Top Ten Champions of the LGBT Sports Community, 2012

2012 was a significant year for LGBT sports community. Professional athletes, but gay and straight stood up for marriage equality and against homophobia, and some helped knock down stereotypes by proudly coming out of the closet while still participating in the sport they love. Advocacy by athletes took a front row seat at the game, making it easier for LGBTQ youth around the world to have a voice and a role model:

The San Francisco Giants baseball club proudly claimed their seventh World Series title this past October, but the team made history for a different reason. Last year, the Giants became the first professional sports team to participate in Dan Savage's It Gets Better campaign, giving LGBTQ youth a hopeful message against gay bullying and homophobia. The Giants' video message was very well-received by the press and their fans and it got the ball rolling for dozens of teams around North America to do the same.

Hudson Taylor, founder of Athlete Ally, an organization which advocates respect for all individuals involved in sports. Hudson's father taught him a very valuable lesson early on in his life: "Athletes become worthy of the greatest respect not when they win at their sport but when they stand up for the dignity of others and represent something bigger than themselves." Hudson applies that lesson to his work as he travels around the United States speaking with athletes of all ages.

Patrick Burke, co-founder of the You Can Play project has spent most of 2012 zipping around the United States and Canada to speak about homophobia in professional sports. His efforts not only work to eradicate homophobia within the locker room, but on the rink and on the field. In his own words, “Sportsmanship -- it’s treating your teammates, opponents and fans with respect.”

Brendon Ayanbadejo, a linebacker on the NFL's Baltimore Ravens voiced his support for marriage equality when the issue was being put to a ballot initiative in Maryland earlier this year. His response drew strong criticism from Emmett C. Burns, a Maryland State delegate who urged the team's owner (Steve Biscotti) to "inhibit such expressions from your employee." Burns also stated that no other player in the NFL who supported Ayanbadejo. But he was wrong.

Chris Kluwe, a punter with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings challenged Emmett Burns by sending him an open letter which stated, "Your vitriolic hatred and bigotry make me ashamed and disgusted to think that you are in any way responsible for shaping policy at any level." Kluwe's letter called the state delegate out for violating Ayanbadejo's right to free speech, and it also contained such entertaining phrases as "narcissistic fromunda stain" and "mindfuckingly, obscenely hypocritical."

On October 19, 2012, Orlando Cruz faced Jorge Pazos in the boxing ring on a warm October evening in Kissimmee, Florida. Cruz’s mother was in the crowd cheering him on, along with thousands of fans at the arena. Two weeks earlier, Cruz issued a press release announcing he was a “proud gay man”. During a post-fight interview, Cruz told ESPN," I was very happy that they respect me. That's what I want -- them to see me as a boxer, as an athlete and as a man in every sense of the word.” Oh, and he won the fight.

23 Openly Gay Olympians: In July, just five days before the Opening Ceremony at the London 2012 Olympic Games, 11,000 athletes arrived in the foggy city. Their arrival is attributed to a massive influx of new subscribers (and temporary crash) on the social networking smartphone app Grindr. We don’t know how many of the athletes scored, but 10 of the 23 won medals, four of them gold.

In November 2011, professional Rugby player Ben Cohen launched Stand Up Magazine, a national quarterly publication which hopes to showcase “the importance of positive role models, fairness, character and leadership across all levels of sports.” Ben is spreading his message not only through his new magazine, but also through The Ben Cohen Stand Up Foundation which works to fight homophobia and bullying against children.

NFL player Wade Davis was a defensive back for the Tennessee Titans several years ago. At the time, he struggled with his sexual orientation, but kept hidden the fact that he was a gay man playing in professional sports.  Now retired from football, Davis spends his days as a staff member at the Hetrick-Martin Institute, which serves LGBTQ youth in New York City.  He works as the Assistant Director of Job Readiness, preparing teens to go out into the work-force.

