Focus On The Rainbow

Scott Fujita is known for many things — being a “big white guy with the Japanese last name.” as he says; his dedication to charities and community service; and, more recently, his unapologetic views on gay rights.

Fujita made waves in October when he backed Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendan Ayanbadejo’s support for gay marriage. Now, with the spotlight on him for this Sunday’s Super Bowl, the 30-year-old linebacker isn’t backing down.

Earlier this week, Fujita talked to The Advocate about getting more pro athletes to open up about gay rights, and the possibility of alienating people by being so outspoken.

Read the full interview at The Advocate

Donal Og Cusack who is a hurler and plays for the Cork All Stars has won the prestigious Williamhill.com Irish Sports Book of the Year Award.

Cusack along with journalist Tom Humphries, wrote the book ”Come What May” in which Cusack outed himself as a bi-sexual and then “coming to terms” with being a gay man, said he has been overwhelmed with the support he has received from his teammates, family and friends since making the decision to publicly come out.

More at Focus On The Rainbow – Sports

Irish Lawmakers Open Debate On Gay Rights Bill – CBS News

Irish Judges Say Gay Sperm Donor Should See Son – CBS News

GLAAD has done a lot of work through ESPN, and other media outlets, to recognize and call out homophobia in sports. If an announcer makes a homophobic comment in the broadcast booth, or an athlete or coach says something defamatory in a press conference, GLAAD works to get an apology. Because when anti-gay epithets go uncorrected, it sends a message that it’s OK to denigrate gay people and their families. That perception, in turn, makes it harder for lesbian and gay athletes, coaches, trainers — all of us — because it sends the message that it’s not OK to make jokes and treat some people in a discriminatory fashion, but it is OK to make jokes and treat gay people in a discriminatory fashion. An anti-gay slur that’s uttered by a person of power, like a coach, manager or professional athlete, can have a silencing effect on both LGBT athletes and straight athletes who have LGBT friends and family. That’s why we work for language corrections and apologies in those instances.

Clearly, there are gay professional athletes out there. But openly gay athletes are hard to find, because there are still challenges for women and men who play professional sports. Sometimes, though, I think too much of the focus is placed on professional sports and searching for those high-profile athletes. Another arena we work with at GLAAD is amateur sports, the kind that we all like to participate in for fun — adult leagues and whatnot. People forget that there is a struggle in situations like that — a struggle to live life comfortably, because you feel like you can’t bring your partner to a game, or you can’t bring your partner to the team banquet at the end of the season. These are the kinds of things that make you feel like your life isn’t respected or valued. It’s those kinds of struggles that GLAAD’s sports media program is trying to overcome.

Read the Barrios’ full commentary at ESPN.com

According to an article published Monday in the Belfast Telegraph, popular GAA hurler, Donal Og Cusack has written what the the newspaper describes as ”an explosive autobiography” in which Cusack discusses his bi-sexuality and coming to terms with where he fits into the LGBT community.

The Cork hurler from the small village of Cloyne is a legend in GAA circles after winning three All-Ireland finals.

Yet in what may shock the sporting establishment, he admits to sleeping with both women and men before accepting his sexuality as a gay man in his autobiography ‘Come What May’ published by Penguin Ireland and due out this month.

In an honest and down-to-earth account of his life as one of the GAA’s most high-profile players, he reveals how he tried to date women as a young man even though he knew from the age of 13 or 14 “that I was a bit different”.

He also reveals how coming out to his family was one of the hardest things he has ever done.

He was 6,000 miles away from home in South Africa when his sister Treasa rang him at his hotel to inform him that rumours were swirling around at home that he was gay.

He flew home to tell his family personally knowing that his father in particular would take the news very hard.

And in a related article, The mother of hurling star Donal Og Cusack has been forced to stop attending his games because of the stress of hearing homophobic abuse shouted at him from the terraces.

The Cork player has revealed that heckling bigots have ruined match days for his mother, who now stays at home.

Donal Og, who spoke publicly about being a gay sportsman this week, has admitted that while he never lets the abuse get to him, he hates what it does to his family and team-mates.

Meanwhile EDGE has a lengthy article written by EDGE’s Great Lakes Regional Editor, Joesph Erbentraut, who takes a look at homophobia in the world of sports and “the search for a gay quarterback”.

So-called “masculine” sports have been woven into the fabric of defining the ideal American man since the late 19th Century, as reported by Dave Zirin in a recent article for The Nation. They were seen as a way to “toughen up the youth” in the midst of building the ever-expanding American empire. Theodore Roosevelt trumpeted “virile virtues” that “make up a race of statesmen and soldiers, of pioneers and explorers … qualities which are fostered by vigorous manly out-of-door sports.”

“Sports is really still an arena where it is still somehow OK to say things that are blatantly homophobic,” explained Marie Hardin, an associate professor at Penn State’s College of Communications who studies sports media. “Sports in our culture are a powerful mechanism by which gender norms are reinforced, and those gender norms in our culture are always wrapped up in heterosexuality. Because of that, homophobia is more accepted.”

Both of these articles are worth your time to read, one, the courage of an athlete to “come out” and the consequences it may bring, and the continuing homophobic attitude in professional sports in the United States which makes it all but impossible for a man or woman to “come out” while still being a participant, being “paid to play” and the potential loss of money through endorsements.

