In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror, Batley Rugby League player Keegan Hirsh "came out" and becomes the first British openly gay Rugby League player.
In the interview citing his wife blaming herself for the couple's seperation he explained to her why they were no longer meant to be together to show it was not her fault for the breakup.
His wife, family, teammates and other rugby players have been nothing but supportive. As far as opposition fans and players who may now target him with "homosexual" taunts the 27 year-old says he can handle any abuse, "I'm comfortable in my own skin, probably for the first time ever". Welcome Home Keegan Hirsh.
To be very honest when I first heard about the upcoming program about Caitlyn Jenner I wasn't going to watch. I'm not into all those silly celeb "reality" shows which are enough to nauseate anyone except those who like to stand and watch the remnants of a motor vehicle accident. But this being Monday evening and nothing else on I figured I'd give it a go and most likely change the channel in 10 minutes as all it's going to be is one big poof (no pun intended) piece about Jenner deciding what wardrobe to wear on any given day.
I didn't watch the Diane Sawyer interview at all nor Jenner receiving the ESPY award on ESPN until after it was aired. Well I Am Cait was one of the most enjoyable programs I've watched.
In 10 minutes Caitlyn Jenner has done more for persons of transgender than has ever been done in all these many years I've been writing about LGBTs.
She used her spotlight on ESPN's The ESPYS to bring hope and understanding to countless many, young and old, who identify as T.
She got applause in all the right places and a standing ovation at the end. Tears in the eyes of some and near tears in others. I was struck by the expression of Kiefer Sutherland when the camera happened to be on him in what can be best described as taking it all in and truly understanding that what Jenner and others go through to be who they are is not an easy road to hoe.
There was much speculation and criticism that this would be one big publicity stunt on the behalf of Jenner what with a new reality show upcoming and ABC/ESPN as a ratings pusher. And well it could have turned out that way but the winner in all this is the community of the T.
Minds will not be changed overnight, some will never change, but a more graceful champion of transgenders has not been seen before. No brow beating, no chest beating, no controversy for "the cause". Just an eloquent display of humanity, from one person to another person.
"If he doesn't come back, I would think football's over for him" says Jim Popp the General Manager of the CFL's Alouettes in an interview with the Montreal Gazette after Sam left training camp on Friday June 12.
According to the interview Sam asked permission to return home for "personal reasons'. Sam's agent Joe Barkett so far is providing no insight nor does Sam's Twitter account at the time of this writing as to what exactly is going on.
Sam of course became a sensation as an OUT football player giving great hope for many to put a face on sports players who are LGB but otherwise for various reasons need to stay in the closet.
But with that fame comes a confluence of unwanted spotlight for the teams involved. There was much consternation when Sam was to be interviewed by Oprah and then his participation on the ABC-TV show Dancing With The Stars.
It's been said that Sam wants to play football, well if that is true he needs to do so full-time as a player and not get into other distractions of hoofing around a TV studio and sitting down for one of those "The Interview". There will be plenty of time for that later after a career in football.
What he needs to do while he is away from camp is have some deep down soul-searching and ask himself "do I want to play football" or "live off my gay celebrity". Obviously he can't do both at the same time nor should he at the expense of which ever team he plays for.
The accolades flowed when the long awaited first look of Bruce Jenner transcending to Caitlyn Jenner came to view. But as she soon found out the accolades of congratulations can quickly turn to mean spirited comments from none other than the "T" which on many occasions devour their own.
One has to wonder if there is a "T" God or Goddess one has to bow to before "coming out" and in the case of Jenner in all her makeup and airbrushed glory.
If history has shown us .. the collective LGB us .. while there are a great many in the world of "T" who are supportive of each other, there are those and usually the ones who are lucky to pass as ugly men in drag, it is the latter which have the highest degree of nastiness against their own.
To wit I say to Caitlyn when being assailed by them ... fuck 'em ! ... and enjoy your life from this moment forward with nary a look back. And if you can make a buck or two along the way hats off to you.
With your fame both now and pre-Caitlyn comes responsibility as your "reality show" can open many an eye and at the same time offer hope to those who are in need.
You've come a long way baby ... now go for the gusto which your life now offers.
Unless you've been living under a rock this past weekend you know in an exclusive Aussie TV interview Olympic Gold Medalist Ian Thorpe came out.
Praise and niceties were the word of the day in congratulating Thorpe but that didn't last long as now of course as always there are those who fault him for staying in the closet in the first place or taking so long to exit.
How many times (too many for me to remember) in the many years I have written on this blog in its various forms and in my way of being a "protector", that those who find fault need to shut up and understand the old saying "walk a mile in my shoes".
No one is required to be on someone else's time frame as to when and if they come out particularly when one in the public eye.
I've oft said it's not what one needs to fear from straight folk in their opine but those within the LGB community and that is the shame of it.
So Ian I say this ... screw what everyone else thinks and has to say ... be happy and Welcome Home Ian Thorpe ... Welcome Home.
Jason Collins wrote in an essay published today at the Sports Illustratedwebsite and in the May 6 print edition that he is a gay man.