Corey Johnson made national news back in 1999 when the linebacker and captain of his high school football team came out of the closet. After moving to New York and co-founding the New York Gay Football League, Johnson became the Board Chair of Manhattan’s Community Board 4 working to better his community. He now has his eye set on politics throwing his in the ring and hoping replace term-limited Christine Quinn on the New York City Council in the 2013 election.

A Birdie In The Hand

A Birdie In The Handby Jeff Kagan

Shuttlecock. No, it isn’t a term to describe a sex act in outer space, but rather, it’s the small, feathered object used in the game of badminton. The shuttlecock, also called a “birdie” is smacked back and forth by racquet-wielding opponents, each hoping the other misses the birdie, as it falls, lifelessly to the Earth. Badminton has been an Olympic sport since 1992, although it was first introduced in the mid-18th century in British-occupied India as a pastime while trying to avoid getting Cholera.

Suman Chakraborty started playing at the age of seven in a suburb of Montreal, Canada, where he was raised. He and his classmates would attend Sunday school at the local junior college where they learned to speak in the family’s native tongue, Bengali. While the kids were in school, their parents would pass the time playing badminton. As classes ended, the kids came out to join their parents on the court. Suman recalls, “It was part of my childhood for as long as I can remember, and one I cherished. My friends and I spent our formative years trying to get good enough to beat our parents. I do remember the amazing feeling I had the first time I beat my father on the court; it was like I had finally grown up.”

And having grown up, Suman moved to New Jersey to attend college, and then eventually settled in New York City. But sadly, the badminton birdie was no longer in his life. He carried on. Some years later, he joined the local gay basketball league to expand his social circle. But after only one season, he had the opportunity to go abroad, to London. “When I first arrived in London, I didn’t know a single person. I had been playing in the NYC Gay Basketball League before my move and met some great people. I figured joining a sports team was a good was to make new friends in my new city.” Upon searching for a group, Suman was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are four gay badminton clubs in London.  He immediately contacted one called Goslings and within four days of landing in London, he bought a cheap racquet and headed to his first session. 

Being on the badminton court always brings back wonderful memories. He says, “Every time I get on the court, I feel like I’m going back to a place where I’m comfortable. I always think about my days as a kid playing with my dad; I think about my days as a teenager playing for my high school.”

After a year in London, Suman returned to New York, wanting his life to include the friendships and fun that Goslings of London brought him.  He didn’t have an inkling of how to find others who were interested in badminton, but he tried some unconventional methods. He sheepishly says, “I’ll admit that in my profile on a certain iPhone app (which shall remain nameless), I suggested that anyone who played badminton should contact me.”  That didn’t turn out to be a great source of leads (for badminton, anyway).  But after setting up a page on Meetup.com, things started to roll, and the organization mailing list grew from a handful of “smashers” to 175 potential players, which helped Suman to successfully launch New York’s first gay badminton club. And as an homage to the group which inspired him, he named the club Goslings NYC. 

Suman hopes that the people who come to play will see Goslings NYC as a community within the gay social scene -- a place where they can make new friends in a positive environment to share in the enjoyment of the game that he holds in his heart. Suman has many plans for the group, including participation in the Gay Games in Cleveland in 2014. He smirks and says, “And if I ever get my American friends to stop giggling like a schoolgirl whenever they hear the word ‘shuttlecock’, I’ll consider that a major accomplishment too.”

Learn more about Goslings NYC at www.meetup.com/GoslingsNYC.

In and Out of the Locker Room

In and Out of the Locker Room

by Jeff Kagan

Upon hearing the quick rhythm of Truett Lee Vaigneur, Jr.’s speaking voice, one might place him as an auctioneer from Baton Rouge or perhaps a fast-talking city official from Atlanta. His southern twang has a twist of what sounds like Cajun. As difficult as it is to pinpoint exactly where he’s from, the avid tennis enthusiast hails from Barnwell, South Carolina. Truett was born in the same hospital as the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, also known as “the hardest working man in show business” which is quite fitting, as Truett just might be “the hardest working man in academia”.

