Sports

/ /

Gay Games 2023 builds sanctuary for LGBTQ+ athletes in Hong Kong and Guadalajara

For the past 41 years, the Gay Games has served as an inclusive international event for athletes of all genders and sexual orientations, and when it returns this November it will be more inclusive than ever. After decades of convening solely in North America, Europe, and Australia, this “LGBTQ Olympics” will be hosted simultaneously in the cities of Hong Kong and Guadalajara. “We are energized by this opportunity to organize the first Gay Games in Asia and in Latin America,” announced Sean Fitzgerald, co-president of the Federation of Gay Games. “We are embarking on a mountain of feasibility studies and […]

/ /

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov boycotts Pride Night event

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov refused to participate in pregame warmups Tuesday, ahead of his team’s Pride Night celebration, citing religious objections. The Flyers donned Pride-themed jerseys and used sticks wrapped in rainbow Pride tape as they warmed up for their game against the Anaheim Ducks. Provorov said his Russian Orthodox faith precluded him from taking part in the LGBTQ event.  “I respect everybody. I respect everybody’s choices. My choice is to stay true to myself and my religion. That’s all I’m going to say,” Provorov told reporters after the game. The NHL pro then snapped at a reporter who asked if his refusal to warm up had any […]

/ /

Federal judge upholds W.Va. law that bans trans youth from female school sports teams

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Goodwin for the Southern District of West Virginia ruled last Friday that the ban on transgender athletes competing in female school sports that Republican Gov. Jim Justice signed into law in 2021 is constitutional. “I recognize that being transgender is natural and is not a choice,” Goodwin wrote in his decision. “But one’s sex is also natural, and it dictates physical characteristics that are relevant to athletics.” The ruling came in the lawsuit challenging the ban filed by Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of West Virginia and Cooley LLP on behalf of then 11-year-old Becky […]

/ /

Tennis star Martina Navratilova is diagnosed with throat and breast cancer

Tennis great Martina Navratilova said Monday that she has been diagnosed with throat and breast cancer. The 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame will start treatment this month and her prognosis is good, her representative said in a statement. “This double whammy is serious but still fixable, and I’m hoping for a favorable outcome,” the 66-year-old Navratilova said. “It’s going to stink for a while but I’ll fight with all have I got.” She said she noticed an enlarged lymph node in her neck while attending the season-ending WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, […]

/ /

Kathy Whitworth, winningest golfer in history, dies at 83

Kathy Whitworth set a benchmark in golf no one has ever touched, whether it was Sam Snead or Tiger Woods, Mickey Wright or Annika Sorenstam. Her 88 victories are the most by any player on a single professional tour. Whitworth, whose LPGA Tour victories spanned nearly a quarter-century and who became the first woman to earn $1 million for her career on the LPGA, died on Christmas Eve, her longtime partner said. She was 83. Her partner, Bettye Odle, did not disclose a cause of death, saying only that Whitworth died suddenly Saturday night while celebrating with family and friends. […]

/ / /

InterPride’s bad decision to abandon Taiwan

As many in the LGBTQ community in Washington, D.C. discovered recently, our city will now host WorldPride in 2025. Many of the initial reactions I saw from those in my immediate network were a mix of excitement and skepticism – does D.C. have the “gay infrastructure” to support hosting a global Pride event? According to InterPride, the U.S.-based non-profit organization that owns the licensing rights for WorldPride, the answer is yes.  However, what seemed to get lost in the conversation was why D.C. was newly awarded as the host for this event after publicly losing its bid to host WorldPride back in 2021 to Taiwan. In […]

/ /

Brittney Griner faces violence, bigotry and threat of torture in Russian penal colony, experts say

,

The 32-year-old was sentenced in August to nine years in a Russian penal colony after pleading guilty to drug charges. She was reportedly found at an airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.  At her sentencing, Griner told the court she had made “an honest mistake” and she “never meant to break any laws”.  In early November, Griner was moved from a detention centre to the IK-2 penal colony in Yavas, Mordovia – some 480 kilometres southeast of Moscow.  University of Helsinki sociologist Olga Zeveleva told The Guardian prisons in the area “are notoriously terrible, even by Russian standards”.  “It is a place any […]

/ /

Australia’s FIFA World Cup Team First to Collectively Back Workers, LGBT Rights

,

Australia’s national men’s football team, the Socceroos, just became the first FIFA World Cup side to collectively speak up on human rights issues in Qatar. In a powerful video released on October 27, sixteen current and former Australian players, supported by the broader playing group, expressed their solidarity with migrant workers and LGBT people, making it clear that “universal values like dignity, trust, respect and courage should define football values.” Players correctly assessed the situation in Qatar, where important reforms have been introduced but require better implementation. More importantly, they acknowledged that the decision to host the World Cup in Qatar resulted in preventable suffering and […]

/ /

Qatar has detained and mistreated LGBTQ people ahead of World Cup, rights group says

 Security forces in Qatar arbitrarily arrested and abused LGBTQ Qataris as recently as last month, Human Rights Watch said on Monday, in the run-up to hosting soccer’s World Cup which has put a spotlight on human rights issues in the Gulf Arab state. Homosexuality is illegal in the conservative Muslim country, and some soccer stars have raised concerns over the rights of fans traveling for the event, especially LGBTQ individuals and women, whom rights groups say Qatari laws discriminate against. A Qatari official said in a statement that HRW’s allegations “contain information that is categorically and unequivocally false,” without specifying. […]

/ /

Rand Paul’s new campaign ad claims trans athletes are killing the dreams of young girls

,

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has released an anti-trans campaign ad as part of his reelection campaign. The ad features former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines, who has been vocal in opposing trans swimmer Lia Thomas’s participation in women’s NCAA competitions. Gaines tied with Thomas for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle at this year’s NCAA championships. In the ad, Gaines claimed that “for girls across America” the dream of being a successful athlete is “being taken away by men competing in women’s sports.” At that moment, a photo of Thomas appears on the screen. “Sadly, few stood up for me,” Gaines said. “But […]

«‹ 17 18 19 20›»