While there are those who criticize athletes, members of the Media, actors and others for not “coming out” and give the LGBT community and “average people” who are still in the closet, shining examples of LGBT membership, I would say to the critics, walk a mile in the shoes of those you criticize before you make your presumption of how “easy” it is to “come out” for all the world to see.

Written by Jeff Shaff/ChicagoPride.com

The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) has selected Cleveland, Ohio as the site for the 2014 Gay Games.  Cleveland was chosen over Boston and Washington D.C. which had been competing for the eight day event.

The Gay Games, also known as the Gay Olympics, will expect to draw over 12,000 athletes from around the world.  Chicago hosted the Gay Games in 2006.

As a mid-sized city, Cleveland offers a unique venue to the games. Transportation in and out of the city is excellent, and unlike other major cities where the games have been held in the past, Cleveland will prove to be much more affordable to athletes, spectators and the event itself. Hotel and daily living rates will likely cost half what larger metropolitan cities command.

Unlike subsidized and sponsored International Olympic Committee (IOC) athletes, participants in the Gay Games shoulder their own costs of training, travel and participation. Lower costs could boost athlete and spectator participation.

Activity and cash starved businesses in the Cleveland/Akron area, hit especially hard by the recession and automobile crisis will be offering great facilities, enticing pricing and open arms to the 2014 Gay Games. The City of Cleveland and the Akron/Summit County Convention and Visitors Bureau (ASCVB) together have committed $800,000 to the event.

“Right now, we’re over the moon. This is the largest event that has ever come to our area as far as the number of people, economic impact and national exposure,” said Susan Hamo, ASCVB President.

And as you’ll see in the promotional video for Washington, DC, getting the Gay Games for a city is taken every bit as seriously as cities hopeful for getting the Olympic Games. To follow the developments of the 2014 Gay Games, schedules, accommodations and tickets, bookmark GayGames.com.

GAY GAMES VIII COLOGNE 2010

Get ready to giddyup pardner if you have the time and money as this year’s season of gay rodeo will be coming to an end later this month in New Mexico.

The IGRA was started back in the 80’s and over the years has gained more and more participants and fans from all over the United States and Canada.

The International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) is an organization comprised of numerous regional Gay Rodeo Associations from across the United States and Canada. IGRA, in collaboration with member associations, assist these associations in raising and donating thousands of dollars to charity in their communities each year. The Gay and Lesbian Communities of the United States and Canada have been enriched by the educational efforts of IGRA through its sanctioning and sponsorship of the various events and activities which are a part of what we call “Gay Rodeo”.

The preparation and physical training for each rodeo that our men and women are involved in help to heighten our awareness of Gay Rodeo’s responsibilities to the Gay and Lesbian Community. The IGRA and its regional associations have committed themselves to the raising of funds from their activities to distribute back into the community for charitable use. Over 2 million dollars, as reported by our Member Associations, has been raised and distributed to charitable organizations who care for and seek cures for those with the HIV disease, as well as other emerging GBLT health and social welfare needs.

Should you decide to go to this year’s finals or perhaps start becoming a gay rodeo fan in 2010, you can make all your travel arrangements through the IGRA Travel Site and in turn help support the IGRA.

You’ll find more information about the finals, camping and hotel accommodations, events during the weekend and of course purchasing tickets by going here.

So whether you bring your own pardner or want to meet some new ones, IGRA rodeos are great sporting and fun events for all gays and lesbians to follow and even participate in.

Watch the documentary “Gidyup! On The Rodeo Circuit”

The Triangle Community Center In Norwalk Has A Bowling League You Can Join

[Writer Warning: the link in this article should not be viewed by those who are offended by the gay lifestyle and nudity. To write this article it is important to include the link for a better understanding as to whether the blog in question is real or a hoax. I have also edited some words.]

While visiting a gay news site, I came across a headline which drew my curiosity. The title of the blog was “A Gay Athlete’s Life” and after reading the blog and many of its entries, I’m not so sure it is for real.

Having been a sports reporter back in the late 70’s, early 80’s, it was unthinkable at the time that any athlete, pro, collegiate, high school or amateur, would let it be known that he or she were gay. As was the case then, sports locker rooms were so homophobic they reeked of the smell of homophobia just as much as the stench of unwashed gear in the lockers. And unfortunately not all that much has changed today in 2009.

To read this blog, which has sporadic postings over a three year time period it goes into shadowy detail of the athlete’s life and career as a professional baseball player. Shadowy is understandable if the blog is real, but even more so if it is not.

There are several postings which bring me to doubt the blog’s authenticity. There are several postings in which the writer goes into personal relationships and “rendezvous” which did not or could have taken place.

In one posting from July he writes about what could have been a rendezvous with an adult film actor during the All-Star Break, but the writer opted out, It would be career suicide for me Who knows if he has a camera set up somewhere in that hotel room.

A few months ago I was contacted by a porn star. He is a reader of this blog. He e-mailed me to tell me how much he loved the blog. It started off as just an e-mail. As we got to chatting I found out that he is an amateur porn star.

That’s right in several postings the writer includes a link to an email address by which readers can communicate and send if they wish “provocative” photos of themselves.

In May of this year he describes his “breakup” with a boyfriend, Later on that night I asked him if he had been messing around with someone else. He said no and immediately got up to go to the bathroom. When he came back he told me that he hated not seeing me. He had been out one night and met a guy. They hit it off and ended up sleeping with each other.

I’m furious at this point because I have been faithful to him. I really wanted the night to just end. I know couples go through this every day but I never thought it would be me.