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Professional/Collegiate Sports Pushing Sodomy and Feminist Agendas

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Author Topic: Professional/Collegiate Sports Pushing Sodomy and Feminist Agendas  (Read 4848 times)
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« on: January 26, 2013, 01:53:17 am »

Ravens’ Brendon Ayanbadejo wants to use Super Bowl platform to stump for gay rights

1/25/13

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/ravens-brendon-ayanbadejo-wants-super-bowl-platform-stump-160237764--nfl.html

Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo hadn't even slept after Baltimore's AFC championship game win over the Patriots when he started sending emails asking how he could help promote gay rights at the Super Bowl.

According to the New York Times, at 3:40 a.m. on Monday, Ayanbadejo sent emails to Brian Ellner, a marriage-equality advocate, and Michael Skolnik, political director for Russell Simmons, a hip-hop magnate who is a supporter of gay rights and marriage equality.

“Is there anything I can do for marriage equality or anti-bullying over the next couple of weeks to harness this Super Bowl media?” Ayanbadejo wrote, according to the Times.

It's not often a person has the exposure provided by being a player on a Super Bowl team, and now that Ayanbadejo's mission has been made very public, expect him to get a lot of opportunities to discuss his cause.

Here's what Ayanbadejo, who is in his 10th season, told the Times:

“It’s one of those times when you’re really passionate and in your zone,” Ayanbadejo said, according to the Times. “And I got to thinking about all kinds of things, and I thought: how can we get our message out there?”

Ayanbadejo and Minnesota punter Chris Kluwe have both been vocal advocates for same-sex marriage. In the Times' story, Ayanbadejo explains that he grew up around gay people in a liberal society and "discrimination was never allowed." He admits that not all of his teammates agree with his stance, but he said he has gotten more support than when he first supported the issue several years ago. He said his dream is to go on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show after the Super Bowl to discuss the issue some more.

"He understands that as a straight biracial player in the Super Bowl, he can have a huge impact on the future of this issue," Ellner told the Times.

While Ayanbadejo has a job to do with the Ravens, preparing for a championship game against the 49ers, he also feels he has a social responsibility to bring awareness to the cause of gay rights. That won't take away from his job of preparing for the game, any more than the stupidly goofy antics of the jokesters at media day will take away from any other player's focus.

It's a courageous and unique stand Ayanbadejo will be taking in New Orleans next week. He'll certainly have a great opportunity to get his message across.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2014, 12:26:12 am by BornAgain2 » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #1 on: March 05, 2013, 10:34:26 pm »

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/justin-verlander-says-wouldn-t-mind-gay-teammate-013558352--mlb.html

3/5/13
Gay athletes in pro sports is enough of a talking point these days that when baseball golden boy Justin Verlander sits down for a Barbara Walters-style interview with CNN, it's on the question list.
 
Verlander's take? The star pitcher — and once MVP — would be fine with a gay teammate on the Detroit Tigers. "Absolutely." "Wouldn't mind."
 
Below, you can watch the whole interview with CNN's Carol Costello — which also touches on his golf game and a potential $200 million contract — but here's the choice quote from Verlander on the hot-button topic:
 
Quote
"I don't think one of our players would be scared to come out. We got 25 guys, it's a family, and our goal is to win a World Series. What your sexual orientation is, I don't see how that affects the ultimate goal of our family."

New Tigers outfielder (and teammate) Torii Hunter might not be comfortable as Verlander. He made headlines a few months ago for saying the opposite. But these two are hardly the only ones in sports talking about sexuality.
 
Last week Mark Knudsen, a former MLB pitcher, wrote a column for Mile High Sports arguing that out-of-the-closet players aren't best for a team. His take? Players should wait until their athletic careers are over before coming out.
 
Meanwhile, the NFL is dealing with teams asking draft prospects about their sexual orientation. Chris Culliver's anti-gay rant from Super Bowl week hasn't gone away — even though he's seeking redemption. And players such as Brendon Ayanbadejo and Chris Kluwe continue to be outspoken gay rights advocates.
 
In sports, much like in the country at large, sexual orientation will continue to be a divisive issue. And athletes will continue to be asked about it.
 
Whether you agree or disagree with what Justin Verlander said, give him credit for this: He didn't dodge the question and he didn't sound like an idiot.
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« Reply #2 on: March 05, 2013, 10:40:02 pm »

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/chris-culliver-keeps-promise-plans-volunteer-gay-support-173153377--nfl.html

3/5/13
Chris Culliver keeps his promise, plans to volunteer at gay support center

San Francisco 49er Chris Culliver created a firestorm the week before the Super Bowl with controversial comments made during a radio interview. At the time, Culliver said he didn't want a gay player on his team.
 
Just a month later, Culliver spent a day at the Trevor Project's Los Angeles office. He also paid for an educator from the organization that provides crisis support for LQBT young people to meet with him.
 
Culliver's comments before the Super Bowl were widely criticized.

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''Ain't got no gay people on the team. They gotta get up outta here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff ... Can't be ... in the locker room, nah,'' he said. ''You've gotta come out 10 years later after that.''

Considering how players like Baltimore's Brendon Ayanbadejo and Minnesota's Chris Kluwe had been supportive of a gay player coming out, Culliver's words were surprising. They were particularly controversial in San Francisco, a city that is historically welcoming to the LGBT community.
 
Culliver apologized and promised to undergo sensitivity training. He came through on that promise, and also says he wants to volunteer. The staff at the Trevor Project don't doubt his sincerity.

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"Chris is a young guy himself," spokeswoman Laura McGinnis said to the Sacramento Bee. "He reached out to The Trevor Project. And that's a good thing"
.

Culliver's comments were offensive and not thought out, but he is making amends in a way that could end up helping LGBT youth who need it. McGinnis is right. That's a good thing.
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« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2013, 08:24:23 pm »

Not all football players are so into supporting the homosexual agenda. But they are demonized for their lack of enthusiasm.

Read about it here: http://www.postchronicle.com/news/sports/49ers_gay_ad_20130201.shtml
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« Reply #4 on: March 07, 2013, 11:30:30 am »

Not all football players are so into supporting the homosexual agenda. But they are demonized for their lack of enthusiasm.

Read about it here: http://www.postchronicle.com/news/sports/49ers_gay_ad_20130201.shtml

I noticed that too...that the players that have spoken out et al have been demonized. It was the other way around 20 years ago when this debate started.
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« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2013, 06:00:28 pm »

This may be typical MSM propaganda, who knows, but nonetheless if it is true then I'm not surprised...

