studio "analysis" provided on ESPN almost immediately after the incident. Commentator Ric Bucher said punishing Bryant for the slur was "a slippery slope because this happens all the time." And by that he does not mean that it is frequently broadcast on national television, but that players routinely say it.

(By the by, if you do a Google search for "Kobe Bryant Ric Bucher ESPN," you'll find a pretty slick YouTube video of Bryant wiping snot on Bucher. Hilarious.)

Ahhh, but then Bucher goes further and tells us why it is wrong to object to the phrase. "They refer to it as a homophobic slur," he said, "but I believe it was just meant to be derisive."

To quote Scooby-Doo: "Huh?"
(Link) View more Scooby Doo Sound Clips

As in not homophobic (mocking, jeering, contemptuous, and politically incorrect), just derisive (mocking, jeering, contemptuous but politically correct)?

Read in full HERE.

AfterElton asks which North American professional sport league will see the first out gay player

AfterElton gives some interesting thought to the matter, and the winner is.... the National Hockey League:


#1 NHL
It's often said that it only takes one person to make a difference. In the case of the National Hockey League, it took two. In 2007, when a nineteen-year-old collegiate student manager for the Miami University Hockey Team came out to his father, the words he heard back were, "Of course, we still love you. This won't change a thing."

The nineteen-year-old was named Brendan Burke. And the father was tough-as-nails hockey legend and Toronto Maple Leafs' general manager Brian Burke. Brendan went on to come out publicly in 2009 in an article on ESPN's website.

And although Brendan's life would be tragically cut short just a little over a year later, his impact on the sport and the continuing drive of Brian Burke and his family would open hockey to being a more accepting place for gay icers, forever altering the perception that hockey would be a sport closed to gay men.

In 2007, the NHL became the first major league sport to allow a team's insignia to be used in a gay-themed film. The movie, about two gay men learning to care for a child coming into his own, was the Canadian comedy Breakfast with Scot and the insignia used was the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's also important to note that a number of NHL teams play in Canada where gay marriage has been legal for years now. No doubt a gay player there would probably find more acceptance than almost anywhere else.

See the rest of the rankings HERE.

Video: What's IGLA all about?

A refreshing short film from FGG-member International Gay and Lesbian Aquatics, about LGBT sport, and about the IGLA Championships, and featuring our regretted friend Ivan Bussens, Honorary Life Member of the Federation of Gay Games.

KIck It Out produces film against anti-semitic abuse in English football

From the Kick It Out website, a reminder that homophobia, racism, antisemitism, and sexism are facets of the same phenomenon of hatred, exclusion, violence and intolerance:

Frank Lampard, Ledley King and Kieran Gibbs appear in a new film launched today (14 April) aimed at tackling anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish abuse in football.

The film, entitled The Y-Word, has been written and produced by David and Ivor Baddiel, in conjunction with Kick It Out, football’s equality and inclusion campaign, Maccabi GB, Community Security Trust, The Shoresh Foundation and Fahrenheit Films.

Awareness
“The film is not intended to censor football fans,” said David. “It's simply to raise awareness that the y-word is - and has been for many, many years - a race hate word. It's our belief that some football fans may not even realise this, and the film is designed therefore to inform and raise debate."

The minute-long film explores the use of the word ‘Yid’ by football supporters. Gary Lineker, England women’s star Rachel Yankey and Zesh Rehman, the Premier League’s first British Asian player, also feature in the film.

Lord Herman Ouseley, Chair of Kick It Out, said: “This film will form a key part of the organisation’s education work on matters around anti-Semitism.”

The film has already received widespread support from London’s Premier League clubs ahead of its debut screening.

A look back at Gay Games VIII: Australia@Gay Games Cologne 2010

What a long journey it was! Volunteer promoters Maggie, Christian & Philipp from Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010 travelled throughout Australia, attending all major GLBT events to promote the upcoming sports & cultural festival down under.

