SPORTS

Stopping gay slurs will benefit Mexican schools.

If Mexico fans chant “Eeehhh Mexico” instead of the goalkeeper chant that has been ruled anti-gay by FIFA in next Friday’s World Cup qualifier in Estadio Azteca against Panama, the country’s federation will allocate the amount it would’ve been fined into Mexican schools. The Mexican federation (FMF) has been fined and warned on multiple occasions by FIFA, including 20,000 Swiss Francs ($20,756) for the last World Cup qualifiers in Estadio Azteca against Honduras and the United States, as well as receiving a warning at the Confederations Cup.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

The “Queen of Pride” throws out first pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals.

One of America’s most beloved sports teams has invited a transgendered woman to throw out the first pitch at what is being called “Pride Night.” The St. Louis Cardinals, in partnership with Pride St. Louis, have asked “Tassandra Crush” to take the mound before their game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Busch Stadium later this evening. Pride St. Louis coronated Crush its “Queen of Pride” in 2017.

HEROES

LGBT athletes in college sports more than ever before.

On Sept. 2, Kansas State lineman Scott Frantz is likely to become the first out LGBT athlete to compete in a Football Bowl Subdivision game. The Wildcats open the season at home against Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. ET. He will likely beat defensive end My-King Johnson by just a few hours for that distinction. Johnson’s Arizona team kicks off its season against Northern Arizona at 10 p.m. ET that same Saturday. (As of this writing, it’s possible Johnson will redshirt this season.) In the last six months, Frantz and Johnson have received significant attention for coming out publicly, and they are part of a massive increase in publicly out LGBT Division I athletes.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

The Olympics now welcome transgender athletes.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed that it would allow transgender athletes to compete in whatever category they wish to participate in during the 2018 Winter Olympics, a report says. IOC officials noted that they will not require athletes to compete in categories that match their birth gender nor will there be any gender or sex testing of competitors ahead of the games, Daily Caller reported.

HEROES

How did Pride Nights at ever happen at MLB games?

Brent Minor, executive director of Team DC—an organization that promotes LGBT sports participation in the Washington area—remembers feeling pessimistic about the first-ever Washington Nationals Night Out. It was 2005, and his organization “totally emptied [its] treasury” to buy 200 tickets for LGBT fans. “We thought, ‘Okay, we’re going to lose our shirts,’” Minor says.

HEROES

U.S. Soccer supports LGBTQ initiatives.

U.S. Soccer will donate more than $65,000 to the You Can Play Project after a series of initiatives celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month in June. The U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams wore pride-inspired jerseys with rainbow numbers during their June friendlies and the game-issued kits were autographed and auctioned online. All proceeds from the auction – which was a partnership with the respective players associations – as well as all sales of the jersey and a special commemorative hat have been donated to You Can Play.

HEROES

Hugs of support from football players at University of Nebraska.

When University of Nebraska track and field athlete Jace Anderson found himself alone on a balcony at a campus party last year with three football players he described as “gigantic human beings,” he was nervous. He became even more nervous when one of the players asked him indirectly if he was gay. Anderson, 20, was just coming to terms with his sexual orientation and slowly telling people around him.