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/report-gay-nfl-player-considering-212128870--nfl.html
3/25/13
Report: Gay NFL player considering coming out

A current NFL player who is gay is seriously considering coming out publicly in the next few months with the intention of continuing his football career after making the announcement, CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman reported.

The player in question was not named by Freeman, who was not aware of the player's identity himself.

However, if the player does announce publicly that he is gay, it would be a milestone event in American pro sports. There has never been an active openly gay player in a major American team sport.

The player's concern, according to the report, is not how his news would be received in the locker room. His concern is the possible harm he might suffer from homophobic fans.

"I honestly think the players of the NFL have been ready for an openly gay player for quite some time now," Scott Fujita, a free agent linebacker, told CBSSports.com. "Trust me, the coming out of a player would create much bigger waves outside the locker room than inside. The way I've seen the conversation around LGBT issues evolve, especially in the past few years, has been encouraging. Guys are more accepting than they used to be. Even those who raise personal objections to homosexuality, some of whom are good friends of mine, would still be able to coexist and accept a gay teammate."
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« Reply #6 on: April 11, 2013, 12:27:17 pm »

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/12/sports/hockey/nhl-announces-initiative-in-support-of-gay-athletes.html?_r=2&
4/11/13
N.H.L. Announces Initiative to Support Gay Athletes

Amid heightened speculation that a male athlete in one of North America’s four major professional leagues will soon publicly declare his homosexuality, the National Hockey League and its players announced Thursday what appears to be the most comprehensive measure by a major men’s league in support of gay rights.

The N.H.L. said it had formed a partnership with the You Can Play Project, an advocacy group pledged to fight homophobia in sports, and planned training and counseling on gay issues for its teams and players. The league will also be involved in the production and broadcast of public service announcements.

“Our motto is Hockey Is for Everyone, and our partnership with You Can Play certifies that position in a clear and unequivocal way,” N.H.L. Commissioner Gary Bettman said in the statement. “We are delighted to reaffirm through this joint venture with the N.H.L. Players’ Association that the official policy of the N.H.L. is one of inclusion on the ice, in our locker rooms and in the stands.”

In a telephone interview Donald Fehr, the chief executive of the players’ association, said: “Bottom line, it’s the right thing to do, and that’s what we’re all supposed to do in this world.”

You Can Play will help run seminars for N.H.L. rookies to educate young prospects on gay issues and make resources and personnel available to each team, as desired. The league and union will also work with You Can Play to integrate the project into its behavioral health program, enabling players to seek counseling regarding matters of sexual orientation confidentially. Burke said the joint venture would also step forward when players make homophobic remarks.

Patrick Burke, a founder of You Can Play and scout for the Philadelphia Flyers, said laying the groundwork for an openly gay player was not an official part of the program.

“But we’re ready to do whatever that player wants,” Burke said. “If he wants to do a thousand interviews and march in pride parades, we’re equipped to handle that. And if he wants us to pass-block for him so he never has to do another interview in his life, we’re equipped to handle that too.”

Burke helped found You Can Play in March 2012, after the death of his younger brother, Brendan, who was gay. Brendan Burke, a video coordinator and student manager for the Miami University hockey team, died in an auto accident at age 21 in February 2010. Their father is Brian Burke, the former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the 2010 United States men’s Olympic hockey team.

You Can Play has worked with N.H.L. clubs and the players’ union before, including the distribution of a series of videos in which professional and college sports teams have expressed support for its mission of “ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation.” Among the N.H.L. stars who have appeared in the videos are the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, Boston’s Zdeno Chara and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos.

“It’s not a big deal if you’re straight or gay or whatever you are, it’s a matter of being a good teammate,” Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference said. “We take a lot of pride in viewing the locker room as a family and treating each other like brothers. If one of those brothers feels ostracized for what he is, it’s just wrong.”

In case an N.H.L. player comes out during his career, “the important part is creating an atmosphere where somebody is comfortable and doesn’t have to worry about what kind of reaction he’ll get from his teammates,” Ference said.

Even as Americans’ opinions about gay rights have evolved, a gay male athlete for a major professional sports team has yet to come out. But various news reports in recent weeks have suggested that one or more gay athletes are considering a public announcement about their sexual orientation.

The N.F.L. player Brendon Ayanbadejo has become something of an unofficial spokesman for the acceptance of gay players. He attended a meeting at the N.F.L. office last week at which three organizations active in the gay community and sports discussed how the N.F.L. could lay the groundwork to prepare for a player coming out.

Ayanbadejo told The Baltimore Sun that as many as four players might come out together, and that it could happen soon.

“The thing is we’re in contact with several players,” Ayanbadejo, who was recently released by the Baltimore Ravens and is unsure if his own playing career is over, said in an interview this week. “I’m not going to name numbers, several gay players in more sports than just football, and what we’re trying to facilitate is to get them together and do what they want to do, do what is right for them.”

Ayanbadejo said that after his comments last week, “a couple of more players” had called Athlete Ally, the organization that supports gay athletes with which he is most closely affiliated, seeking guidance and connection. A loose consortium of supporters, including former athletes in several sports who came out after their careers were over, psychologists and friends are trying to help put gay players in touch with one another, Ayanbadejo said. What happens after that, he said, is up to them.

“As far as what happens, none of that is coordinated,” he added. “It’s going to be on their times, their terms. The only thing coordinated is support, them being able to talk to other athletes who have been in their shoes. We want to put them together and we can be there to support them in whatever they want to do.”
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« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2013, 05:55:15 pm »

So it ultimately comes down to the love of money...

http://abcnews.go.com/US/openly-gay-nfl-player-gain-millions-team/story?id=19035209#.UX2m2mwo5Ms
4/25/13
First Openly Gay NFL Player Could 'Gain Millions' for Team

The fuss over who will be the first openly gay male U.S. professional athlete may take an unexpected turn this year as a little-known standout college team kicker from Florida, who happens to be gay, is eying his shot at the majors.

Alan Gendreau made a name for himself as Middle Tennessee State's kicker, finishing a record-breaking career in 2012 as the all-time leading scorer in Sun Belt Conference history with 295 points. Now Gendreau's quest to take his football career to the next level as an NFL kicker is becoming part of the larger picture of the acceptance of gay men in American sports.

"The whole culture has shifted. Sports are way behind," Cyd Zeigler, co-founder of Outsports.com, told ABCNews.com. "But the NFL is about winning. It's not about whether you're gay or straight."

Zeigler, who featured Gendreau in an exclusive article and video released on his site Tuesday, originally spoke with the star athlete during his freshman year at MTSU, when he anonymously discussed being a lone out gay member on a college team. The then-teenage kicker was worried at the time about how his sexuality could hurt his chances of getting into the NFL. Zeigler said there was a risk that coming out publicly would be chancy. But that was then.

