Out Aussie Rules star to teach new players about anti-gay hate

Jason Ball hopes speaking to new footballers about homophobia will have a positive impact on the sport

Gay Aussie Rules football star Jason Ball will teach new players about homophobia.

The sportsman who came out in September will speak to the rookie athletes about gay hate during their induction training by the Australian Football League Players Association in January.

Ball hopes giving new recruits the chance to meet and talk to an openly gay player will make a positive impact on the sport.

'People are able to connect with a personal story a lot better than a bunch of rules or regulations,' he told MCV. 'That’s what I can provide.'

He added: 'It’s important when they’re just starting out and learning everything involved with being a football player, it does come with a lot of responsibility.

'This is why they have those camps, to give them an understanding of the fact that they are going to be a role model in society.'

Days after he came out, the 24-year-old launched a change.org campaign urging the AFL to show an anti-homophobia ad at the end of the month during their Grand Final, the league's equivalent of the Super Bowl.

The league recently announced its support of the No to Homophobia campaign which he called 'a great first step' but added that the AFL needs to do more.

- Gay Star News

Related articles

• Pride v prejudice: AFL shows flag (theage.com.au)

John Amaechi, Professional basketball player

b. November 26th, 1970

“I am gay, black, British … and I am now asserting my activism.”

“It was absolutely my ultimate goal to play in the NBA,” says Amaechi. In 1995, his dream became reality.

John Amaechi is the first NBA player to speak publicly about being gay. In 2007, three years after retiring from pro basketball, he became one of only six male professional athletes in the four major U.S. sports to come out.

Esera Tuaolo, an NFL player who came out in 2002, said of Amaechi, “What John did is amazing. He does not know how many lives he’s saved by speaking the truth.”

Amaechi, the son of a Nigerian father and a white British mother, grew up in England. When he started playing basketball at 16, his right hand was nearly severed in an accident. As a result, Amaechi became ambidextrous, which helped him become a better basketball player. Amaechi played basketball at Penn State University, where he was twice selected a First Team Academic All-American.

“It was absolutely my ultimate goal to play in the NBA,” says Amaechi. In 1995, Amaechi’s dream became reality. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by the Orlando Magic and the Utah Jazz. In 2000, Amaechi made headlines when he turned down a $17 million offer from the Los Angeles Lakers. Opting to stay in Orlando earning $600,000 a year, Amaechi remained loyal to the Magic, who hired him when no other team would.

Amaechi’s memoir, “Man in the Middle” (2007), explores the challenges he faced as a closeted professional athlete.

After the NBA, Amaechi returned to Britain, where he turned to television sportscasting and covered the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the BBC. In Beijing, Amaechi also served as a human rights ambassador for Amnesty International. He appeared on several episodes of “Shirts & Skins,” a Logo reality series, where he mentored a gay basketball team and shared his experiences as an out athlete.

Amaechi owns Amaechi Performance Systems. He is a psychologist with a management consulting company specializing in workplace diversity and workplace climate and culture challenges.

Amaechi established the ABC Foundation, which builds sports centers in Britain and encourages children’s involvement in sports and their communities.

Olympic heroes top Pink List of Britain's power gays

Olympic gold medallist Nicola Adams is number one in list of 101 most influential LGBT people

05 NOVEMBER 2012 | BY MATTHEW JENKIN

Olympic athletes and sports figures top this year's Pink List of the UK's most powerful gays and lesbians.

With London 2012 still fresh in many people's memories, British heroes from the Games dominate the top five in The Independent on Sunday's rundown of the 101 LGBT movers and shakers.

Olympic gold medal-winning boxer, Nicola Adams, topped the 13th annual list at number one, while Paralympian and Olympic equestrians Lee Pearson and Carl Hestor were at number four and five.

Lesbian sports commentator Clare Balding was listed at number two, while gay rights activist Peter Tatchell is the only non-sporting figure to make the top five at number three.

The veteran human rights champion is commended for his bravery in campaigns from tackling neo-Nazis and President Mugabe to taking on the British parliament.

Boxer Adams said: ‘It’s amazing to be on the list of such an inspiring and influential people, 2012 continues to be a great year for me so thanks to everyone for their continued support.'

-Gay Star News 

Nancy Drolet, Canadian hockey player

b. August 2, 1973

Born in Drummondville, Quebe, Nancy Drolet is a Canadian ice hockey player, and was named Sport Federation Canada Junior Athlete of the Year in 1992. Also an accomplished softball player, she was a member of the Canadian National Softball team in 1990 and 1991, and furhtermore played for Team Quebec at the 1991 Canada Winter Games.