Truett is an adjunct professor and counselor at several of the City University of New York campuses and he’s currently working on an Educational Doctorate (EdD) degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at Long Island University’s C.W. Post Campus. “I research subcultures within the mainstream campus culture, for the past few years it’s been gay male college athletes, specifically athletes playing non-team sports. The focus is identity formation,” he says. And he’s channeling his extensive research into a documentary on the subject entitled The University Pool which showcases three gay former college swimmers and how being athletes has influenced their individual development, helping to turn them into the successful young men they are. He says, “I wanted to create conversations with gay athletes that was not focused in a locker room environment. While the locker room seems like a great place to start, the subjects aren’t always in a relaxed state, walking around in towels and taking showers, especially young men who are still discovering themselves.” Truett’s work follows the logic that an athlete is gay both inside the locker room, and when they leave it. “Every athlete — college or pro — identifies with athleticism, but how strong the identification is will actually be a result of what happens away from the playing field. There are family influences, religious influences, etc.; researching athletes is not a brush-stroke technique.”

As an academic, Truett studies the developmental aspect of gay athletes, but his interest in participating in sports began many years ago, when he was younger. Sports were a source of great enjoyment for him in junior high school back in South Carolina, where he played baseball, volleyball and tennis, the latter being his favorite. “I played a lot as a child, but my family moved from one small southern town to another when I was in high school, and there were no team sports other than football and basketball, so I stopped playing altogether.” he says. Sports can play a very important role in our lives, but the sport itself isn’t the defining aspect of who an athlete is. Being a tennis player is a major factor of how Truett identifies himself, but he says that the sport itself hasn’t done much to change his life. The key is participation, which leads to further development of his self-esteem and a positive self-image as an athlete. He says, “It enhances who I am, however, it is my involvement with tennis and the various LGBT sports leagues that has really changed who I am by showing me I can just be myself as a gay man — and an athlete.” In The University Pool, Truett hopes to show that it is possible for young gay men to be athletes and also be out of the closet. The three young men who we featured in the documentary may have had difficult times in the past, but the reality is that athleticism was there. It was a positive factor that gave them confidence and a sense of self-awareness that they might not have had otherwise.

Taking A Dive

Taking A Dive

by Jeff Kagan

There is an old joke asking why sharks don’t attack lawyers. The answer is: professional courtesy. Attorney Eric Heller knows this first hand, as he's met quite a few sharks. Eric is a member of the Village Dive Club, New York City’s LGBT scuba diving club. He has traveled to the four corners of the Earth finding thrilling underwater adventures or a remarkable inner peace. During a night dive in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the West Indies, Eric slowly descended about a hundred feet down a sea wall and then turned off his dive light. Gradually, the water began to glow with bioluminescent phytoplankton. He hung off the wall, alone at night, looking into the deep and surrounded by what looked like glowing fireflies. He explains, "The experience of diving itself is transcendental: you are weightless, floating, flying, and even diving with a buddy, you are alone with your thoughts, isolated except for the sound of your breathing, the fish chewing on coral and the waves. It is almost meditative."

Eric’s interest in scuba diving derives directly from Tae Kwon Do (a form of martial arts). As a pre-teen he took Tae Kwon Do classes, but he would beg his parents to drop him off early or pick him up late so he could spend time in the scuba diving shop next door. “I talked the scuba shop owner's ears off, looked at all the cool equipment and waited patiently until I turned 13 and could get certified,” he says.

Every October the dive shop would host an underwater pumpkin-carving contest at the lake. Eric quickly learned the trick to winning after watching people struggling to drag a very buoyant pumpkin to the depths below, saying, “Bash a hole in the pumpkin on the surface. And avoid cutting yourself while fumbling with a dive knife and a pumpkin at 30 feet in murky water!”

