In a new interview with 20 Minutos, Spanish water polo star Víctor Gutiérrez opens up about his coming out experience as well as the bullying he endured as a child and still to this day.
“When I was eight years old it was the first time they called me a f*ggot,” he recalls. “I didn’t even know what it meant. I had to ask.”
Gutiérrez came out publicly in 2016. He remains one of only a few professional water polo players in Europe to do so. Looking back, he says sharing his truth was “the most courageous and important decision of my life.”
But that doesn’t mean it has been easy.
Gutiérrez says he still faces a lot of homophobia from certain players, including one teammate who told him, “I’d rather have a son with Down Syndrome than a f*ggot.”
Last year, he took to social media to call out a rival player who made homophobic remarks during a match between CN Terrassa, for which Gutiérrez plays, and CN Sabadell.
Gutiérrez reported the comments to the referees. Per Spanish Swimming Federation rules, the incident should have been officially noted. Instead, the whole thing went unpunished.
“This happens every day in swimming pools, soccer fields, tennis courts,” Gutiérrez said at the time. “And it is not only experienced by professionals, but also by children.”
Speaking to 20 Minutos, Gutiérrez says that, despite the abuse he’s suffered, he still has hope for the future, saying it’s possible to “reach the sport’s elite as an LGBTQ person.”
But, he adds, “this fight is not just for LGTBQ people. It is a matter for everyone. I invite everyone to become an agent of change and fight for a society that is free from homophobia.”
If there’s one thing that’s certain in this chaotic world, it’s that scientists know there’s simply no real reason to blanket ban trans athletes from sports.
he vexing debate over trans people kicking a ball or running for a few seconds has increasingly engulfed the minds of lawmakers and pundits.
Yet while research is still scant on the area, advocacy groups and many sports governing bodies generally agree that trans people playing sports is a non-issue.
After all, sport is unfair. Some athletes have naturally advantages, such as height, while others have access to better coaching and resources.
Anti-trans bans invite ‘gender policing’, say activists
For the most part, trans women need to undergo hormone therapy for at least one year to complete. Even then, testosterone, long associated with strength, isn’t even the reason for some performance differences in the first place, studies have suggested.
Last year, for example, the International Olympic Committee released new guidelines that said there is no need for trans women to lower their testosterone to compete against cisgender women.
The framework also applies to women with differences in sex development, such as Caster Semenya, the 800-metre runner told by World Athletics she can only compete if she alters her natural hormones.
No wonder Semenya’s career took a hit, the American Civil Liberties Union says, as “excluding women who are trans hurts all women”.
“It invites gender policing that could subject any woman to invasive tests or accusations of being ‘too masculine’ or ‘too good’ at their sport to be a ‘real’ woman,” the advocacy group said in a statement.
South African 800 metre Olympic champion Caster Semenya. (PHILL MAGAKOE/AFP via Getty)
The effects of this can already be seen. According to the US Trans Survey, 22 per cent of trans women who were perceived as trans in school were abused so badly they had to leave school because of it.
The ACLU said that most efforts, whether it be by some sporting regulators or lawmakers, to ban trans women from sports are overwhelmingly based on “harmful” myths.
While research suggests that some trans women have residual physiological advantages, the few trans athletes who compete in top sports tell a different story.
An analysis by The Independent found that Lia Thomas, whose very existence has become a culture war as a college swimmer, doesn’t have an unfair advantage over cis women.
She hasn’t broken as many records as pundits may want you to think, the analysis found, and her times are often on par with cis women – and way below those of cis men.
In American women’s college sports, there are around 200,000 athletes competing. Of them, one researcher estimated, there are about 50 trans people.
Caster Semenya: Sports bodies that exclude trans women are ‘on the wrong side of history’
Doctors, academics, and sports psychologists, meanwhile, told ALCU that such bans balloon an apparent problem that doesn’t exist and, in doing so, foster division within sports.
They stress that sex can greatly vary women person to person – there is no one way a women’s body can be.
Many who rally to ban trans athletes shout that gender is defined by biological sex. But scientists have long said that biological sex isn’t so straightforward and there is no single biological factor that defines a person’s sex.
“A person’s genetic make-up and internal and external reproductive anatomy are not useful indicators of athletic performance,” said Dr Joshua Safer.
“There is no inherent reason why her physiological characteristics related to athletic performance should be treated differently from the physiological characteristics of a non-transgender woman.”
Even when the so-called advantages trans athletes hold are trumpeted by critics, when it comes to elite sports, it’s almost inevitable that a top athlete holds an edge over their peers.