With great support from local sport clubs, city teams, media outlets (such as Sydney Star Observer, LOTL, Southern Star and BOUND) and Australian Gay Games ambassadors we welcomed in August 2010 a huge number of 'Aussies' to our beautiful city of Cologne.

Session on homophobia in sport at American Hockey Coaches Association convention

News via Outsports:

More great news out of college hockey. GForce is again teaming up with Patrick Burke to present a conversation, this time at the American Hockey Coaches Convention, April 28-May 1 in Naples, Fla. The panel discussion features Burke, out former Oneonta State lacrosse captain Andrew McIntosh, and out former Univ. of Pennsylvania hockey captain Dave Farber.

It’s another great example of the power of not just preaching to the choir. GForce and the entire Burke family are again demonstrating their commitment to speaking to people who can affect true change. I only wish the event was open to the public, because I’d love to be there.

Here’s the complete information on the event:

Denver – A discussion of homophobia in sports, increasing team support and other issues facing gay athletes has been added to the agenda of next week’s American Hockey Coaches Association convention.

Denver-based GForce Sports, a non-profit gay sports club and advocacy group, will once again team up with Philadelphia Flyers scout Patrick Burke for a panel discussion focused on gay athletes and their acceptance by teams. Burke will moderate the discussion featuring GForce members David Farber,the former captain of the University of Pennsylvania’s hockey team, and Andrew McIntosh, a former SUNY-Oneonta lacrosse team captain.

The AHCA panel is part of GForce’s continuing outreach to both gay athletes and straight allies in the sports world and panel organizers hope the event will mark a turning point in achieving opportunities for openly gay athletes. “We’re promoting gay and lesbian athletes in any sport as every bit as talented, athletic, competitive and compassionate as straight athletes,” said GForce president Glenn Witman. “Teams miss out on great players and competitors by shunning gay athletes and we’re helping coaches, teammates and families of these athletes to push for equality when they play.”

Keep reading HERE.

French prosecutors open an investigation of homophobic and racist email from President of recreational football league

You can find info in French on this story in France Soir, on e-illico.com, Yagg.com, and on Hoaxbuster.com, but we wanted to provide a summary in English.

Several months ago, an email started circulating, claiming to be from the president of a club in northern France (there is no reason to doubt the denials of the alleged author, who has himself filed a complaint with the police). The email, which is now believed to be the work of far right groups, explains the events that took place during the French national football team's pathetic performance at last year's World Cup in South Africa.

The main axis of the email is to blame the black Muslim members of the team for the incidents, and discussing in passing the presumed homosexuality of a player, and including several homophobic insults. It is a revolting racist, xenophobic, and homophobic screed that most people would simply delete upon reception.

Jacques Stouvenel didn't delete it: on 18 January, he forwarded it, adding his own xenophobic comments, to all members of the group he leads, which happens to be the regional recreational football league Commission Football Loisir. League member Paris Foot Gay learned of this email, and demanded an explanation and apology from Stouvenel, who refused to respond, and has refused to heed calls to resign.

The city of Paris and the Ile de France region, which both subsidize the CFL, are considering withdrawing their funding of the league, and an investigating magistrate has agreed to launch an investigation following a complaint from Paris Foot Gay and anti-racist group LICRA. 

Athlete Ally featured in essay highlighting the distance sports has to travel with regard to homophobia

Pete Redington offers an essay in Massachussetts' Valley Advocate on the Kobe Bryant incident, and the responses to homophobia in sport from athletes, including Hudson Taylor's Athlete Ally scheme.

It also takes courage for straight athletes to stand up against homophobia. A new organization, Athlete Ally (athleteally.com), in supporting members of the sports community who want to "take proactive steps to end homophobia in sports," is doing just that.

"When we inspire teams and athletic departments to commit to a new standard of athletic integrity," states the organization's founder, Hudson Taylor, "we will change the environment in locker rooms and on playing fields."

Now working as Columbia University's wrestling coach, Taylor is a recently graduated "Division I three-time All-American wrestler & [who] currently ranks among the top five pinners in NCAA history."