She came out publicly in 2002, and in 2009,married her long-time partner Nathalie Allaire in Quebec.

Gareth Thomas, UK. Rugby Player

b. 25 July 1974

Retired Welsh professional rugby footballer who played rugby league for the Crusaders RL in the Super League. He also previously played rugby union for the Cardiff Blues and Wales as a fullback, wing or centre. On 26 May 2007, Thomas surpassed Gareth Llewellyn as the most-capped Wales rugby union player with his 93rd appearance. During the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Thomas scored a try in what was his final game for Wales, and in the process created sporting history when he become the first Welshman to win 100 international caps in rugby union.

When Thomas came out as gay, he was notable as the world's only openly gay man currently playing in a professional team sport. (Cricketer Steven Davies, volleyball player Michael Dos Santos and footballer Anton Hysén have since also come out).

In December 2009 Thomas was voted top of the Pink List in 2010 of the 101 most influential gay people in the UK, and he received Stonewall’s Hero of the Year award in October 2010. In 2011, he declined to be included in the IoS Pink List, but was was named at number 2 on the DS "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011:

With 100 caps to his name – more than any other player in Welsh history – Gareth has one of the fiercest reputations on the field, and a row of missing front teeth to prove it. So it came as a shock to everyone – even his wife – when Gareth admitted he was gay. But in what we’d assume to be a traditionally heterosexual sport, Gareth has been supported both on and off the pitch by both his teammates and fans.

“I don’t want to be known as a gay rugby player,” he says. “I am a rugby player, first and foremost I am a man.”

He is such a legend in his own lifetime that even Mickey Rourke is planning to play him in a biopic movie. But it’s Gareth’s determination to help other young people wrestling with their sexuality that has made him a hero.

“I don’t know if my life is going to be easier because I’m out,” he explains, “but if it helps someone else, if it makes one young lad pick up the phone to ChildLine, then it will have been worth it.”

(Number 2. on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011)

Related articles

• Coming Out Makes Gay Rugger Jed Hooper The New Gareth Thomas (queerty.com)
• Welsh rugby player Jed Hooper comes out! (pinkbananaworld.com)
• Rugby player Gareth Thomas writes that “Pink List” of out successful people inspired him to come out (pinkbananaworld.com)

Steven Davies – Cricketer

b. 17 June 1986

English cricketer, a wicket-keeper-batsman who plays for Surrey. A stylish and aggressive left-handed batsman who can open the batting in both first-class and limited-overs cricket (though in the former he generally now bats in the middle order). He has played ODI and Twenty20 cricket for England.

Davies is openly gay. He came out publicly on 27 February 2011 in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. He had come out to his family five years earlier, and he was also already out to his teammates. He became the first international cricketer to announce his homosexuality.

He was named at number 12 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011

It’s been long assumed that the world of team sports has more closet cases than Ikea. It stood to reason there were many football fags and rugger buggers hiding away behind closed changing room doors and lingering in the team baths a little longer than everyone else. But what about the middle-class world of cricket? Few gave it any thought until Sussex batsman Steven Davies became the first professional cricketer to admit he literally batted for the other side too.

“If more people come out, the more acceptable it will become,” said the 25-year-old. “That must be a good thing. To speak out is a massive relief for me, but if I can just help one person to deal with their sexuality then that’s all I care about.”

Matthew Mitcham, Olympic Diver

 b. March 2, 1988

"Being ‘out' for me means being just as I am with nothing to be ashamed about and no reasons to hide."

Australian diver Matthew Mitcham is one of the few openly gay Olympic athletes. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Mitcham won a gold medal after executing the highest-scoring dive in Olympic history.

Mitcham grew up in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He competed as a trampoline gymnast before being discovered by a diving coach. By the time he was 14, he was a national junior champion in diving. A few years later, he won medals in the World Junior Diving Championships.

In 2006, after battling anxiety and depression, Mitcham decided to retire from diving. The following year, he returned to diving and began training for the Olympics.

In Beijing, Mitcham won an Olympic gold medal in the 10-meter platform dive. It was the first time in over 80 years that an Australian male diver struck Olympic gold. After his triumph, he leaped into the stands to hug and kiss his partner, Lachlan Fletcher.