Michael Phelps is a textbook example of this, researchers say. The towering swimmer has a 6’7″ wingspan, flipper-grade size 14 feet and produces half the lactic acid of his competitors, giving him almost superhuman stamina.
Many governing bodies require trans athletes to undergo some form of hormone suppression for a certain number of years. But this is a demand that the United Nations see as “unnecessary, humiliating and harmful”.
The council warned sporting officials “to refrain from developing and enforcing policies and practices that force, coerce or otherwise pressure women and girl athletes into undergoing unnecessary, humiliating and harmful medical procedures in order to participate in women’s events in competitive sports”.
Stonewall recommended to PinkNews that sports embrace a “case-by-case” approach to regulating trans people taking part in sports.
The International Federation of Sports Medicine, which represents 125,000 physicians in 117 countries, agrees.
Given that there is little data on the apparent advantages trans women have, the commission suggested last year that each sport regulate itself rather than blanket banning trans women from the competitive sport altogether.
“Excluding female athletes or endangering our health solely because of our natural abilities puts World Athletics on the wrong side of history,” Semenya said in 2020 as she took her exclusion to the European Court of Human Rights.
“I will continue to fight for the human rights of female athletes, both on the track and off the track, until we can all run free the way we were born.
“I know what is right and will do all I can to protect basic human rights, for young girls everywhere.”
Liberal Queensland senator Matt Canavan reportedly told the newspaper: “I support senator Chandler’s bill.”
He added: “I think [the bill] represents millions of Australians, especially Australian women who don’t want to see their daughters work hard, try hard, get up early to become the elite at their [sport] and then someone with a clear biological advantage can just beat them.”
South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic referenced the bill in an email to supporters, alleging that the Labor Party “are already pushing for this ideological agenda to be taught in schools, they want men to be able to play in women’s sports, enter women’s private spaces and erode the sex-based rights and protections of Australian women and girls”.
Morrison also seemed to support the bill, stating that he “shares” the views of Chandler and Deves with regards to the proposed legislation, however he has since said that there are no plans to expand the bill in parliament.
He explained that the proposal >was only a private member’s bill and that “the government doesn’t have any plans for that to be a government bill.”
A spokesperson for trans youth charity Mermaids said: “Trans women do not have an unfair advantage in sports and their participation does not harm trans women.
“To even be considered eligible to compete at an elite level, female trans athletes must undergo hormone therapy and rigorous testing for at least a year prior to training and competing.
“As we’ve seen with athletes such as Lia Thomas and Laurel Hubbard, who’ve both been beaten by cis-female athletes in their respective sports, being trans does not guarantee a win.”
Ben Holmstrom, a minor league professional hockey player with New York’s Rochester Americans team, has received an eight-game suspension from the American Hockey League (AHL) for using homophobic language. Some online commenters have said the punishment isn’t enough.
The 34-year-old player was heard using anti-gay language against Comets forward Chase De Leo at the end of the first period in their March 30 game. The exact language Holmstrom used is unclear, but his team’s general manager, Jason Karmonos, acknowledged the incident in a statement.
“We were made aware of an inappropriate comment made by one of our players in a recent game. Once aware, we took immediate action through numerous conversations with the player, team, and league,” Karmonos wrote. “To be clear, we have no tolerance for any form of hate and regret any harm his comment inflicted. We strive to maintain an inclusive environment in which our differences are celebrated. We have sought counseling and awareness resources for the player.”
The “awareness resources” will include “diversity and inclusion education” for Holmstrom, the AHL wrote in a statement.
While some web commenters expressed appreciation for the AHL’s swift action, others noted that San Jose Barracuda forward Krystof Hrabik received a 30-game suspension for allegedly directing racism towards Tuscon Roadrunners forward Boko Imama. Imama is Black.
“Hrabik got 30 games for a racist gesture. Holmstrom gets eight games for a homophobic slur,” wrote Twitter user @SeanOBrien81. “Not exactly holding everyone to the same standard, are we? To be clear, Holmstrom should not be getting a significantly lighter suspension here.”
Holmstrom has already sat out from five games, according to the Los Angeles Blade. He will remain suspended from the ice until April 19, when the Americans face the Springfield Thunderbirds.
A 2021 study of LGBTQ athletes found that 70 percent of 820 out queer student-athletes had heard anti-LGBTQ language from teammates before coming out. However, the same study found that 82 percent reported positive experiences after coming out, including acceptance and support from their teammates.
As such, the study suggests that sports teams may actually be accepting of LGBTQ players, even if their teammates have used anti-queer language.
In July 2021, the Nashville Predators defenseman Luke Prokop made history by becoming the first active National Hockey League (NHL) player to come out as gay. While that’s a big deal for a major league, he’s definitely in the minority.