But, despite his personal athletic accomplishments, the University of Maryland alum is best known for wearing "a Human Rights Campaign sticker on his wrestling headgear & to show solidarity," he said, "with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community."

Taylor, who began as an undergraduate theater major, experienced two very different sides of campus life with regard to the acceptance, or lack thereof, of his school's gay students. "Pretty much once a month, one of my friends, one of my classmates in theater, would come out. It would just be a very wonderful occasion," he told Doug Merlino. "Then a few hours later & in the locker room with teammates, arguably my best friends ... to hear them use that homophobic and derogatory language all of a sudden affected me a lot."

So Taylor decided to do something about it. He wore a Human Rights Campaign sticker during his wrestling matches.

The overwhelming encouragement he received convinced him to do more. "I was contacted by OutSports.com, and did this interview with them about why I put the sticker on," Taylor remembers. "I got hundreds and hundreds of emails from just that interview. [Mostly] ... from young, closeted athletes who didn't feel safe in this space, and I was crying reading a lot of them."

At his website, gay rights supporters are encouraged to sign the Athlete Ally Pledge. For Taylor, it's the first step in creating a more tolerant sports community. "I'd also like to make a database from the pledge of safe spaces in sports," he explains, "so if a football team in Miami signs the pledge, I'd like a young LGBT kid to know that they can play football in Miami because it's an open environment."

Taylor is well aware that the odds are stacked against him. Not many well-known athletes have allied themselves with the fight for gay rights. But Taylor remains hopeful of a changing sports community nonetheless.

Read the full essay HERE.

Outsports reviews reactions on Runners World to story of out college runner

From Outsports:

The Associated Press ran a detailed feature on gays in sports, with the focus on Eastern Michigan runner Austin Hendrix. I had spoken to the writer, Nancy Armour, and she had found Austin’s terrific coming out story on Outsports that ran in December. His journey was used in the AP story to illustrate the struggles faced by gay athletes and it was great that it ran on websites nationwide, including Austin’s hometown paper in Ohio.

Runner’s World, on its Facebook page, ran a link to Austin’s story and it sparked a debate that has been so common on mainstream websites when dealing with gay issues, and one we sometimes overlook since it seldom occurs on gay-themed sites. Most of the comments supported Runner’s World linking to the story, but there were a fair number of naysayers who, as always, missed the point.

Keep reading Outsports' review, where you'll find all the pertinent links, HERE.

Youth panel a tribute to activist Renae Ogletree, member of Gay Games VII board

From the Windy City Times:

In celebration of Youth Awareness Month and in tribute to longtime youth activist Renae Ogletree, the Center on Halsted teamed with the Chicago Freedom School, Gender JUST and Broadway Youth Center for a dynamic April 15 panel discussion of how queer youth can change their communities and the world.

The queer youth panel discussion was a part of a month-long series of activities, discussions and other events for Youth Awareness Month. Friday, April 22, 6-9 p.m., at the Center there will be an "Eye of Our World: Youth Artists Showcase", and on April 29, 6-9 p.m., the Center presents "April Showers: Youth Awareness Awards."

Gender JUST's Sage Morgan-Hubbard moderated the queer youth panel, titled "How Queer Youth Change the World." Panelists were Ansheera "Ace" Hilliard, Chicago Freedom School (via Skype from school in Madison); Russell Love-Mitchell, Center on Halsted's public ally; and Brian Johnson of Gender JUST.

[...]

Ogletree was a pillar of the LGBT community. Inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 1998, Ogletree sat on a number of boards in support of LGBT community affairs, including Gay Games VII, the Chicago Police Department's 23rd District Gay and Lesbian Advisory Committee and Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays. Ogletree escorted Michelle Obama to a 2004 Lesbian Community Cancer Project benefit at South Shore Cultural Center. The community leader lost her battle with cancer at the age of 59 on April 23, 2010. However, Ogletree's work and dedication to youth activism lives on and acts as a model for adults and youth to follow, to practice and to put into action.

Keep reading HERE.

22 April 2011 / SYNCHRO from QueerSport LAB

All info on this event can be found HERE.