This is the big news in the world of sports today.
It is also playing high in the ranking of news events for general news media deciding what to cover and highlight in today's news cycle.
Why and what's the big deal in this day and age of greater acceptance of LG&Bs ?
After all there have been other athletes who have come out over the past number of years.
The difference is active pro male athletes who have come out are from other countries, those who have come out in US professional sports did so after retirement.
Today Collins did what many have been waiting for, an active player in the NFL, NHL, NBA or MLB to announce who and what they are in regards to sexuality.
Talking heads both in sports broadcasting and general news media have said this afternoon "because the (social) climate is right".
More importantly it is the right time for Jason Collins.
While Collins no doubt will receive some resistance from homophobes, the ignorant and those who really don't know their Bible, Kuran or Torah and how those books relay peace and love toward their fellow man, the outpouring this afternoon has been primarily of support and indeed praise, not just from LG&Bs which one would expect but also from the world of the hetero and the world of sports including those Collins plays with and the institution he is a part of.
The accolades will continue for several days, Oprah will now be seeking an "exclusive" interview for her not so watched cable channel, after all May sweeps are a mere couple of weeks away, and unfortunately Collins, who is the same man he was before everyone found out today, will now be seen as a gay athlete rather than just an athlete.
But then that is the price and image one must pay for being "the first".
As time goes on and more come out of the now open gay and bi male pro athlete door, the headline will last for just a news cycle or two. After which as when celebs, news reporters and anchors, and politicians first come out the pre-fix with the word gay will not be included except of course in the LGBT press and blogs.
Jason Collins came out today.
The world has not ended, the stock market did not fall and life goes on.
As I've done the past four plus years publishing Focus On the Rainbow I'll close with this.
This year instead of boggedy boggedy it will be boo-de-aye boo-de-aye as former IRL racer Danica Patrick with the help of her team owned by Tony Stewart captured the pole for this year's running of the Daytona 500.
Of course the emphasis has been on her being the first woman in history to do it, it was enviable that if not Patrick, another woman would eventually get the cherished starting position.
Daytona 500 history is against Patrick as few who start on the pole end up winning the "Super Bowl" of NASCAR.
Patrick vilified by some but loved by many fans has pretty much shut up the nay-sayers when she made her switch from the IRL to the most popular, at least in the US, auto racing venue NASCAR.
So what does all this have to do with all things LGBT ?
To the surprise of some auto racing isn't just for de straight anymore and hasn't been for sometime.
So much so there is a website of several years devoted to de gay and the love of auto racing.
Queers4Gears was started in 2009 by Michael T. Myers and is the go to place for all things racing on wheels. Back in 2010 I guest hosted on the BlogTalkRadio program Gay Agenda with host James Hipps when we interviewed Myers and talked about his website. After several minutes of Hipps going through his regular diatribe of sometimes nonsense, Myers and I got down to business talking about NASCAR and all things racing. I pretty much took over the rest of the 60 minutes long program having covered the Bob Sharp Racing Team back in the 70's when Paul Newman and Sam Posey were the featured drivers. You can listen to that interview by going here.
So congrats to Danica Patrick. Will she get another place in NASCAR history with a win, or as so many pole sitters have done in the past, fall back and watch the rest of the pack go by for much of the race ?
If Tony Stewart has anything to do with it he'll be pushing Patrick to the front and her crew will keep her car in tip-top shape for the 500 miler while she hopefully avoids wrecks.
This will be one race to watch which is already one for the books.
As you have probably heard the IOC wants to drop the sport of wrestling starting in 2020.
Already outrage over this decision has the IOC rethinking the announcement with a vote coming later this year in September.
But the madness of this decision isn't the thrust of this posting but what Russian coach Vladimir Uruimagov has said in a report .
You see this homophobic douche bag insists that the woes of Olympic wrestling is caused by de gays.
“If they expel wrestling now, that means that gays will soon run the whole world,” the R-Sport agency quotes Uruimagov as saying.“It turns out this committee is headed by representatives of these minorities.”
Really Uruimagov ?
Wrestling is one of the most watched sports by de gay during the Olympics.
You need to get Greco style with some gays and bis then see who cries Momma !!! .
According to an article at Yahoo Sports, homophobe SF 49ers Chris Culliver told "shock jock" Artie Lange during an interview for his show among other things that gays would not be welcome on his team.
After saying "I don't do gay guys man", this ass wipe went on to say, "I don't do that. No, we don't got no gay people on the team, they gotta get up out of here if they do."
Hopefully this ignorant faggot hating scumbag who can't speak the Queen's English will take a gun and shot himself in the chest so his brain can be examined to see how much collateral damage has been done while playing in the No Faggot League.
But as they always do he'll issue a half-hearted apology for saying such things.
Okay so why wasn't there this stuff to cover when I was a sports broadcaster ?
I reported on more mundane things like Paul Newman racing at Lime Rock (and going for a ride with him once in his racing car ... NOTE .. if you ever do that make sure you take a motion sickness pill).
The only time I got to see naked guys was in the locker room but out on the playing field ... in public .. be still my quivering heart.