Mitcham was the first out Australian to compete in the Olympics. There were only 11 openly gay athletes out of a total of over 11,000 competitors in Beijing.

Mitcham was chosen 2008 Sports Performer of the Year by the Australian public. The same year, Australia GQ named him Sportsman of the Year. After accepting the GQ award, Mitcham joked, "Oh, my God, I’m a homo and I just won the sports award!"

Mitcham competed in the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne. He is studying at Sydney University and training for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

"I look at the last 20 years as a long, winding path of lessons and some hardship," Mitcham said in 2008. “I hope I do have more lessons to learn. I look forward to that."

Bibliography

• Bradshaw, Don. "Aussie Olympic Gold Medalist Matthew Mitcham to Attend 2010 Gay Games in Cologne." Philadelphia Examiner. 1 June 2010.
• Buzinski, Jim. "Olympic Diver is Openly Gay.” Outsports.com. 1 June 2010.
• Fonseca, Nicolas. "Matt’s Next Act.” The Advocate. 1 June 2010.
• Halloran, Jessica. "Out, Proud and Ready to Go for Gold.” Sydney Morning Herald. 1 June 2010.
• Jensen, Michael. "Catching up with Matthew Mitcham.” AfterElton.com. 1 June 2010.
• "Matthew Mitcham.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 1 June 2010.
• Williams, Rebecca. "Sensational Dive Earns Matthew Mitcham Gold Medal in Beijing.” FoxSports. 1 June 2010.

Videos of Matthew Mitcham

• FINA Diving Grand Prix 2008 Shenzhen
• Interview with Matthew Mitcham after the Gold Medal
• Promo for the Gay Games
• Matthew Mitcham on “The Morning Show”

Websites

• Matthew Mitcham Official Website
• Federation of Gay Games
• Official Website of the Olympic Movement

Matthew Mitcham’s Social Network

• Matthew Mitcham’s Facebook Fan Page

Related articles

• Matthew Mitcham: Gay Footballers Should Come Out of the Closet (towleroad.com)
• Mitcham ready to 'complete collection' (news.theage.com.au)
• Matthew Mitcham and the Great Gay NBC Olympics Non-Conspiracy [The Gays] (gawker.com)
• Gay community supports Australian swimmer (topinews.com)

Greg Louganis, Olympic gold medalist

b. January 29, 1960

“When you're a kid growing up, and you think you're gay, you're often teased. But sports can be great for building self-esteem.”

The winner of five Olympic medals, Greg Louganis is the world’s most successful diver and among the most high-profile openly gay athletes.

Raised in San Diego, Louganis scored a perfect 10 in the Junior Olympics in 1971. In 1976, he won an Olympic silver in Montreal.

Louganis graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1983. At the World Championships the following year, Louganis became the first diver to score a perfect 10 at an international meet.

At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Louganis won two gold medals—one each in the springboard and platform events—and was the first to exceed 700 points in the two competitions. For these achievements he received the Sullivan Award, which honors America’s best amateur athlete.

During the springboard qualifying rounds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Louganis misjudged a jump and struck his head on the diving board. Despite suffering a concussion, he continued diving and won two gold medals. He became the first male diver to win double golds in consecutive Olympics.

In 1993, Louganis starred as a chorus boy who dies of AIDS in the Off Broadway play “Jeffrey.” He came out and disclosed his HIV-positive status at the 1994 Gay Games in New York.

Louganis’s best-selling autobiography, “Breaking the Surface” (1995), recounts his experiences as an openly gay athlete. 

Related articles

• Greg Louganis hails emergence of British diving's Jack Laugher and Tom Daley (Telegraph)
• Greg Louganis to Lead Swim for Equality (Passport Magazine)
• 2 March: Matthew Mitcham, Olympic Diver (Its a Queer World)
• Let's get Greg Louganis on “Dancing With the Stars” (Greg in Hollywood)

Anton Hysen ( 1990 – ), Sweden. Footballer

b. December 13, 1990

Swedish football player who plays in the Swedish fourth division for Utsiktens BK, which is coached by his father Glenn Hysén. Anton is a former member of the Swedish national under-17 association football team and was given a trainee contract with BK Häcken from 2007 to 2009, but was hindered by injuries and instead joined Utsiktens BK, for whom he plays in his third season. He was previously a member of Torslanda IK. His older brothers are football players Tobias Hysén and Alexander Hysén.

