John Amaechi, a man who played professional basketball for five years in the National Basketball Association, has publicly come out as gay. He has become the first former NBA player to announce he is a homosexual.
While several former pro football and baseball players have come out, we still wait for an active player to do so. I also wait for someone who has not written a book about it to just make an announcement and not turn it into a revenue generating event.
LZ Granderson, a writer for "ESPN The Magazine," takes a dim view on athletes coming out after retirement.
I can't help but wonder: When will somebody simply man up? That is, come out while he is still playing and finally demystify this whole gay athlete thing once and for all.
I've read the magazines.
I've seen the interviews.
Hell, I've written the stories.
Closeted athletes are miserable.
They have thoughts of suicide, they can't perform as well as they'd like, they live in constant anxiety of being found out, and while their heterosexual teammates are out chasing skirts during road trips, they stay locked up in their hotel rooms afraid to make eye contact with anyone because the bellhop's gaydar may go off.
Get over it.
An athlete in 2007 who stays in the closet during his playing days does more to support homophobia in sports than coming out after retirement does to combat it.
Well said. The first active athlete to come out will unquestionably have a rough time of it, but can it truly be more difficult than living a lie?
I want to reiterate a point I've made here before. If you are a major league athlete living in the closet or know someone who is, I would welcome the opportunity to help him tell his story
February 07, 2007
February 06, 2007
GLBT Community 1, Snickers 0
Thanks to the outcry led by such groups as the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), the homophobic Snickers ad campaign kicked off during Sunday's Super Bowl has been scrapped.
The ad itself didn't bother me--I thought it showed just how ignorant homophobia can be--but the alternate endings on the associated website and bigoted comments by players from the Super Bowl teams pushed it way over the line of satire into hatred.
This was a good win for the GLBT community, and the efforts of those who so strongly spoke out against this defamation should be commended.
The ad itself didn't bother me--I thought it showed just how ignorant homophobia can be--but the alternate endings on the associated website and bigoted comments by players from the Super Bowl teams pushed it way over the line of satire into hatred.
This was a good win for the GLBT community, and the efforts of those who so strongly spoke out against this defamation should be commended.
February 05, 2007
More on LGBT Youth Homelessness
I posted on this issue yesterday but since then found this post on the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force web site which discusses the Task Forces's report.
Indeed, one of our critical aims and hopes is that service providers and social service agencies will see this report as a wake-up call to the crisis of homelessness among LGBT youth. Some may already work with this population and learn from one of our contributors about how to enrich an existing program. Others might know they need to reach out to LGBT youth but need additional guidance on how to do so.
While there is clearly more that can be done at the grassroots level, in the end it is not enough to beat this epidemic without additional funding and support at the federal level.
Check out the entire column by Jason Cianciotto, Research Director, Policy Institute, who makes a strong case for a combined grass roots effort to suppliment government funding to address this growing problem.
Indeed, one of our critical aims and hopes is that service providers and social service agencies will see this report as a wake-up call to the crisis of homelessness among LGBT youth. Some may already work with this population and learn from one of our contributors about how to enrich an existing program. Others might know they need to reach out to LGBT youth but need additional guidance on how to do so.
While there is clearly more that can be done at the grassroots level, in the end it is not enough to beat this epidemic without additional funding and support at the federal level.
Check out the entire column by Jason Cianciotto, Research Director, Policy Institute, who makes a strong case for a combined grass roots effort to suppliment government funding to address this growing problem.
February 04, 2007
There's An Epidemic of Homeless GLBT Youth
That's what this story in The Advocate reports.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Coalition for the Homeless said gay, lesbian, and transgender youths make up at least 20%—possibly as much as 40%—of the total number of homeless and runaway youth, a fluid population that experts have estimated at 575,000 to 1.6 million each year. ''The national response to this epidemic has been nothing short of disgraceful,'' Matt Foreman, NGLTF executive director, told reporters during a teleconference.
What is the body of Christ doing to reach these young people? If they're out of the closet, I dare say the mainline denominations are doing more to create the problem than resolve it. The encouragement families receive to condemn their kids if they even show tendancies toward being gay or lesbian succeedes in sending a lot of young lives into a downward spiral, and not all of them pull out of it.
See, when fundamentalists say, "hate the sin, love the sinner," the hate usually overwhelms the love. Most humans are not good enough to actually pull that off and make someone feel loved. Hate, however, we're pretty good at.
Jesus, on the other hand, just loved. So should we.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Coalition for the Homeless said gay, lesbian, and transgender youths make up at least 20%—possibly as much as 40%—of the total number of homeless and runaway youth, a fluid population that experts have estimated at 575,000 to 1.6 million each year. ''The national response to this epidemic has been nothing short of disgraceful,'' Matt Foreman, NGLTF executive director, told reporters during a teleconference.
What is the body of Christ doing to reach these young people? If they're out of the closet, I dare say the mainline denominations are doing more to create the problem than resolve it. The encouragement families receive to condemn their kids if they even show tendancies toward being gay or lesbian succeedes in sending a lot of young lives into a downward spiral, and not all of them pull out of it.