So it is that OutSports has an article about the Nude Blacks rugby team who play in the buff in New Zealand.
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has jumped into the anus of "you can't make this shit up" when he said, "Having said that, I want me some glory hole" when talking about his team and wanting to get back to the glory days the Cowboys once saw many years ago.
Just when you think there's nothing to blog about, every now and then a gem pops its head out of nowhere to hold and cherish.
Yes life can be good sometimes particularly when you're a Giants fan.
Keep it up Jerry, keep it up and keep on drilling that ole glory hole.
It has been a year since ESPN Radio's Jared Max came out of the closet for all his listeners and world to see.
No small decision to make what with being an on-air personality on a major media network.
I'm reminded of this today as Jared has done a posting on FB thanking all who have supported him over the past year including of course ESPN.
In an article from a year ago on ESPN's website, Max said in his announcement to listeners, "Are we ready to have our sports information delivered by someone who's gay? Well, you know what, we are gonna find out," Max said. "Because for the last 16 years I've been living a free life among my close friends and family, and I've hidden behind what is a gargantuan-size secret here in the sports world. I am gay."
While Max's one year anniversary of coming out will most likely get little play in the world LGBT blogdumb, I do so because, and as Jared knows as I have written to him before, he did something I wish I could have done back in the 70's when I was a sports broadcaster.
Come out as a broadcaster who happens to be LGBT.
Thanks to Jared who helped pave the way for broadcasters who have and will in the future come out as LGBT.
Need I remind that it is not what you are but who you are which matters.
I look forward to the day when the former is of no consquence for those who work in the mass media.
When Marlins' baseball manager Ozzie Guillen made his comments regarding Fidel Castro recently there was such an outrage it's surprising it didn't send a tsunami over to Cuba.
Give credit to Cuban-Americans, Latinos and others not just in Miami but around the country who found fault with Guillen and spoke out in outrage.
What's a shame is that same outrage is not felt or expressed when someone in the world of sports be they players, team executives and particularly fans offer disparaging remarks about LGBTs.
Perhaps those who have felt the outrage over Guillen's remarks will now know some semblance of how the LGBT community feels when anti-gay comments are made.
Lesson learned ? Alas most likely not.
And now what about Atlanta Falcons player Roddy White and his tweet in answer to the question "Would you rather lead the league in stats than win a Super Bowl?" to wit he replied "Would u rather be gay or straight come on u know that answer."
Of course he apologized as they always do but not without ranting about free speech.
Everyone has a passion. Mine is baseball. It's a long dry spell from the end of the World Series to MLB opening day and thankfully today the dry spell is over with the first regular season game tonight.
With that in mind and as I have on the previous versions of FOTR since 2009 including at Hearst Newspapers, today is dedicated to the baseball player, high school, college, minor league and pro who feel because of the sport itself, the fans, educational institutions and MLB executives, they need to stay in the closet.
So far as we know there has been only one baseball player who was "out" while still playing and that was Glenn Burke. Burke who played for both the LA Dodgers and Oakland Athletics was out to both teammates and management during his run as a pro player from 1976 to 1979.
During three of those years I was a radio sportscaster and while he may have been "out" to the aforementioned it wasn't, as least as I can remember from those days, public knowledge as that certainly would have stuck with me both at the time and through today.
In his autobiography Burke wrote that prejudice drove him out, prejudice of not being black but gay. He left baseball at the young age of 27. Burke who died of AIDS in 1995 said in an interview with People magazine in 1994 "My mission as a gay baseball player was to break a stereotype ... I think it worked." In 2010 a documentary (trailer below) about Burke was made titled Out: The Glenn Burke Story and was aired on the Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area channel.
While Burke may have broken the stereotype unfortunately his out and proud status did little both then and through today for baseball players to be out and proud while active.
In 2001 on ESPN.com's Page 2 Jim Caple wrote a response to a Letter To The Editor at OUT magazine by Brendan Lemon who claimed he was having an affair with a MLB player which reads in part, Playing in the majors is difficult enough, it will be grueling for a player who endures the constant ugly jeers from fans, the hate mail, the physical threats, the animosity from teammates and the resentment of management.
There is a reason, after all, that Billy Bean waited until after his career to acknowledge his homosexuality. Bean told the New York Daily News it would be "professional suicide" for a gay player to come out during his career.
In an interview on Page 2 sometime back, former player and author of the book Ball Four:The Final Pitch, Jim Bouton was asked among other questions "Do you think baseball players are ready to accept gay players ? " and he answered, I think they are ready, as ready as players were for Jackie Robinson. Enough players will accept him at first, and those that don't accept him, if he's good enough, will eventually have to. You can't wait for every single player to accept a gay player.
The first gay player is going to have to be a pretty good ballplayer. I think it will be healthy for the country for a good player to come out. Then, instead of the question being who is gay or not, the focus will be on the person who asks the question.
Last season some teams participated in the "It Gets Better" video campaign and some organizations are doing their best to halt anti-gay sentiments coming from fans during game play, at this time for a player to be out and open while active is still a hope and a prayer.