He came out as gay to the Swedish football magazine Offside in March 2011. Daily Mail has described Anton as the "first high-profile Swedish footballer to announce that he is gay" and as the second active professional football player to come out, after English footballer Justin Fashanu in 1990. The BBC called him "a global one-off". He told the magazine: "It is fucked up that no other Swedish player had come out yet. I am a footballer. And gay. If I perform as a footballer, then I do not think it matters if I like girls or boys. People may call me anything they want, it will just make me even more psyched".

He was named at number 27 on the DS list of the "50 Most Influential Gays", 2011:

Twenty years ago the only openly gay footballer was the late, troubled Justin Fashanu. And then, nothing. Now in 2011, God has answered our prayers with Swedish Anton Hysen. The 20-year-old sportsman with model looks is the son of Liverpool defender and Swedish international Glenn Hysén. In 2007, his dad made a surprise appearance at Stockholm’s Pride march, and spoke with great empathy of ‘A 16-year-old who didn’t want to come out because he feared what his teammates would think.’ No one realised at the time, but he was referring to his son. Anton admits he’s still surprised no other professional footballers have stood up to be counted. “It is completely strange, isn’t it?” he says. “It’s all fucked up. Where the hell are all the others? No one is coming out.”

22 November: Billie Jean King, Tennis Champion

b. November 22, 1943

I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.

Life Magazine named Billie Jean King one of the "100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century." A tennis champion and an outspoken advocate for gender equality in sports, King has become an icon and legend for her contributions to the advancement of women's sports.

Despite her mother's attempts to steer her towards more feminine pursuits, King demonstrated exceptional aptitude in sports at a young age. She purchased her first tennis racket at the age of 12. She recalls thinking during her first tennis lesson, "I knew I'd found what I wanted to do for the rest of my life."

In 1961, at age 17, King won her first grand slam title at Wimbledon in the women's doubles tournament. She became known for her aggressive style and personality. In 1966, she won her first of 12 Grand Slam singles titles.

An outspoken advocate against sexism in sports, King hoped "to use sports for social change." She campaigned for equal prize awards for male and female tennis players after receiving $15,000 less in prize money than her male counterpart in the 1972 U.S. Open. King threatened to boycott the 1973 tournament. The following year, the U.S. Open became the first major tournament to award equal prize money to male and female champions.

In 1973, King became the first woman to defeat a former male Wimbledon Champion in "The Battle of the Sexes." The Women's Tennis Association named King its first president that same year. In 1974, King co-founded WomenSports Magazine and began the Women's Sports Foundation.

King struggled to come to terms with her sexuality. During her 22-year marriage she had an intimate affair with her assistant, Marilyn Barnett. Pressured by the threat of losing her career, King remained in the closet until 1981, when Barnett sued her for palimony. Though King won the lawsuit, her court battle left her financially and emotionally drained. Despite calling the affair a "mistake," King lost almost all of her commercial sponsors.

King publicly came out in 1988. Since then, she has helped further the visibility and inclusion of the GLBT community. She currently serves on the Board of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and National AIDS Fund

Bibliography

• Lannin, Joanne. Billie Jean King : Tennis Trailblazer. Lerner Publications. 1999
• Schwartz, Larry. “Billie Jean Won for All Women.” ESPN. June 29, 2007
• Stanley. Alessandra. “The Legacy of Billie Jean King: An Athlete Who Demanded Equal Pay.” New York Times. April 26, 2006. June 29, 2007

Selected Works

• We Have Come a Long Way: The Story of Womens Tennis (1988)

Renée Richards, Trans Tennis Player, on ESPN

As the documentary 'Renée' comes to ESPN, its subject, famous for her legal battle to play as a woman in the U.S. Open, is busy practicing ophthalmology."

Renée Richards would prefer you didn't call her an activist.

Thirty-five years ago, Richards became an unofficial spokeswoman for the transgender movement when her legal battle to play as a woman in the U.S. Open garnered headlines across the globe. After nearly three decades of relative obscurity, Richards is now the subject of "Renée," a documentary premiering Tuesday on ESPN.

When filmmaker Eric Drath initially approached Richards about the possibility of making a film about her life, she was reluctant. "She didn't want to be the spokesperson for the transgendered world," Drath explained. "She doesn't want to be known as the 'T' in LGBT."

Now 77, Richards maintains a busy ophthalmology practice with offices in Manhattan and Westchester County, N.Y.

- latimes.com

Related articles

• August 19: Renée Richards, Transgender Athlete (itsaqueerworld.blogspot.com)