Immerse yourself in the underwater world of synchronized swimmers. The night before the opening of Pièce de Résistance is dedicated to the social and aesthetic appeal, the queer character and political agenda of male synchronized swimming. Documentaries, discussion and performances. Please RSVP.

18:00 - 20:30 Two documentaries
Between 18:00 - 20:30 we'll be showing two documentaries. 
"Men Who Swim Together" (2010) is a Swedish-British film by Dylan Williams, and French director Louis Dupont made the wonderful "Les Garçons de la Piscine" (2009).

20:30 - 21:30 Debate
A panel discussion will start at 20:30, consisting of Christian Bordeleau (synchronized swimmer), Adham Hafex (choreographer and artist), Renaud Barral (synchronized swimmer) and Zeljko Blace (artist, researcher and activist). A video installation by Malak Helmy will be shown, as well as a performance by Goran Turnsek: "Waterbeest" ("Beast of the Water").

21:30 - 24:00 Audio-visual performance
by Volksmenner DDR & VJ Warschau


More information
Doors open at 17:30. Program starts at 18:00. Location: Mediamatic Bank, Vijzelstraat 68, Amsterdam. This event is part of Pièce de Résistance, an exhibition and laboratory. Become a researcher and contribute to a large archive of stories and objects of resistance. Entrance fee is € 5,-, students are subject to a 50% discount, 65+ gets in for free.

In collaboration with Upstream Amsterdam and Men's Cup.

Upcoming IGLFA tournaments

Some upcoming tournaments from FGG-member International Gay and Lesbian Football Association.



 
June 3-5, 2011
Rain City Soccer Friendly Tournament - Seattle







June 9 - 12, 2011
IGLFA European Invitational - Manchester, UK






June 25, 2011
Galibi Cup - Prague










Some upcoming tournaments from FGG-member International Gay and Lesbian Football Association.
 
July 25 - July 31, 2011
IGLFA North American Cup at The North American OutGames







Keep in touch with IGLFA, Members around the world, News, and Tournaments all year long.  Find us at Facebook.com/IGLFA

Story on out college swimmer: ""When I started swimming, I felt accepted."

Thanks to Outsports for pointing to this story about an out swimming at Adelphi University. Here's an extract:

When Rohle began swimming as a sophomore at Roy C. Ketcham High School in Wappingers Falls, NY, he would dress in dark colors to hide in the crowd. He felt different and people would push him away because he was gay.

"I never thought I would be treated differently being gay but I was," he recalled. "I lost a lot of my guy friends because they were embarrassed to be friends with the gay kid. It was really hard because I was coming out to my family and friends and in return I would lose friends."

Swimming helped Rohle find the acceptance he longed for.

"When I started swimming, I felt accepted," he said. "It turned out I was actually good at the sport so I pursued a college with a swim team and a nursing program."

Although Rohle was eager for a fresh start, the transition to Adelphi University wasn't easy at first. The 5'9" blue eyed, blonde haired swimmer felt the stares when he walked into the locker room for the first time.

"I felt nervous because I did not want the guys to feel like I was going to make a move on them or something," Rohle said.

But, as Rohle succeeded in swimming, he felt himself becoming comfortable in his own skin. He eventually began to take on a leadership role on the team. One of his greatest accomplishments was bringing his team together, he said.

Before he joined the team, members used to be divided by gender, with boys interacting only with boys, girls interacting with other girl teammates and everyone going about their own business after practice.

Rohle, along with the other new freshman, helped make team members a more cohesive unit. No longer do the teammates only communicate at practice, they have formed friendships outside the pool. Now, after practice, the team spends time bonding over dinner or having a night out at the movies.

Read the full story HERE.

Anton Hysén another of the Advocate's "40 Under 40"

We keep seeing athletes we've missed on this Top 40 under 40 from the Advocate:

These entrepreneurs, activists, politicians, artists, and athletes are much more than ahead of the curve, they're out, proud, and changing the world.

