Some pretty powerful people in Denmark have united to form a campaign to fight homophobia in soccer. The campaign, with the hashtag #fodboldforalle, features soccer players, including national-team players, with a rainbow flag painted on their faces, according to TV2. Some of the athletes are speaking out as well.
Track and field star L’eQuan Chapman is leaping boundaries for gay athletes. The long jumper and sprinter finished his college career with seven All-American titles and recently competed in Team USA’s “Scouting Camp: The Next Olympic Hopeful,” which aired in August on NBC Sports. The 25-year-old was picked alongside 91 other athletes for a chance to compete on one of four Olympic teams. He said he was blessed and humbled by the experience.
Openly gay former offensive tackle Ryan O’Callaghan has the distinction of blocking for two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. With the New England Patriots he played with Tom Brady, and in college with the California Golden Bears he played with Aaron Rodgers. It was the latter whom O’Callaghan knew best, ever since the two were competitors in high school in Northern California. Rodgers opened up about his former buddy and teammate in an ESPN interview released today.
The 2017 college football season kicks into high gear this weekend with teams all over the country playing. Among the thousands of players will be a record six on rosters who are openly gay. It was just a month ago that I wrote about there being a record five, but now the list is being updated after Butler’s Xavier Colvin came out on Monday.
The passing of popular singer Glen Campbell earlier this month made us all realize how much his 1975 hit Rhinestone Cowboy had made its mark on our consciousness. How many of us knew that immortal tagline of the chorus so well, right down to its rising intensity with each syllable? Whether you love or hate that song, it’s not the first time the cowboy, a distinctly American icon of “traditional” masculinity, has entered the immortal vault of pop song lyrics.
When Xavier Colvin stood on a stage in front his teammates with a microphone earlier this month, he knew there was no turning back. The Butler Bulldogs linebacker had finally become comfortable with being gay, and he wanted his entire team to know who he truly was. It had been a long journey for Colvin from childhood to that stage. Like every other young football player in America, he grew up with images of what a “real man” was supposed to be, how he was supposed to behave, and whom he was supposed to love. Being gay seemed like none of that.
BBC star Colin Jackson has come out as gay. The former British Olympian and BBC sporting star, 50, revealed his sexual orientation during an interview on Swedish television. Having previously denied speculation about being gay, Colin made the brave move of coming out during an interview with SVT, conducted by former female highjump-star Kajsa Bergqvist and longjumper Peter Haggstrom, for the series Rainbow Heroes.
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