"Now, today, I can say yes, this is not going to hurt his chances," Zeigler said. "If some person doesn't like it that much, another person will like him because of it."

Many thought for years that the first out pro player would be a familiar name. Linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, an outspoken supporter of gay rights, even said earlier this month that "there are up to four players being talked to right now and they're trying to be organized so they can come out on the same day together."

Gendreau grew up in Apopka, Fla. and came out as gay to his friends and family at 16. A devout Christian who says he keeps a Bible by his bed, he told Outsports.com that he was sent to church-based counseling by his parents, but that it only lasted four sessions. He knew who he was. He says he still regularly attends church on Sunday. The 23-year-old is about a month away from being in peak shape for a tryout.

"Right now, looking back when I'm 40, I can't say I gave it my best shot," Gendreau told Outsports.com. "I can't say I really tried to make it into the NFL. Last year I did it half-assed. If I don't give it everything I have now, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

Now, as he trains vigorously for his shot at the majors, Gendreau, whose rough senior season only saw a 60 percent connection on field goal attempts, and left him undrafted, is focusing on his opportunity to launch a career. Being a role model may have to follow that.

"He has a real opportunity to break through, and he's going to do that by being a huge success on the field," his representative Howard Bragman told ABCNews.com.

Bragman said Gendreau's sexuality is not what defines him.

"Alan would love nothing more than to play in the NFL, and he would tell you that his sexuality is something he's proud of, as much as anyone is proud of their sexuality," Bragman said. "He defines himself as a good man, a Christian, an athlete. He has a lot of ways he defines himself. He's a well-rounded guy who happens to be gay."

Not that Gendreau is naïve about the attention he is receiving, and the role he would play as the first openly gay player, according to Bragman. But his focus is on getting there.
« Last Edit: April 28, 2013, 10:13:32 pm by BornAgain2 » Report Spam   Logged
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« Reply #8 on: April 29, 2013, 03:49:07 am »

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whose rough senior season only saw a 60 percent connection on field goal attempts, and left him undrafted,

No team will sign him, sorry. Not with a senior season like that! Not to mention the additional baggage he brings with this stupid gay thing.

He's just making noise now because he didn't get drafted because, well, he stunk up his senior season. Your last year, suppose to be your best college year, the year you really want to shine for the NFL scouts, and he could only manage 60%? Not good at all. That's not even good for college.

Quote
A devout Christian who says he keeps a Bible by his bed, he told Outsports.com that he was sent to church-based counseling by his parents, but that it only lasted four sessions. He knew who he was. He says he still regularly attends church on Sunday.

You cannot be devout, and be an active gay too!  Roll Eyes

No question the "counseling" wasn't going to work, as there is no life in those churches. "Can the blind lead the blind...?"
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« Reply #9 on: April 29, 2013, 11:56:16 am »

http://news.yahoo.com/jason-collins-first-openly-gay-major-professional-athlete-154235845.html;_ylt=AwrNUbFOln5RIgMAWSXQtDMD
Jason Collins Is the First Openly Gay Major Professional Athlete
4/29/13

Before today, Jason Collins was known as a 34-year-old center on the NBA's Washington Wizards. But after an historic public admission sure to redefine sexuality in sports, Collins has now become the first openly gay athlete playing in one of the four major sports in North America. As Collins writes in his cover story for this week's Sports Illustrated: "Things can change in an instant, so why not live truthfully?"

Collins's representatives got in touch with SI's Frank Lidtz for a story with quite the backstory — even Jason's twin brother, Jarron, who starred with him at Stanford, was caught by surprise. But Jason Collins seemed to know what kind of week he's about to have — he played a relaxing round of golf this morning before the entire world started to call him about the coming out:

Played golf for the 1st time since Oct on Sun. I broke 100 and had a birdie. Great way to relax before the start of a big week.

— Jason Collins (@jasoncollins34) April 29, 2013
There have been rumors swirling that a handful of players from the NFL were set to come out sometime this summer while that league was struggling to deal with same sex acceptance. Getting ahead of the pack, the NHL made a deal with YouCanPlay, a group advocating sexual equality in the locker room, to help bring the hockey league to forefront of same sex acceptance in sports. But the NBA just leapfrogged them both by becoming the first league with an out athlete. Let the media storm begin, and may the NBA hold up under the pressure. As SI's Jon Wortheim makes clear, this is a big deal — a bigger deal than it should have to be, maybe, but the beginning of something big:

At some point the idea of having no openly gay athletes in a league might sound as unimaginable as a ball field segregated by race. But today Collins becomes the first active male athlete in a major U.S. team sport to come out of the closet. Yes, that's a lot of qualifiers. Yes, it may be an artificial construct. But it is a milestone.
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« Reply #10 on: April 29, 2013, 04:29:49 pm »

No, don't want to elaborate on this too much, but just wanted to add that professional sports, even though watched by all demographics, nonetheless largely appeals to the YOUNGER audiences. No, I'm not trying to belittle the Millenials, but it's toward the youth where the NWO minions aim their indoctrination at. They're doing it via the public schools, movies, music, tv shows, and an example here professional sports. This verse came to mind...

Mat_18:6  But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

White House commends Jason Collins
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/white-house-commends-jason-collins-on-coming-out-as-gay-042913

Bill Clinton asks fans to support Collins
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/bill-clinton-asks-fans-to-support-jason-collins-after-coming-out-as-gay-042913?g1t=39002

NBA's Collins comes out, world reacts(Twitter reactions at bottom of link)
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Jason-Collins-is-first-major-American-pro-sports-athlete-to-come-out-gay-reaction-042913

NFL's Miami Dolphins' Mike Wallace sends out a pair of "ridiculous" tweets
http://msn.foxsports.com/lacesout/mike-wallace-sends-out-a-pair-of-ridiculous-tweets/

« Last Edit: April 29, 2013, 04:34:07 pm by BornAgain2 » Report Spam   Logged
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« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2013, 05:23:23 pm »

http://movies.yahoo.com/news/espns-chris-broussard-calls-homosexuality-sin-during-jason-050000435.html
ESPN's Chris Broussard Calls Homosexuality a Sin During Jason Collins Segment (Video)
17 hours ago

Weird...b/c this article is time-stamped 17 hours ago, which would have been at midnight last night? And this story didn't break until today, when Broussard made this comment? Huh

ESPN's Chris Broussard is getting flack online after he called homosexuality a "sin" during a Monday episode of Outside the Lines.