Anton Hysén
20, Gothenburg, Sweden, Football player

At age 20, Anton Hysén is Sweden’s first out professional football player — and one of the few out athletes in professional sports. A defender for Utsiktens BK, Anton told Offside magazine, “ I don’t think it matters if I like girls or boys,” when he came out in an interview published in March.

Hysén says he’s surprised he’s Sweden’s first out footballer because “this is a pretty accepting country. We’re pretty liberal with everything.” It’s one of the reasons he didn’t hesitate when deciding to go public. “I have my entire family behind me, I have my friends and my teammates. I never had a doubt.”

It helps that his father (and coach), former pro footballer Glenn Hysén, gave a rousing speech in support of ending homophobia in sports at 2007’s Stockholm Pride, asking the crowd, “How easy would it be for a 16-year-old boy who plays football to come out as gay to his teammates?” “He was talking about me,” Anton says. “He’s been supportive the entire time. He really doesn’t care.”

Anton says he didn’t come out to make a political statement, but he hopes it helps fans of the sport realize that being a gay athlete is no big deal. “You’re there to play football…nothing else.”

Interview with head of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Positively Cleveland

David Gilbert, head of both the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Positively Cleveland (the local convention and visitors bureau), which are both partners in the Gay Games IX host organization (Cleveland Special Events Corporation), was interviewed in the "My Cleveland" column of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Here are some extracts:

Dave Gilbert brings all sorts of people to town, from wrestlers to jump ropers.


The 44-year-old runs the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and recently took over Positively Cleveland, too.


Q. Do visitors like us?

A. I'm fond of saying you can't fake being genuine. Clevelanders are extraordinarily genuine. We've had that comment time and time again from people looking to bring events to town.

Cleveland is a very big market but small enough to wrap itself around an event, with attendance and strong, committed volunteers. We're having the National Senior Games in 2013. We'll need several thousand volunteers, and we'll get them with smiles.

Q. What's a favorite memory from a local game?

A. In 2004, at the International Children's Games, a group of girls was the first sports team from Afghanistan to ever come to the U.S. These girls had never played soccer. They spent about a week with a nonprofit to teach them a little. They were playing a team from, I want to say Iceland. They were down 10 or 12 to 0 at the half. The other coach said, "Let's just split the teams and play." They had a great, great time. It showed the spirit of amateur athletics. It wasn't about embarrassing a team.

Q. When you're not staging sports, do you play any?

A. I grew up a tennis player at Heights High. My real passion the past 20 years has been distance events: marathons and ultramarathons.

I have a group of friends I ride bikes with and a group I run with. We live in Solon, a mile from South Chagrin. Within a mile, I can be on a trail and go for miles, up to the polo fields or right to Chagrin Falls.

We bike in the Chagrin Valley and the Cuyahoga Valley. I probably see the river more in the valley than downtown.

Q. Do visitors like our weather?

A. People expect some snow and cold in the northern U.S. Three seasons of the year the weather here is gorgeous. We do a big soccer tournament; I think we've had one day postponed because of rain in five years.

Q. How widely does Cleveland draw?

A. We have groups that keep coming from Barbados, Australia, some really interesting places. They're coming because they love the event and Cleveland. We have a guy in Kenya, he's become a proselytizer for Cleveland. We have multiple soccer and basketball teams from there because he's selling us.

Q. What's hot in Cleveland?

A. While Clevelanders don't think so, our downtown is really great. It's clean. It's very walkable. We've got the second-largest theater organization in the country and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

An official from Orlando said, "You have such an amazing downtown. I wish we had half of what you have." It's refreshing to hear.

I love walking people into the Arcade or the Huntington lobby or the old NCB lobby. The architecture we have in this community simply isn't built any more. We tell stories about Eliot Ness and Carl Stokes. There's phenomenal history here.

University Circle is another great place. We'll help them plan excursions. An hour and a half away is the biggest roller coaster concentration in the world, the Football Hall of Fame and Amish country.


Q. If there's one thing we love, it's sports, right?

A. We're one of the top sports communities in the country. It's a huge gathering point. Both our kids played every rec sport imaginable, so we hung out with the other parents.