Rainbow flags could be taken from fans at the World Cup in Qatar to protect them from being attacked for promoting gay rights, a senior leader overseeing security for the tournament told The Associated Press.
Major General Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Ansari insisted that LGBTQ couples would be welcomed and accepted in Qatar for the Nov. 21-Dec. 18 FIFA showpiece despite same-sex relations remaining criminalized in the conservative Gulf nation.
But Al Ansari is against the overt promotion of LGBTQ freedoms as symbolized by the rainbow flag that FIFA and World Cup organizers had previously said would be welcome across Qatar’s eight stadiums.
“If he (a fan) raised the rainbow flag and I took it from him, it’s not because I really want to, really, take it, to really insult him, but to protect him,” Al Ansari told the AP. “Because if it’s not me, somebody else around him might attack (him) … I cannot guarantee the behavior of the whole people. And I will tell him: ‘Please, no need to really raise that flag at this point.’”
Al Ansari is director of the Department of International Cooperation and Chairman of the National Counterterrorism Committee at the Ministry of Interior where he discussed World Cup planning for an hour with the AP.
“You want to demonstrate your view about the (LGBTQ) situation, demonstrate it in a society where it will be accepted,” he said. “We realize that this man got the ticket, comes here to watch the game, not to demonstrate, a political (act) or something which is in his mind.
“Watch the game. That’s good. But don’t really come in and insult the whole society because of this.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said this week in Doha that “everyone will see that everyone is welcome here in Qatar, even if we speak about LGBTQ.”
Al Ansari said he is not telling LGBTQ fans to stay away from Qatar or warning them of facing prosecution.
“Reserve the room together, sleep together — this is something that’s not in our concern,” he said. “We are here to manage the tournament. Let’s not go beyond, the individual personal things which might be happening between these people … this is actually the concept.
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“Here we cannot change the laws. You cannot change the religion for 28 days of World Cup.”
When it was pointed out that visiting fans and teams could take offense to the comments, Al Ansari said he did not view himself as being discriminatory.
“I am risking … a minority view against a majority,” he said. “We have to be close to the problem before it erupts and gets out of control. … If somebody attacks you, then I have to get involved and it will be too late.”
FIFA chief social responsibility and education officer Joyce Cook told the AP in 2020 that “rainbow flags, T-shirts will all be welcome in the stadium — that’s a given. They understand very well that is our stance.” World Cup chief executive Nasser Al-Khater also said “we will respect” FIFA guidelines on allowing rainbow flags.
But Al Ansari’s comments about the confiscation of fans’ rainbow flags have created confusion for activists, including Chris Paouros, a member of the English Football Association’s inclusion advisory board and trustee with the anti-discrimination group, Kick It Out, which want a safe and inclusive tournament.
“This inconsistency and the continued lack of detail in terms of how that will be provided beyond the rhetoric of ‘everyone is welcome’ is concerning to say the least,” Paouros said.
The FARE network, which monitors games for discrimination, called for the freedoms of fans to be respected at the World Cup.
“The idea that the flag, which is now a recognized universal symbol of diversity and equality, will be removed from people to protect them will not be considered acceptable, and will be seen as a pretext,” FARE executive director Piara Powar said. “I have been to Qatar on numerous occasions and do not expect the local Qatari population or fans visiting for the World Cup to be attacked for wearing the rainbow flag. The bigger danger comes from state actions.”
During a special session called specifically to consider a veto override, both Republican-controlled chambers of the state Legislature met the two-thirds threshold to revive the bill.
The measure passed 21-8 in the Senate and 56-18 in the House. Ten Republicans in Utah’s state House and five in the state Senate who had previously voted against the bill changed their votes to support the bill during the override session. Both chambers voted on Friday without additional debate.
The legislation is slated to go into effect July 1.
Under the forthcoming law, transgender girls will be prohibited from playing on school sports teams aligning with their gender identity. The bill’s language bars “a student of the male sex from competing against another school on a team designated for female students.” It defines “sex” as the “biological, physical condition of being male or female, determined by an individual’s genetics and anatomy at birth.”
Lawmakers passed the bill earlier this month in the final hours of their legislative session.
The veto override vote came just days after Republican Gov. Spencer Cox penned a heartfelt letter to legislators in which he said he’d been moved by data showing that including transgender youth in sports could reduce suicide rates within the group.
“I don’t understand what they are going through or why they feel the way they do. But I want them to live. And all the research shows that even a little acceptance and connection can reduce suicidality significantly,” Cox wrote.
US basketball icon Brittney Griner’s detention has been extended for another two months, according to a state news agency.