In a special one-hour episode covering the immediate effects of Washington Wizards center Jason Collins' coming out as a gay man on the cover of Sports Illustrated, Broussard briefly started discussing his personal beliefs about homosexuality.

"If you're openly living that type of lifestyle, the bible says you know them by their fruits, it says that that's a sin," said Broussard, comparing homosexuality to any other sex outside of marriage. "If you're openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, I believe that's walking in open rebellion to God and Jesus Christ."

Broussard was on Outside the Lines to discuss the potential ramifications of an openly gay player in the NBA, and he noted that there were others who felt the way he did who might have reservations about discussing them openly.

"As a Christian, I don't agree with homosexuality. I think it's a sin," said Broussard. "There are a lot of Christians in the NBA, and just because they don't agree with that lifestyle, they don't want to be called bigoted and intolerant."

The 44-year-old ESPN Magazine columnist, who previously wrote that the NBA was "ready" for an openly gay player, Huh has appeared on the network since 2004. When the interview veered towards the more incendiary comments, he notably started falling over some of his words and attempted to pad his religious references with some more diplomatic statements.

"A lot of people understand that it's a politically correct climate," said Broussard. "I've had some players say that they would be uncomfortable with a gay player in the locker room.... but no one is going to necessarily come out and say anything... If he doesn't get signed next year, it probably won't be because he came out as gay. He's towards the end of his career and not that good anymore."

ESPN did not immediately respond to The Hollywood Reporter's request for comment, and Broussard is already drawing a considerable amount of fire online.

The Center for American Progress has already drawn attention to the fact that Broussard's 2009 article on the NBA being ready to welcome openly gay players also noted him being personally uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a locker room with a gay man.
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« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2013, 07:40:59 pm »

Collins' act wows victim's parents
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/jason-collins-matthew-shepard-parents-touched-by-jason-collins-decision-to-wearnumber-98-042913

In his historic coming-out essay Monday, NBA veteran Jason Collins revealed to Sports Illustrated that he wore the number 98 in 38 games this season while playing for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards as an unspoken “sign of solidarity” with the gay community.

He said he did so as a nod to the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ suicide prevention foundation founded in August 1998, and also in memory of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student who was killed in October 1998 in one of the most infamous antigay hate crimes in history.

Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy, had never spoken to or met Collins before receiving an email from David Smith of the Human Rights Campaign with a link to the SI piece Monday morning, but it doesn’t make Collins’ expression of unity any less meaningful.

“It made me cry,” Judy Shepard told FOXSports.com during an interview Monday afternoon. “It was really quite a tribute, and I was very honored. And I know Matt would be thrilled.”

And the Shepards hope, someday, to be able to thank Collins personally for his bravery in opening himself up to the world and honoring their son’s name in the process.

“I would really love to speak to him, because I know Judy and I would just like to thank him,” Dennis Shepard said. “Because, No. 1, he had the courage to come out, period, and No. 2 that he wore 98 in honor of Matt, the year that he died.

“(Collins) couldn’t have been that old (when it happened), so it must have had a tremendous impact on him, the story behind Matt, for him to want to do that. And then to wear it all this time without telling people why until today, that’s incredible.”

For the Shepard family, who started the Matthew Shepard Foundation on Dec. 1, 1998 -- what would have been Matthew’s 22nd birthday -- as a way to promote awareness and positive change with respect to the gay community, progress is vital regardless of where it comes.

In 2009, it came in the form of the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which effectively classified anti-gay crimes as hate crimes.

“It’s a whole different world now from when we first started doing this,” Judy Shepard said. “It’s remarkable in the big picture how fast things have changed, especially since Obama became president. It’s just moved right along at light speed, and it’s really been quite remarkable.”

But to see that motion toward change come in the world of sports, an arena that’s somewhat lacking when it comes to gay rights, was particularly meaningful.

“Hopefully this will start the conversation saying there’s no difference, as long as my team wins, who cares if they’re straight or gay?” Dennis Shepard said. “There have been a lot of athletes that played and were gay, and I have a feeling their teammates knew it and they just didn’t care.”

Added Judy Shepard: “It’s always more challenging in team sports to have the courage to (come out), and I think that once the doors open, the floodgates will literally open. And not just in pro sports, but college and all down the line. It’s just a remarkable step forward.”

That’s a feeling shared by Abbe Land, the executive director and CEO of the Trevor Project, which has fielded more than 200,000 lifeline calls since its inception nearly 15 years ago, including more than 35,000 last year alone.

“(Collins’ coming out) shows young people that they can be basketball players or hockey players or football players, and that he was willing to do that and say he’s going to be who he is when he plays ball is very important,” Land said. “I think it really helps a young person kind of know that they are perfect just the way they are and they can achieve all of their goals and dreams.”

In addition to the 24-hour phone hotline, the Trevor Project also has its own social network, TrevorSpace, which has more than 50,000 active members. So to have a backer like Collins making LGBT youth more aware of their service is immensely important.

“If (Collins) hasn’t reached out to us, we will reach out to him,” Land said. “It’s great when we have folks who have high visibility who support the Trevor Project, because for a lot of young people, these are role models. So for him to say, ‘Here’s a place you can call if you need help,’ is great. … We still have a lot of work to do, but letting young people know that it’s OK to ask for help, that it’s OK to reach out, is very important.”

The goal, of course, for the Matthew Shepard Foundation, the Trevor Project and other organizations like them, is to get to a point where being gay is no longer viewed as controversial and to have the LGBT community be universally accepted. And though it won’t solve the problem altogether, having someone as visible as Jason Collins join that crusade is vitally important.

“You’re starting to see the general flow, that everybody’s realizing that there’s no difference between the straight community and the gay community,” Dennis Shepard said. “It’s just who they love, and for the rest of it, they’re out there, they have a mortgage to pay, they have kids in school, they want to have an ordinary life, retire and then die of old age with a smile on their face, just like everybody else.

“I just hope (Collins’ essay) furthers the cause, not so much for our foundation, but for the population in general, so we can get off this ride of having to worry about being the first, and these stories about who’s going to come out first. Who cares? The only first I want to know is Abbott and Costello.”
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« Reply #13 on: April 30, 2013, 03:01:55 pm »

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/jason-collins-former-fiancee-carolyn-moos-had-no-170001023.html
4/30/13
Jason Collins’ former fiancee, Carolyn Moos, had no idea he was gay

Carolyn Moos says she had no idea that Jason Collins, her longtime boyfriend and fiancee, was actually gay.