Marching bands are a huge tradition here. When Solon and Hudson play, both marching bands do a number together. You've got about 500 kids on the field. It's so powerful.

Behind the scenes at the making of the GLSEN-NBA public service announcement

A message from GLSEN:

NEW YORK - The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the Ad Council are working with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to unveil a new public service advertisement (PSA) in May in an effort to address the use of anti-gay language among teens. The PSA features Phoenix Suns players Grant Hill and Jared Dudley and is an extension of the award-winning Think Before You Speak campaign and GLSEN's "Changing the Game" initiative.

Grant and Jared were taped on Tuesday in Phoenix and are the first athletes from a professional sports league to appear in the campaign. See the link below for b-roll from the shoot:

The PSAs will debut during the NBA Conference Finals. The Ad Council will distribute the PSAs to 33,000 media outlets nationwide in May. For more information about the campaign, visit www.ThinkB4YouSpeak.com.

Follow up on Vôlei Futuro player: opposing club fined for homophobic abuse of its fans

Thanks to Outsports for posting this news from Sports Illustrated:

SAO PAULO (AP) - A Brazilian sports tribunal has fined a men's volleyball team about $30,000 because its fans taunted a player with homophobic chants during a match.

The tribunal fined Cruzeiro on Wednesday because of chants made by supporters during a match against Volei Futuro on April 2 in the city of Contagem.

Volei Futuro player Michael, who is gay, complained after he was taunted throughout the match. At times, the entire gymnasium was chanting against him.

Several groups [including our friends at CDG Brasil] came to Michael's defense and the fans' actions became a topic in Brazilian media.

In the following matches, fans honored Michael and held demonstrations against homophobia.

Translation of: The Gay Games, or "another idea of performance", in French sports review

In the latest issue of Sport et plein air, the magazine of the French workers' sport federation FSGT, dedicated to the theme "Another type of competition is possible", sociologist Philippe Liotard writes of the Gay Games as "another idea of performance".


You can download this special section (in French) HERE or read our translation:

The Gay Games, or "another idea of performance", in French sports review

In the latest issue of Sport et plein air, the magazine of the French workers' sport federation FSGT, dedicated to the theme "Another type of competition is possible", sociologist Philippe Liotard writes of the Gay Games as "another idea of performance". .


You can download this special section (in French) HERE or read our translation:

En français / Dans le magazine de la FSGT : Les Gay Games comme exemple "d'une autre compétition"

Dans le dernier numéro de Sport et plein air, le journal de la Fédération sportive et gymnique du travail, Philippe Liotard évoque les Gay Games à travers "la performance revisitée".

Commander le numéro pour 3 euros (port inclus) ICI, ou télécharger le dossier d'avril ICI.

Outsports profiles out coach and out player in Bowdoin College athletics program

Outsports has published another great profile of out athletes, this time a twofer with the captain of Bowdoin College's lacrosse team, along with the story of the school's tennis coach, who has founded the school's "Anything But Straight in Athletics" program.

Colin Joyner and Ben Chadwick are tearing down walls of homophobia at rural liberal arts school in Maine
By Cyd Zeigler

Bowdoin College head men’s tennis coach Colin Joyner knows all too well the pain and solitude of the sports closet. When he graduated from Bowdoin in 2003, he was a superstar. He played the school’s No. 1 singles all four years of his career. He was a three-time All-American. He was named the school’s Male Athlete of the Year his senior season.

When he graduated, many people on campus knew he was gay; He had been coming out gradually during his four years at Bowdoin. But when he graduated he moved to Palm Springs, hit the semi-pro circuit, served as a hitting partner for such stars as Justin Henin, Chanda Rubin and the indomitable Martina Navratilova…and he went right back in the closet.

Keep reading HERE.