See, when fundamentalists say, "hate the sin, love the sinner," the hate usually overwhelms the love. Most humans are not good enough to actually pull that off and make someone feel loved. Hate, however, we're pretty good at.
Jesus, on the other hand, just loved. So should we.
February 03, 2007
Upcoming Event: "Keeping Pace With God's Grace"
The National Black Justice Coalition is sponsoring the upcoming conference "Keeping Pace With God's Grace" in Philadelphia on March 10.
From the press release:
Over three hundred people from across the nation will gather to debate the issue of homosexuality and its role within the Black Church as well as provide solutions on how to create a welcoming and gay-affirming church.
Black iconic intellectuals such as the Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson plus several other religious leaders both anti-gay and gay-affirming will headline the event and facilitate discussion ranging from HIV and the Black Church to debating the legitimacy of scripture referring to homosexuality.
This is one of the few occassions that I am aware of where there will be honest, balanced debate on issues relating to GLBT people and Christianity. Hopefully minds will be open and hearts changed when the word of God is honestly studied, especially at a conference where the African-American community is actively engaged.
From the press release:
Over three hundred people from across the nation will gather to debate the issue of homosexuality and its role within the Black Church as well as provide solutions on how to create a welcoming and gay-affirming church.
Black iconic intellectuals such as the Rev. Dr. Michael Eric Dyson plus several other religious leaders both anti-gay and gay-affirming will headline the event and facilitate discussion ranging from HIV and the Black Church to debating the legitimacy of scripture referring to homosexuality.
This is one of the few occassions that I am aware of where there will be honest, balanced debate on issues relating to GLBT people and Christianity. Hopefully minds will be open and hearts changed when the word of God is honestly studied, especially at a conference where the African-American community is actively engaged.
Speaking Out for Gay Straight Alliances in Utah
The Sale Lake Tribune has an editorial strongly condemning an effort in the Utah state legislature that would effectively ban Gay Straight Alliances in Utah schools.
Given that Utah is hardly a bastion of progressive thought, it's a good sign that the largest newspaper in the state would take such a strong stand on this issue.
Given that Utah is hardly a bastion of progressive thought, it's a good sign that the largest newspaper in the state would take such a strong stand on this issue.
February 02, 2007
Equal Access to School Facilities
As reported by the Christian Post, a federal judge recently ruled that a branch of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes must be allowed the same rights to use school facilities as other non-religious clubs. Good.
"Equal access means equal access, and the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) should not be discriminated against just because they want to have a Christian club," (plaintiff attorney Joel L.) Oster said after the hearing.
Despite the district's claims, Oster said this case was about religious issues.
"The message we want to get out there is that Christians are not second-class citizens," Oster said. "... They are entitled to their views, and they are entitled to free expression of those views."
Now if you substitute the phrase "Gay-Straight Alliance" for "Christian" in these quotes, you truly have equal access. However, the more frequent situation is for school districts to accept these Christian clubs and discriminate against the GSA clubs.
The same rules need to apply to all who wish to access public facilities.
"Equal access means equal access, and the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) should not be discriminated against just because they want to have a Christian club," (plaintiff attorney Joel L.) Oster said after the hearing.
Despite the district's claims, Oster said this case was about religious issues.
"The message we want to get out there is that Christians are not second-class citizens," Oster said. "... They are entitled to their views, and they are entitled to free expression of those views."
Now if you substitute the phrase "Gay-Straight Alliance" for "Christian" in these quotes, you truly have equal access. However, the more frequent situation is for school districts to accept these Christian clubs and discriminate against the GSA clubs.
The same rules need to apply to all who wish to access public facilities.
February 01, 2007
How About More Focus on Saving Heterosexual Marriage?
That's the theme of this op-ed piece in the Madison (Wisconsin) Times.
I've got a suggestion for Julaine Appling and her colleagues at the euphemistically named Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, the state chapter of the organization founded by Christian bomb thrower James Dobson: Quit worrying about homosexual marriage and get to work saving the heterosexual ones.
We don't need same-sex marriage to "destroy" the institution of marriage. Heterosexual couples have done a pretty good job of that already.
Of course, focusing efforts on denying homosexual couples the right to marry draws attention away from that painfully obvious fact, doesn't it? Organizations aren't going to have nearly the same level of success with their fund raising campaigning against divorce, now would they?
I've got a suggestion for Julaine Appling and her colleagues at the euphemistically named Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, the state chapter of the organization founded by Christian bomb thrower James Dobson: Quit worrying about homosexual marriage and get to work saving the heterosexual ones.
We don't need same-sex marriage to "destroy" the institution of marriage. Heterosexual couples have done a pretty good job of that already.
Of course, focusing efforts on denying homosexual couples the right to marry draws attention away from that painfully obvious fact, doesn't it? Organizations aren't going to have nearly the same level of success with their fund raising campaigning against divorce, now would they?
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