In the Sports Illustrated piece featuring his groundbreaking revelation, the 12-year NBA veteran wrote, "When I was younger I dated women. I even got engaged. I thought I had to live a certain way. I thought I needed to marry a woman and raise kids with her. I kept telling myself the sky was red, but I always knew it was blue."

Moos, however, didn't know. The former WNBA player told TMZ that she only found out about Collins' orientation a couple of days before the world did:

Quote
Carolyn tells TMZ, she never once suspected he was gay, so the news is shocking. She says Collins eventually revealed everything last weekend — just days before his big announcement — and said that his homosexuality was the real reason he ended things with her.

At the time of their breakup, Carolyn says Jason gave a bunch of BS reasons for calling it quits ... and she could never understand what went wrong, until now. [...]

"It's very emotional for me as a woman to have invested [eight] years in my dream to have a husband, soul mate, and best friend in him. So this is all hard to understand."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rom 1:20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Rom 1:21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Rom 1:22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Rom 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Rom 1:24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
Rom 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 1:26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
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« Reply #14 on: May 01, 2013, 12:59:20 pm »

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-gay-athlete-fame-20130501,0,924465.story
National gay athlete hall of fame launched in Chicago
5/1/13

Just as Jason Collins, a veteran NBA player, announced he is gay, a hall of fame for gay athletes and allies launched in Chicago.

The nonprofit National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame will accept nominees beginning this summer. Its goal is to honor people and organizations that have "stood up to stereotypes" and embraced gay and lesbian athletes, said Bill Gubrud, executive director and board chairman.

"We're not just going to honor gay athletes, but other athletes who helped those gay athletes along and provided a safe haven," Gubrud said.

When asked if he thought Collins would be nominated and inducted this year, Gubrud said: "I would hope so."

Gubrud, of Chicago, said the organization could honor deceased players and advocates such as gay MLB outfielder Glenn Burke, credited with introducing the high-five. Burke's sexuality wasn't widely known until after his playing career.

Nominees can be from any sporting level, from youth leagues to professional sports. The nomination form can be found at gayandlesbiansports.com.

Gubrud, who said he is gay, has been a Little League coach and is a die-hard Cubs fan. He said he hopes his organization can help debunk the stereotype that gay people don't like sports.

The induction ceremony for the National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame will be Aug. 2 at the Center on Halsted, the day before Out at Wrigley, a gay and lesbian day at Wrigley Field, which is also a Gubrud-organized event.

The nonprofit also hopes to start outreach programs in schools and park districts. It's still in the market for a center to display the hall of famers and detail the history of gay athletes. For now it will be housed at the Center on Halsted.

"All the hall of fames have a special section in there for women or for African-Americans," Gubrud said. "No one has a section for gay and lesbian (athletes and allies)."
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« Reply #15 on: May 01, 2013, 05:14:28 pm »

 Roll Eyes
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« Reply #16 on: May 01, 2013, 06:02:12 pm »

What I don't get about the whole homosexual agenda is that these people have to act like it's some "coming out party". From what I understand, Jason Collins was living a double life for quite some time, even hiding his other life from his girlfriend/fiancé for 7 years(until he broke up with her). Even his girlfriend/finance had no idea why at the time, nor had any idea he was gay.

But look at the flip side of the coin - when Kobe Bryant confessed his infidelities 10 years ago, the media slammed him. It wasn't like the world threw him a "congratulations" party for having some courage to confess his sins. I can name several other examples - but when it comes to the homosexual agenda, it's as if we're supposed to congratulate these people despite the fact they did all the wrong for years prior to their coming out.

And just for the same of argument here - if the homosexual movement wants to be integrated with the rest of the normal society, then why don't they just act normal? For example, do you see straight people come out and say, "Look at me, I'm heterosexual!". No, they just go on with their daily lives.

I know the world behaves this way, but nonetheless you see how strongly persistent the pro-gay lobby is. Ultimately, they want control, and nothing else. No wonder why this agenda was part of the Communist Manifesto to begin with.
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« Reply #17 on: May 01, 2013, 06:23:28 pm »

They really pouring it on now!...(from their position on this, there is nothing Christian about that group. It appears that they are a gay front group)

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/christian-group-calls-espn-writers-suspension-jason-collins-213013743.html

Quote
Christian Group Calls for ESPN Writer's Suspension After Jason Collins Anti-Gay Remarks

The WrapBy Tim Kenneally | The Wrap – 1 hour 47 minutes ago

A Christian Group is calling for the suspension of ESPN the Magazine writer Chris Broussard, after Broussard told an interviewer that gay NBA player Jason Collins can't be a Christian because of his sexual orientation.

A group called Faithful America (motto: "Love thy neighbor. No exceptions.") has launched an online petition asking for ESPN to suspend Broussard for comments he made on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" on Monday, after Collins came out in an op-ed for Sports Illustrated.

"Chris Broussard's hateful attack on Jason Collins for being gay was an unacceptable misrepresentation of the Christian faith," the petition reads. "ESPN must immediately suspend Chris Broussard and guarantee that their network will never again be used for gay bashing."

Broussard drew a fair amount of Twitter reaction on Monday, when he said that homosexuality constitutes "open rebellion to God."

"Personally, I don't believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle, or an openly premarital sex between heterosexuals ... if you're openly living that kind of lifestyle, then the Bible says you know them by their fruits. It says that that's a sin," Broussard said. "And if you're openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be -- not just homosexuality, [but] adultery, fornication, premarital sex, whatever it may be --  I believe that's walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. So I would not characterize that person as a Christian, because I don't think the Bible would characterize him as a Christian."

ESPN told TheWrap in a statement Tuesday that it supports Collins' coming out, but stopped short of condemning Broussard's comments, calling them part of "a respectful discussion of personal viewpoints."

"We regret that a respectful discussion of personal viewpoints became a distraction from Monday's news.  ESPN is fully committed to diversity and welcomes Jason Collins' announcement," the company said.

As of this writing, the petition has attracted 20,440 signatures, out of a goal of 25,000.
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« Reply #18 on: May 01, 2013, 06:31:35 pm »

Looks like we ain't seen nothin' yet!(in terms of persecution)

But nonetheless you see the persistency of the pro-gay lobby, they are worse than the anti-gun lobby!
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« Reply #19 on: May 01, 2013, 09:26:37 pm »

MoveOn.org Petition: ESPN Must 'Immediately Suspend' Broussard for 'Gay Bashing'
5/1/13
http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-Sports/2013/05/01/Move-On-Petition-Calls-On-ESPN-To-Immediately-Suspend-Broussard

MoveOn.org has started a petition to get ESPN reporter Chris Broussard immediately suspended from the network for comments he made regarding Jason Collins's homosexuality, which Broussard said was a sin according to his personal Christian beliefs. The group said Broussard was engaging in "gay bashing."