The Olympic gold medallist and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star has been held in Moscow since February when customs officials allegedly found vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.
Major Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported that the Khimkinsky court in the Moscow region had “granted the request of the investigation” and extended Griner’s custody for an additional two months.
The WNBA star faces up to 10 years in prison if found guilty by the Russian court.
Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury is seen during the game against the Indiana Fever on 6 September 2021. (Getty/Michael Hickey)
Ekaterina Kalugina – a member of the Public Monitoring Commission, which is a semi-official body that can access Russian prisons – told TASS that the basketball star was sharing a single cell with two other women, who had no previous convictions.
According to Kalugina, Griner’s main issue with her imprisonment was that the prison beds are too small for her tall frame.
Griner is among a dozen WNBA stars who played in Russia or Ukraine this past season, with Griner playing professional basketball in Russia for the last seven years.
Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has joined the growing number of people calling for Griner’s release, tweeting “Free Brittney” on Wednesday (16 March).
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said that the league is working with other agencies to bring the Phoenix Mercury star centre home, according to theAssociated Press.
“Everyone’s getting the strategy of say less and push more privately behind the scenes,” Engelbert said.
“It’s the strategy you get from the State Department and administration. It’s our number one priority in talking with her agent and strategists.”
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the government agency is “doing everything we can to support Brittney Griner” and her loved ones as well as to “work with them to do everything we can, to see that she is treated appropriately and to seek her release”.
Brittney Griner remains in custody in Russia, with the country’s state-owned media releasing new images of the WNBA star.
News broke over the weekend that Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medallist, was arrested in February after customs officials allegedly detected hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.
Amid growing concern for her wellbeing and continued calls for her release, Russian state TV broadcast a photograph of the out athlete in custody holding up a piece of paper.
The image, which was released on Tuesday (8 March), was too blurred to be able to make out what was written on the paper.
The Russian Federal Customs Services released a statement claiming that officials detained Brittney Griner in February for possession of vape cartridges that contained hashish oil.
It also released a video that showed airport security workers searching the luggage of a passenger, who was later identified as Griner.
The customs service said a criminal case has been opened, and Griner could face up to 10 years in a Russian prison if convicted.
Brittney Griner had been playing for the Moscow team UMMC Ekaterinburg and was reportedly earning $1.5 million (£1.1 million) for the off-season – six times her WNBA salary with the Phoenix Mercury.
The exact date of her arrest remains unclear and it is still unknown where the star is now.
“If we want her out of jail, Russia is going to have some terms,” said Evelyn Farkas, who served as the US deputy assistant secretary of defence for Russia and Ukraine from 2012 to 2015. “It could be a prisoner swap. They also could use it as an implicit threat or blackmail to get us to do something or not do something. Either way, they find it useful.”
Texas congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is among those calling for Griner’s swift release.
“We know that there were some issues dealing with vape cartridges and other items but let me be very clear,” said Lee, who represents Griner’s hometown of Houston, Texas, in the House of Representatives. “Brittney Griner is a United States citizen, she was a guest in Russia … and I will be demanding her release.”
Lee added that Russia’s actions in Ukraine undermined its authority, saying: “I don’t want to disregard a sovereign nation but Putin has disregarded sovereign nations his entire service in this world.
“Anyone that is killing and attacking and destroying Ukraine, a neighbouring country that is not bothering them, has no right to hold Ms Griner. Period.”
According to the Associated Press, Griner has played professional basketball in Russia for the last seven years.
She played for her Russian team the UMMC Ekaterinburg on 29 January before the league had a two-week break in early February.
Over a dozen WNBA players have played in Russia and Ukraine this winter, and the WNBA confirmed that all players besides Griner had left both countries.
News of Brittney Griner’s detainment comes as the US placed sanctions on Russia after Putin ordered his forces to invade Ukraine last month.
Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) icon Brittney Griner has reportedly been taken into custody in Russia on drug charges.
Griner, a seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist, was arrested after customs officials allegedly detected hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow, the New York Timesreported.
The Russian Federal Customs Services released a statement that officials detained the player in February for possession of vape cartridges that contained the oil found in her luggage. It also released a video that showed airport security workers searching the luggage of a passenger, who was later identified as Griner.
The customs service said a criminal case has been opened, and Griner could face up to 10 years in a Russian prison if convicted.
Griner’s agent Lindsay Colas told the Guardianthat they are aware of the “situation” with the Phoenix Mercury player in Russia. Colas said the agency is in “close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams, and the WNBA and NBA”.
“As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of her case but can confirm that as we work to get her home, her mental and physical health remain our primary concern,” Colas said.
