SPORTS Archives | Page 170 of 179

Athlete Equality Index rates the nation’s college athletic conferences.

September 13, 2017 compassq Comments Off

Athlete Ally released their new Athlete Equality Index, which scores each of the Power 5 conferences and schools based upon lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer inclusion, and the Pac-12 had the highest score (79.3). A perfect score would be 100. The Pac-12 was followed by the ACC (68.8), Big 10 (65.2), Big 12 (56.3), and the SEC (56.0). Conferences were sent their scores three and a half weeks ago with the opportunity to raise them.

Nigel Owens – Coming out as gay easier than talking about bulimia.

September 12, 2017 compassq Comments Off

Nigel Owens, one of the top rugby referees in the world, says it was easier for him to talk about being gay than to admit he still has bulimia. As a referee in world-class rugby, one of the most macho sports on the planet, I was the first in the sport to come out as being gay. In the hope of reaching out to other young people struggling with mental health, I was also one of the first sportsmen to speak openly about the biggest regret of my life — a suicide attempt. …

Former Welsh rugby captain talks about coming out.

September 11, 2017 compassq Comments Off

Gareth Thomas opens up about the first time he ever had sex with another man in the latest episode of Attitude Heroes. Editor-in-chief Matt Cain has an in-depth chat the former Welsh rugby captain – available to listen to and download now – who reveals intimate details about growing up as a closeted gay man in a rural Welsh town.

Manchester United and Arsenal come together to support gay rights.

September 11, 2017 compassq Comments Off

Soccer teams Manchester United and Arsenal are among groups supporting a new campaign in Britain timed to coincide with a report showing an increase in hate crimes against LGBT people. The rights group Stonewall started its Come Out for LGBT campaign as part of a public awareness effort aimed to mobilize allies and show that LGBT people still face hatred.

Irma leaves gay softball players stranded in Portland.

September 10, 2017 compassq Comments Off

Three Portland hotels have offered to extend discounted rates for Gay Softball World Series players as Hurricane Irma makes its way to Florida, and a few Florida teams are stranded in Portland, unable to go home. Oxford Suites, Doubletree, and Red Lion Jantzen Beach are all discounting rates another 10 percent on top of the contact rate. Some Florida teams have already left the Rose City, but those remaining are stranded for several days.

Ironman & gayman…a time to come out.

September 6, 2017 compassq Comments Off

Opening up to a fellow triathlete, a complete stranger, about my boyfriend as we both nervously awaited the start of Ironman Syracuse in June was the moment I decided I was comfortable enough about being gay to accept myself and tell the world. I was standing on the beach of the Jamesville, N.Y., reservoir at Syracuse Ironman 70.3 and having trouble zipping my wetsuit.

Pro-sports embracing the LGBT community…for ticket sales.

September 5, 2017 compassq Comments Off

For decades the LGBT community has viewed the sports world as the enemy. Sports represented teasing in the high school locker room, gay slurs from Little League coaches and a machismo that flew against some corners of our community. That began to change in certain circles in the late Seventies and early Eighties. As local gay sports leagues popped up, and events like the Gay Games held their inaugural festivities, LGBT people, and in particular gay men, started on a journey of claiming sports for themselves.