The petition reads:
Chris Broussard's hateful attack on Jason Collins for being gay was an unacceptable misrepresentation of the Christian faith. ESPN must immediately suspend Chris Broussard and guarantee that their network will never again be used for gay bashing.

In its "petition background" statement, the left-wing organization says that after Jason Collins "emphasized the importance of his Christian faith in accepting himself and deciding to come out," ESPN's Broussard "attacked" Collins.

"Shockingly, so far ESPN is standing by Broussard, describing his tirade as 'a respectful discussion of personal viewpoints,'" they write. "ESPN needs to hear immediately that it's unacceptable to turn Christian faith into a weapon of anti-gay hatred."

After ESPN expressed "regret" after Broussard, speaking to his friend and sports reporter/editor LZ Granderson, who is openly gay, said he believed those who are gay or have premarital sex are were "walking in open rebellion to God." Granderson has repeatedly said that those on the left  need to accept viewpoints, like Broussard's, that may be different from theirs. Broussard, after making his remarks on Monday's "Outside the Lines," later respectfully defended his personal Christian beliefs in a statement on Twitter.
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« Reply #20 on: May 01, 2013, 10:34:45 pm »

When it rains, it pours...

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/05/01/Chicago-Tribune-Columnist-Demands-Bears-Player-Explain-Position-On-Jason-Collins
5/1/13
Chicago Tribune Writer: Bears Player Must 'Explain' Position on Jason Collins

Of everything I've read surrounding Jason Collins, the NBA center who came out publicly as gay Monday, this column by The Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom is by far the most disgraceful piece of yellow journalism I've come across yet. Nothing blossoms the left's fascist streak faster than their own sense of puffed up sanctimony, and it is pretty obvious Collins's decision to come out has Rosenbloom puffed up in nine different ways. 

In a Tuesday column, Rosenbloom publicly "outed" Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs for having the gall to not express an opinion on the Collins episode. Apparently, a number of Briggs' Twitter followers peppered the football player on the issue and in response Briggs (or whoever handles his Twitter feed) responded with non-responses such as, "How about those Bulls!!"

Obviously, Briggs' unwillingness to express a personal opinion outraged Rosenbloom to no end. The writer not only took to Twitter to badger Briggs for an explanation and devoted a column to his non-answer, but Rosenbloom also decided to publicly declare that there can be only two ways to explain the football star's truculent silence:

One, Briggs might be offering a meta-message meant to say that a player’s sexuality is not an issue.

Or two, Briggs might be a homophobe and intolerant.


One wonders why Rosenbloom is so subtle, when we all know what he really means: It is time for the villagers to come together, capture Briggs, tie him to a chair, and dunk the suspect in water. If he floats, he is guilty; if he drowns, he is innocent.

But Rosenbloom is so flush with his own McCarthyism, he doesn't stop there. He takes it a step further to pressure Briggs' employer, the Chicago Bears, to demand a public explanation:

The Bears should encourage Briggs to explain, lest they get cast as clinging to intolerant beliefs as useless as a Lamborghini cracked up on the side of the Edens. A Bears source said Briggs’ Twitter account is ghostwritten some of the time (maybe that’s who deleted those tweets), but the source told me the team, trying since Monday, has not been able to reach Briggs for an explanation.

This is the left's America, folks, where your vote is no longer sacred and private.

Citizen, it is no longer enough to stay politely silent!

Citizen, it is no longer enough to keep your opinions to yourself!

Citizen, it is no longer enough to choose to stay out of it!

(Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm about to mix my metaphors…)

No, Citizen, you must either tell us where you stand or face The Wrath of Rosenbloom and the Chicago Tribune in Room 101…

Where they will abuse their media power to paint you with a scarlet "H."

Unless, of course, you do the right thing and … agree with them.
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« Reply #21 on: May 02, 2013, 02:44:50 am »

Amazing. Not only will they go after you if you oppose them, they attack you if you don't support them. Go with no comment, suddenly your a homophobe!  Roll Eyes
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« Reply #22 on: May 02, 2013, 12:52:08 pm »

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/dish/201305/robbie-rogers-la-galaxy
Robbie Rogers Ponders Return To MLS
Wednesday, May 1, 2013 7:25 pm

Amid all the hype surrounding NBA veteran Jason Collins' revelation of his sexuality, another gay athlete is quietly training for what could be a return to professional sports.

Robbie Rogers, the 25-year-old midfielder who came out in February, played for five seasons in the MLS before moving to Europe. He struggled with Leeds United and Stevenage, leading to his retirement earlier this year. In a blog post, Rogers said he wanted to "discover myself away from football."

Rogers, who has tallied 18 caps for the U.S. national team, recently asked Los Angeles Galaxy coach Bruce Arena about training with the team. Arena extended an open invitation to the Southern California native, and Rogers worked out with the squad this week.

more
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« Reply #23 on: May 02, 2013, 07:36:08 pm »

Lesbian Athlete Says NBA Player Will Save Lives with Announcement That He Is Gay
5/1/13
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/lesbian-athlete-says-nba-player-will-save-lives-announcement-he-gay

(CNSNews.com) – Retired lesbian tennis star Martina Navratilova reacted to NBA star Jason Collins’ announcement Monday that he is homosexual by writing a commentary stating that his “coming out” will save lives.

“Collins' action will save lives,” Navratilova wrote in a column on Sports Illustrated’s website the same day of Collins’ announcement. “This is no exaggeration: Fully one third of suicides among teenagers occur because of their sexuality.”

Navratilova called it a “watershed moment.”

“Collins will truly affect lives, too,” Navratilova said. “Millions of kids will see that it is OK to be gay.

“No need for shame, no need for embarrassment, no need for hiding,” Navratilova said.

In an interview on NPR’s “All Thing Considered” on Tuesday, anchor Melissa Block asked Navratilova about her commentary.

“You actually said in your column in Sports Illustrated that Jason Collins won’t just be a role model,” Block said. “You said he will save lives.”

“Well, it has happened,” Navratilova said. “I mean, I don’t want to make it about me, but I’ve gotten letters over the years from men and women saying, ‘You saved my life. I was ready to commit suicide, because I thought I was the only one that was like this, and then I saw you on TV or read about you,’ whatever.

“And now this is going to happen again,” Navratilova said. “So there’s no doubt in my mind that this will save some kid’s life.”

In his “coming out” essay, which will be in the May 6 issue of Sports Illustrated, Collins credits Massachusetts Democrat Congressman Joe Kennedy for inspiring his announcement.