Wellington Outgames prize drawing winners announced

Thanks to the help of our gracious hosts in Wellington, the Federation of Gay Games was able to carry out a prize drawing among those participants who expressed an interest in Gay Games IX. We are pleased to announce the winners:

Winners of DVDs of Take the Flame:

• Melanie H. of Wellington, New Zealand
• Ian H. of Victoria, Australia

And the winner of the grand prize, a base registration for Gay Games IX in Cleveland and Akron, Ohio, in 2014:

• Cecily B. of New South Wales, Australia.

Congratulations to all, and we look forward to seeing very many of you in Cleveland in 2014!

Blake Skjellerup's letter to the Prime Minister of New Zealand

Blake has just hand delivered his Pink Shirt Day letter to Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key. Here's the letter, as published on Blake's Hypervocal blog:


Rt Hon John Key, Prime Minister
Parliament Office
Private Bag 18888
Parliament Buildings
Wellington New Zealand 6160

14 April 2011

Dear Prime Minister,

Homophobia is an extreme, irrational aversion to homosexuality. Ignorance and intolerance affect many minorities across our country — people of different ethnicity and religion, people with disabilities or physical differences, and people who do not fit into the category of normal are treated as second-class citizens.

Over the past two weeks, I have been working with an organization in Nelson called Q-Youth. Q-Youth is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender-based support group. Primarily established to support these youths, its services are open to any young person who may need a positive and welcoming space.

During my time here in Nelson I have come to learn the story of one boy. After two years of torment and bullying, four weeks ago it escalated with the attempt by some of his peers to run him over with a motor vehicle. This prompted the immediate transfer of his education to another school.

Today was Pink Shirt Day, a nationwide day to stand against bullying. A comment the aforementioned boy made to me was “I bought this pink shirt last year, I was too afraid to wear it until today.” The difference between today, and one year ago, is that he now attends a school with a strong Gay Straight Alliance.

Gay Straight Alliances are an initiative that allows gay and straight students to come together as a school group. As you will remember, adolescence can be a challenging time. The support the youth provide one another is invaluable.

The smallest difference can greatly impact a person’s school experience and, indeed, their lives forever. There are many simple and effective ways that a school can make to ensure every student feels safe, and that every student is valued and cared for.

As our Prime Minister, the people of New Zealand look to you — they respect you. Having come from a background of limited privilege, you all too well understand what it takes to improve the quality of one’s life. You now have the power to improve the lives of so many. You have the power to improve the lives of those who are unable to fight for their own.

I hope that you will join me in what is certain to be a long journey ahead. Together we will make a positive difference to the lives of an often forgotten, but no less important, minority. Together we will pave the way for a diverse and culturally vibrant Aotearoa.

Regards,
Blake Skjellerup

Akil Patterson another of the Advocate's "40 Under 40"

We keep seeing athletes we've missed on this Top 40 under 40 from the Advocate:

These entrepreneurs, activists, politicians, artists, and athletes are much more than ahead of the curve, they're out, proud, and changing the world.

Akil Patterson
28, College Park, Md., Wrestler

When he’s not training with his mat partner, Akil Patterson is advising up-and-coming wrestlers or competing for the New York Athletic Club’s wrestling team, with his eye on representing the U.S. at the 2012 London Olympics. His life is all wrestling, all the time. But that’s not always been the case. After making the All-American football team in high school, Patterson went on to play ball in college.

But while he excelled in the sport, school itself was largely a dark period in which he avoided dealing with his sexual orientation. A trip to Europe changed all that. After seeing gay men live their lives openly and happily, Patterson came out of the closet to his friends and family and finished his education. Then, after a quick stint in Montana playing semipro football, Patterson was ready for another change. He returned to the wrestling mat — and shed 110 pounds. “I look at those people on The Biggest Loser, and I just think they’re a bunch of crybabies,” he jokes. “I did it through wrestling. It’s goal-oriented, and you’re constantly being challenged.”

In one of his first matches, Patterson faced a Pan American Games champion — and won. Now, when he’s not training, he counsels teenagers and young adults in Washington, D.C. “I try to keep them involved in activities,” he says. “I’m filling their world in terms of athletics. Sports helped me, so it can help them too.”