Did You Hear, There's No "Gay" in "Team"

Hold on to your jockstraps boys, the word is out. Not only is there no "I" in "Team" but apparently there is no "Gay" either.  Kenneth Hutcherson, senior pastor of the Antioch Bible Church and a former NFL linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys (1974) and the San Diego Chargers (1975) wrote an editorial for WashingtonPost.com giving his reasons why gays and the NFL shouldn't mix.  Just so you don't miss anything I've copied the entire editorial below.

John Rocker Back To His Anti-Gay Ways

It seems former Atlanta Brave John Rocker is still up to his anti-gay, anti-Jewish ways.  Thanks to QueerUnity for the tip!

John Rocker, the former relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, is back in the spotlight again after making anti-gay and anti-Semitic comments on Steak Shapiro's Atlanta radio show.  Apparently Rocker kept referring to Shapiro as a jew throughout his broadcast.  The Atlanta Journal-Constitution picked up that part of the story but left out a few choice tidbits.  In an interview with SOVO, Shapiro said Rocker also liberally used the word faggot throughout the conversation. 

Tony Dungy: Good Guy or Homophobe? Both.

Tony Dungy, one hell of an NFL head coach, has retired.  And, while this has lead many a sportswriter to reflect on the obvious – his career and his accomplishments - ESPN’s LZ Granderson – a gay African American – has taken a different tact.

LZ has, by his own admission, has gone out of his way over the years to be "passively hostile” towards Dungy.  While Dungy racked up acclaim and respect as the first African American head coach to win a Super Bowl (beating another African American coach, Lovey Smith, in the process), LZ was rightly bothered by Dungy’s Christian Conservatism around gays, and his open opposition to same-sex marriage.

Ugly Gets its Comeuppance

Anyone who has been to a stadium here in the U.S. to watch two rival teams go at it, or anyone who has sat in the bleachers at Wrigley, knows well how ugly some fans’ comments and chants can get.

Over in the U.K., they are taking this sort of thing a bit more seriously than we do here.  The Hampshire police are looking for sixteen football fans (that’s soccer over here) who, during a game between Tottenham Hotspur and Portsmouth, greeted Portsmouth defender Sol Campbell with chants of:

“He’s big, he’s black, he takes it up the crack!”

Pro Sports: The Never-Ending Home of Idiots

Two little tabloid reports today remind us that pro sports has been, is and probably always will be – to some extent – a durable home for homophobia.

A couple years ago, Mike Piazza held a press conference to refute rumors he is gay.  Well, he was talking about it again this week. Why?  Because he has a book coming out, duh!  A whole new chance to distance himself from any “nasty” rumors that he is a homo and, simultaneously, get some book hype.

Lesbian sues SMU, Coach

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Jennifer Colli, a former guard for Southern Methodist University’s women’s basketball team, is suing the University and the coach for sexual discrimination.

I Want My Gay Olympics! Unfortunately.

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Now that autumn has arrived, and the air draws a nice, cool chill into the house at night, I realize that something was missing this summer. I want my Gay Olympics!!

Here Come the Straights! UNFAIR! UNFAIR!

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Gays kicking out the straights. Wow! It really all does come full-circle, doesn’t it?

What if Michael Phelps were gay?

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I received a curious email from a straight friend of mine. She asked if Michael Phelps were gay. A friend of hers is sure he is.  I did a little quick research and noticed that Michael's fan page on Facebook has a discussion going on this and saw a few other Internet rumors.  But I wondered what would happen to Michael if he were gay and did come out.

Two men convicted of homophobic chants

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Michael Whittle, 23, and Lee Walker, 24, were convicted of public order offenses for shouting homophobic chants during a March 15th football match.

Both Whittle and Walker received fines and are banned from matches for the next year as well as being permanently banned for the field where the incident took place.

"Their subsequent prosecution and conviction sends out a clear message that there is no place for homophobia either in Blackpool or in the game of football." said Lindsey Nottingham, LGBT liaison officer for Blackpool.

Source: The Citizen & Towleroad