“I realized I needed to go public when Joe Kennedy, my old roommate at Stanford and now a Massachusetts congressman, told me he had just marched in Boston's 2012 Gay Pride Parade,” Collins wrote. “I'm seldom jealous of others, but hearing what Joe had done filled me with envy.

“I was proud of him for participating but angry that as a closeted gay man I couldn't even cheer my straight friend on as a spectator,” Collins wrote.

Collins had a longtime girlfriend, Carolyn Moos, whom he met at Stanford University where they both played basketball. The couple was engaged, but Collins called off the engagement in 2009.
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« Reply #24 on: May 04, 2013, 01:14:46 pm »

** = my comments

Young gay athletes set tone for NBA coming out
5/4/13
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/young-gay-athletes-set-tone-155251466--spt.html

CHICAGO (AP) -- You've probably never heard of Holly Peterson or Jonathan Jean-Pierre. One came out as a lesbian at age 15, when she was playing high school basketball. The other, a college rower, told his teammates last year that he's gay.

There was little fanfare for either. There were no headlines as there were this past week when NBA player Jason Collins declared that he is gay, making him the first in a major U.S. men's professional sport to come out.

Some are calling Collins a role model for this up-and-coming generation of gay and lesbian athletes. But in some ways, those young athletes and their supporters also have helped pave the way for pros like Collins.

''Change is coming from the top down, but it's also coming from the bottom up,'' says Ellen Staurowsky, a professor of sport management at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

''It is a movement that's taken place quietly,'' she adds, ''on teams, in athletic departments with some coaches and athletes standing up when they needed to ... It's an accumulated movement over many, many decades.''


**Title IX, which was pushed by the feminist movement in the 70's, played a big part.

Awareness of homosexuality in athletics started to grow, slowly, Staurowsky says, in the 1970s on college campuses. Then in the early 1980s, tennis star Billie Jean King was outed, and Martina Navratilova also came out as a lesbian.

As a small number of high-profile athletes followed suit in years to come, Gene Smith, the athletic director at Ohio State University, says he and others began to notice a shift in momentum on college campuses by the mid-1990s. More young athletes were feeling empowered to be open about their sexuality, he says, and the trend has only grown.

''I think it was easier on certain teams, and it kind of evolved over time,'' says Smith, who was the athletic director at Eastern Michigan University and Iowa State University before going to Ohio State.

For some, like Holly Peterson, an athlete who grew up outside Sacramento, Calif., coming out happened even earlier in life. She made the decision to tell her family and friends that she's a lesbian 14 years ago, when she was a sophomore in high school.

''I was ready,'' says Peterson, who's now 29. ''I needed to tell someone.''

Her team and coach responded well, she says, though her parents removed her from her traveling basketball team and, instead, used the money they'd spent on that for therapy.

Eventually, though, her parents came to terms with her sexual orientation - and she went on to play college basketball at the University of California, Riverside, where she also lived her life openly.

While there, she recalls speaking on a panel with other gay and lesbian athletes - and how other women athletes on her campus told her that she'd given them the courage to come out, too.

''That was huge for me,'' says Peterson, who now plays women's professional tackle football. ''That was really the first step in my looking at myself as a role model and someone who could make a difference.''

Several campuses - among them Princeton, the University of Michigan and the University of California, Berkeley - now have groups for gay and lesbian athletes.

There are groups, too, for straight allies, including Athlete Ally, an organization for straight athletes who publicly back their lesbian and gay peers
.

The website for another organization, the You Can Play Project, includes videos of support from athletic directors, coaches and athletes from colleges and universities across the country.

''If you can play, you can play,'' is the tagline repeated over and over in those videos.

If you come out, you also might get an endorsement deal.

Just days after Brittney Griner came out as a lesbian, sportswear company Nike Inc. announced a deal with Griner, the WNBA's No. 1 draft pick who'll soon graduate from Baylor University
.

**Just a side note - IMHO, JC Penny's business profits didn't plummet b/c they embraced SSM...it's b/c their products stink. Otherwise, we would have seen the same results with other corporations that are embracing this very same issue.

Not that it's always easy for gay and lesbian athletes.

Jonathan Jean-Pierre, a member of the rowing team at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, says his teammates have never given him any trouble about being gay.

''But sometimes I still feel like I have to work twice as hard to prove myself,'' says the 19-year-old athlete, who plans to discuss these and other issues as a participant of a summit for gay and lesbian athletes that Nike will host next month for the athletes, coaches and college athletic directors.

While more gay and lesbian athletes are coming out, Smith at Ohio State also notes that his school remains among those where a gay athlete has yet to come out on the football, men's basketball, hockey or wrestling teams.

That, he and others say, is where pro athletes like Collins may have particular influence, especially if Collins, who is a free agent, signs with a team next season.

''There are certainly other closeted athletes who are looking to Jason Collins to see what will happen with him,'' says Hudson Taylor, a former collegiate wrestler who, as a straight supporter of his gay and lesbian peers, founded Athlete Ally.

Either way, many - including skater Johnny Weir, who announced he was gay after the last winter Olympics - expect that Collins' revelation will have a positive impact on young gay and lesbian athletes, partly because so many people are aware of it.

''I'm envious of it,'' the 28-year-old Weir says, because there wasn't ''as much craze'' when he came out. ''But I do really respect it.''

Smith at Ohio State says he, too, has great respect for the athletes at his school who continue to come out. He recalls, for instance, how a member of the university's track team named Derrick Anderson recently announced that he's gay at a school forum.

That said, he hopes that, one day, coming out in such a public way won't be necessary - that gay and straight athletes and other students can simply coexist.

''That's a long ways away,'' Smith says. ''But I think we're making good progress.''
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« Reply #25 on: May 04, 2013, 02:20:42 pm »

OK, both Butler and the news media seem to be making a *big secret* over the NAME of the CHURCH that shunned him after he tweeted support for Collins. And in addition, this "church" paid him $8500 to speak there? Shouldn't Butler know that b/c he's freely received, he should freely give?

"test the spirits..."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sn-leroy-butler-church-jason-collins-20130502,0,700005.story
LeRoy Butler says church shunned him after Jason Collins tweet
5/2/13

Former Green Bay Packers safety LeRoy Butler says a church he was scheduled to speak at canceled his appearance after Butler sent out a tweet in support of Jason Collins, the NBA player who said earlier this week that he was gay.

According to Butler, not long after sending the following tweet: "Congrats to Jason Collins", Butler got a call from a member of the church and was told the church would cancel his presentation unless he removed the tweet, apologized and asked for God's forgiveness.

