Tag: LGBT Athletes

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=2069239

HANOVER, N.H. – Margarita Monday at Molly’s on Main Street.

Those sweet, lime-colored, tequila-drenched drinks are the overwhelming hydration choice of this modest gathering of Dartmouth College lacrosse players.

It’s all legal. The waitress duly carded all four team members, as well as their eight companions, on this evening in late April. There’s a predictable run on buffalo chicken, rib-eye steaks and Caesar salads, loud talk and that typically bawdy collegiate humor.

Andrew Goldstein, leaning back in a commanding corner seat, surveys the scene and smiles. Even though he has a test tomorrow on the daunting structure of cells, he is happy to be here, hanging with his teammates. The All-American goalie, the guy everyone calls “Goldie,” fits right in.

The fact that he’s publicly gay – an unprecedented turn of events in its own way – doesn’t seem to matter. Goldstein, who graduates in two weeks, routinely faced blurring, hard rubber balls that approached 100 miles an hour during his distinguished four-year collegiate career. And yet, his courage cannot be measured by the 110 saves he recorded this season.

 

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/05/06/gay-footballer-anton-hysen-on-coming-out/

 

The world’s only openly gay footballer, Anton Hysen, says others in the closet should not worry about fans’ reactions.

The Swedish star, 20, came out earlier this year, declaring that it was “f**ked up” that no other players had done so.

In an interview with this month’s Attitude magazine, he said it was “normal” for him to be out.

“I really don’t think it’s a big thing,” he said. “I mean, of course it’s brave but why should be it be brave?”

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2011/12/02/anton-hysen-headed-for-major-league-soccer-vancouver-kansas-city-or-los-angeles/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=anton-hysen-headed-for-major-league-soccer-vancouver-kansas-city-or-los-angeles

Towleroad has tracked down  several rumors floating around that openly gay Swedish soccer player Anton Hysen is coming to Major League Soccer, and it could happen as early as today.

http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2011/11/28/Settlement_Bisexuals_Can_Play_Ball/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AdvocatecomDailyNews+%28Advocate.com+Daily+News%29

A group of bisexual softball players have settled with the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance over a case in which the players were disqualified from playing due to their sexual orientation. The organization has now agreed to allow an unlimited number of bisexual and transgender people to play on NAGAAA teams after a settlement in a lawsuit was reached Monday.

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=34382

Anthony Alfano was the team captain for his final two seasons of the four he played for the co-op Huntley Raiders varsity hockey team that also featured players from Marian Central Catholic High School.

A left-handed shooting forward, Alfano was popular on the team and quite the playmaker. He also excelled in the classroom at Huntley before graduating in 2008, earning a spot on the Dean’s List and the National Honors Society.

However, the real Alfano was hidden in the closet, afraid to reveal to anyone that he was gay. In fact, he admits he dated girls at the time to hide his identity. No one had any idea what Alfano was going through emotionally. He was, quite simply, a wreck, ready to end his life.

“In high school, I was very suicidal because of my sexual orientation,” Alfano told Windy City Times. “I grew up in a very Italian, very catholic household, and being gay was never a point of discussion. I believed, because the Catholic Church was preaching against being gay, that something was wrong with me and that I was inevitably going to hell.”

He attempted suicide three times, each time trying to suffocate himself, but he could never actually do it.

“I always felt that if I could keep pushing and getting involved in [ high ] school that life would be fine after [ graduating ] ,” Alfano said. “I was lucky. I didn’t fully accept who I was until the end of my senior year in high school and, at that point, I was still very uncertain of where I was headed in life and coming-out was not even on my radar. It wasn’t until I started college at DePaul and went on a retreat for first-year students where I truly understood the importance of coming-out.

 

http://www.outsports.com/os/index.php/component/content/article/54-coming-out-stories-that-have-appeared-on-outsports/366-coming-our-relieves-burden-for-high-school-basketball-player

Emma Delsohn plays basketball at a Catholic girls school and feared what her coming out would mean. She tells about her journey of self-acceptance and team-acceptance.

 

http://www.nightlifegay.com/2011/11/gay-swimmers-to-make-history-at-2012-us.html?m=1
A huge congratulations is owed to Brian Jacobsen (top photo) from Minnesota! The 37-year old openly gay administrator at the Univ of Minnesota just became the second-oldest male swimmer in history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. He eclipsed the qualifying standard of 23.49 in the 50-meter freestyle by two-hundredths of a second at last evening’s U.S. Grand Prix Swim Meet in Minneapolis. His time of 23.47 guarantees him a spot to swim at next summer’s U.S. Olympic Trials. He joins Jeff Commings (second photo) – who is also openly gay and also 37 years old (though a couple months younger than Brian) – as two of the three oldest male swimmers EVER to make the U.S. Olympic Trials.