The WNBA said that Griner has the league’s “full support”, and its “main priority” is her “swift and safe return” to the USA.
The Phoenix Griner said on Twitter that the team is “aware of” and is “closely monitoring” Griner’s situation in Russia.
“We remain in constant contact with her family, her representation, the WNBA and NBA,” the team said. “We love and support Brittney and at this time our main concern is her safety, physical and mental health, and her safe return home.”
According to the Associated Press, Brittney Griner has played professional basketball in Russia for the last seven years. She played for her Russian team the UMMC Ekaterinburg on 29 January before the league had a two-week break in early February.
Over a dozen WNBA players have played in Russia and Ukraine this winter, and the WNBA confirmed that all players besides Griner had left both countries.
Griner’s wife Cherelle thanked those who had reached out “regarding my wife’s safe return from Russia” in an Instagram post on Saturday (5 March).
“Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated,” Cherelle wrote. “I love my wife wholeheartedly, so this message comes during one of the weakest moments of my life.”
She asked fans to honour the family’s privacy as they continue to work to get Griner home.
The Ukrainian military said it had fought “fierce battles to maintain certain borders” against Russian forces, the Guardianreported. It claimed there was an “extremely low morale and psychological state” among Russian troops because of the Ukrainian resistance.
The US embassy in Moscow released a security alert on 27 February that said an “increasing number of airlines” have been cancelling flights in and out of Russia. The embassy advised that US citizens should leave Russia “immediately via commercial options still available”.
On Friday (5 March), the US embassy in Moscow warned citizens not to travel to the country “due to the unprovoked and unjustified attack by Russian military forces in Ukraine, the potential for harassment against US citizens by Russian government security officials” and the embassy’s limited ability to help US citizens in the country.
The Yankees were late on introducing an African-American player to their roster, adding Hall of Famer Elston Howard to the team in 1955, eight years after Jackie Robinson starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees seem determined not to repeat that bad history. Last week, they announced that Rachel Balkovec will become the first woman to manage a team in minor league baseball when she takes the helm of the Tampa Tarpons this spring.
It has been just over ten years since Justin Siegal threw batting practice to the Cleveland Guardians and five since she was the first woman to coach a MLB squad with the Oakland Athletics. Two years ago, Kim Ng became the first female General Manager of any of the four major professional sports when the Marlins hired her to run their team. In the two years since then, the dam has burst. Women have been hired to important on-field positions with professional baseball at an impressive clip. As baseball has lagged behind other professional sports in bringing women into the game, the current pace of hires indicates that baseball’s embrace of analytics and objective measures have finally penetrated the walls of one of the most enduring old boys clubs in the U.S. and given talented women opportunities they have long been denied.
Ten women will be coaching with major or minor league teams in 2022. In 2021, Bianca Smith became the first African-American woman to coach in the minors when the Red Sox hired her. Alyssa Nakken became the first woman in uniform during a Major League Baseball game when she coached first base for the Giants in a July 2020 exhibition against the Oakland A’s. Her jersey now belongs to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Cuban-American Veronica Alvarez is not only the coach of the U.S. Women’s National Baseball team, she also served as a spring training coach for the Oakland A’s.
The proliferation of women in baseball is not an accident. More girls than ever are playing baseball. Here, in the DC area, 160 girls participated with D.C. Girls Baseball in 2021. Baseball for All, an organization that supports and promotes girls in baseball, held a tournament last summer that drew nearly 600 girls who play baseball. There are more women than ever on collegiate baseball rosters. Major League Baseball has also devoted significant resources to girls and women in baseball, running several development camps for girls in baseball. Six of the women now coaching professional baseball participated in MLB’s Take the Field initiative, which is designed to help place women into baseball positions. To top it all off, the classic film about the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, A League of Their Own, is getting a reboot on Amazon Prime this year.
The pace of hiring is exhilarating. Unfortunately, every report of a woman being hired is followed by predictable hateful commentary on social media. Many cannot imagine that a woman may be hired for a baseball position on merit and resort to making sexist and derogatory comments. As women in baseball, the coaches are used to that vitriol and have developed thick skin and sophisticated defense mechanisms. However, also reading are thousands of girls who are inspired by the achievements of these women and they are, sadly, learning that to achieve in baseball means enduring the sexist taunts, gross come-ons, and hurtful comments.
Baseball has a long way to go. Other leagues have women officiating games, so it should be reasonable to expect that baseball will have women umpires in the near future. The possibility of women playing professional baseball is tantalizingly close as 17 year old Genevieve Beacom made history last week as the first women to play Australian professional baseball, when she threw a scoreless inning against the Adelaide Giants.
We are watching a revolution in baseball unfold before our eyes.