"This is what bothers me the most. They said, 'If you ask for forgiveness and remove the tweet and you say something to the effect that you don't congratulate Collins, then we'll let you do the engagement and get the speaker's fee, and I said I'm not doing that," Butler told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Wednesday.

"Every gay and lesbian person will say, 'You know, LeRoy doesn't speak up for the weak or the silenced. He doesn't stand for anything as a man and he did it for money.' Why would you ask me to reduce my integrity like that?"

Butler, who refused to name the church other than to say it is in Wisconsin, said he was to be paid $8,500 to give an anti-bullying talk.

When he pointed out the church's attempt to force him to back down was an example of the kind of treatment he had planned to talk about at the church, the church official said, "He disagreed, and I said, 'We agree to disagree,' and he said, 'No, I'm right and you're wrong.' "
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« Reply #26 on: May 05, 2013, 06:35:51 am »

But he won't name the church. Figures. Coward. He should he ashamed for sticking up a church for a speaking fee! (and the church is stupid for wasting money on speakers.)

I applaud the church, if it ever happened, for changing their minds and telling him no thanks.

Imagine how much food and other items $8,500 could buy for those that truly have a need. This idiot is an ex-pro athlete, like he needs money!  Roll Eyes
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« Reply #27 on: May 06, 2013, 11:42:48 am »

Vikings could give Chris Kluwe the boot today
5/6/13
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/vikings-could-chris-kluwe-boot-120052932--nfl.html

The end is coming for Chris Kluwe and he knew that nine days ago when the Minnesota Vikings drafted another punter in the fifth round.

Unless the Vikings deemed UCLA’s Jeff Locke a failure coming out of rookie minicamp over the weekend, Kluwe should be gone. For his sake, the sooner the better as it may take some time for him to find a new job.

“Most teams generally don’t draft a punter in the fifth round unless that’s who they’re going to go with,” Kluwe said, according to Chip Scoggins of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “They said they would let me know Monday after the rookie minicamp.”

Originally, general manager Rick Spielman talked about a desire to create competition. But that is not likely to happen and the fact is the team desired an upgrade over Kluwe, who was inconsistent at times last season.

All along, Kluwe has been an outspoken member of the locker room. He’s gotten the most attention for his support of gay marriage rights, but he’s also stumped for Ray Guy in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and when a 2010 game was moved from the Metrodome to the University of Minnesota, he openly questioned the safety of the field the team was forced to use. The Vikings have been adamant their decision is football-based only.

“This is me,” Kluwe told Scoggins. “I pay attention to what goes on in the world, and I like to speak up when I see something. No single thing that I do defines me as a person. Just because I play football, that doesn’t define me as a person.”

We’ll see if Kluwe gets the word today.
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« Reply #28 on: May 06, 2013, 02:54:38 pm »

Collins to headline LGBT event
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/jason-collins-to-headline-democratic-lgbt-fundraiser-050613
5/6/13

The Democratic National Committee says NBA veteran Jason Collins will headline its annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender gala.

Last week, Collins became the first active player in any of four major U.S. professional sports leagues to come out as gay. President Barack Obama called the 34-year-old athlete the same day to congratulate him and tell him he was proud of his courage.

The DNC says first lady Michelle Obama will also attend the May 29 fundraiser in New York. Tickets start at $1,250 per person and go up to $32,400 per couple to chair the event.

The DNC included a call to legalize same-sex marriage in the party's convention platform last year.

Collins has played for six teams in 12 seasons and is now a free agent.
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« Reply #29 on: May 13, 2013, 01:17:27 pm »

Julian Bond, Brendon Ayanbadejo make robocalls to back IL gay-marriage bill
http://www.suntimes.com/20073722-418/julian-bond-brendon-ayanbadejo-make-robocalls-to-back-gay-marriage-bill.html
5/13/13

Two pro-gay-marriage robocalls — one by a former Chicago Bears player and another by a civil rights leader — are expected to go out in the districts of Illinois House Black Caucus members on Monday, urging support for gay marriage legislation that’s still awaiting a vote in that chamber in the waning days of the session.

One of the calls features civil rights leader Julian Bond; the other, onetime Bears player Brendon Ayanbadejo.

The calls aim to persuade constituents to get in touch with their lawmakers and urge a “yes” vote on a pending gay-marriage bill.

It combats recent efforts by gay-marriage opponents who already have put out two rounds of robocalls featuring the Rev. James Meeks, a powerful fixture in the black community.

Monday’s robocalls are just the latest effort to target Black Caucus members in the ongoing debate over whether Illinois should legalize same-sex marriage.

Several Republicans have committed to crossing over and voting “yes,” potentially leaving the Black Caucus with critical sway over the issue.

The measure easily passed the Illinois Senate in February, when Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) calling the bill on Valentine’s Day. The vote tallies are trickier in the Illinois House, with numbers reaching just below 60 or just at 60 in unofficial counts.

With just three weeks left in the session, both sides are working to line up support. Earlier this session, the Chicago-based African American Clergy Coalition joined forces with the National Organization for Marriage, pooling resources in opposition.

“I believe that most of your family-oriented organizations thought, erroneously, the majority of the African-American community is behind a liberal agenda, period,” Bishop Lance Davis, senior pastor of the New Zion Christian Fellowship Church of Dolton, told the Chicago Sun-Times last month. “They found out the African-American church is very conservative.”

Gay-rights activists, working under the umbrella coalition of Illinois Unites for Marriage, are pushing for the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation, which Gov. Pat Quinn has said he would sign. Illinois Unites for Marriage paid for the new round of robocalls.

Ayanbedejo, a three-time pro-bowler, has been an outspoken supporter of gay rights and made national headlines last month announcing that a group of NFL players were prepared to come out in the days after NBA player Jason Collins’ revelation. In his call, Ayanbedejo — who was born in Illinois — touches on being the son of a biracial couple whose relationship was once illegal in this country.

“It’s time to take those steps once again in Illinois. We need to let the world know that Illinois accepts all people regardless of who they love,” he says in the call.

Bond’s involvement, meanwhile, underscores gay-rights’ advocates argument that the modern-day same-sex marriage movement is akin to fighting for racial equality during the nation’s civil rights era.

In recent weeks, some members of the Black Caucus have come out in support of gay marriage, including Illinois Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago), who signed on as a co-sponsor to the pending bill.

The calls will target constituents in 17 House districts that include Dunkin’s; Monique Davis; Will Davis; Marcus Evans; Mary Flowers; LaShawn Ford; Esther Golar; Chuck Jefferson; Derrick Smith, and Art Turner, in addition to others.
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