As the president of the Village Dive Club, Eric is happily joined by his partner-in-brine, Christopher Spivey on most excursions. The two met almost 15 years ago in Oklahoma. Within a few months of meeting, Christopher realized he would have to get his scuba certification if the relationship was going to work. “He braved the cold waters of Lake Tenkiller in Eastern Oklahoma for me!” says Eric. That’s love. Although Christopher has made it clear to his beau that he would not partake in cold water dives anymore, he has no objections in accompanying Eric on an upcoming trip to Bali next month.

Eric gets all bubbly thinking about the many dives he's taken, exploring the glistening landscapes under the sea, encountering so many unusual creatures: from the bioluminescent phytoplankton to the 30-foot long whale sharks who feast upon them. Talk about a light meal…

Eric’s only scare was on a dive in Fiji when a tiger shark joined the group along with some smaller reef sharks. "The dive guides tensed up and started paying attention when this huge shark approached, I knew it was serious.  But I still tried to get as close as I could to see it." he said. Not to worry -- nothing happened. As we said earlier: professional courtesy.

Learn more about the Village Dive Club at www.villagediveclub.org.

Pretty In Pink

Pretty In Pink

by Jeff Kagan

Comedian George Carlin said that all racquet sports are simply derivatives of ping-pong, and he even went so far as to suggest that tennis is ping-pong played while standing on the table. Wolfgang Busch might agree with that sentiment as ping-pong is his passion.

The paddle-wielding, German native competed in a variety of sports (including tennis) in his home town of Heppenheim, where his father was the right-hand to the town mayor. Busch says, "I was a semi-professional soccer player and tried out track in field. I was a roller-skater, swimmer, tennis player and played table tennis with my brother at my uncle's table in his garage and at my best friend’s house." However, playing ping-pong, also known as table tennis, was the one activity that sent his ball(s) flying over the net every time. And due to excessive wear and tear to his body from all of the other sports, it was his saving grace as he now plays as a form of physical therapy. "By nature, I am very competitive and I have a lot of fun playing 4 to 5 hours at a time. I have a lower back and neck disability and [ping-pong] works wonders for me," Busch says.

In 2002, he was living in Brooklyn and dating Paulo Freitas. In talking, the couple discovered that they both enjoyed playing ping-pong as teenagers, so they found a table and played one afternoon. Busch recalls, "We had so much fun, so I decided to start a group by advertising it at the LGBT Center in Manhattan." He called it Ping Pong NY and it brought many smiles to the faces of gay ping-pong enthusiasts to not only find competitive opponents, but new friends to socialize with after the games.

The organizing grew and by 2010 they were ready to take on the rest of the gay world in Gay Games VIII, which was played out in Busch's home country. He says, "I organized and put the team together for the Gay Games in Cologne, Germany and we dominated the recreational division by winner a total of 8 medals. I won two gold medals and one bronze. It was completely unexpected and was definitely a highlight moment in my life. It gave me new energy and encouragement and made me very proud of my achievements."

More recently, in an effort to attract some new players, Busch decided that the group’s name needed a splash of color. He recalls, “I was looking for a gay touch for our name and somebody suggested Pink to me.” The newly named “Pink Pong Foundation” caught on and Busch continues to promote well-being in recreation to over one hundred members. He says, "The health benefits alone are worth trying it or picking it up again after dropping out for many years. Besides we are a fun bunch of guys!”

Look for Wolfgang Busch in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014 at Gay Games IX and learn more about PinkPong at www.PinkPongFoundation.org.

Trailblazer

Trailblazer

by Jeff Kagan

This September, on his 45th birthday, Ross Hayduk plans to ascend Mount Katahdin, the highest mountain in Maine, in the final steps of his six-month hike along the Appalachian Trail (2,184 miles from Georgia to Maine).  His goal is to become the first HIV-positive athlete to finish the trail in less than six-months. For some, this task would be too daunting, but not for Ross, as he’s faced even greater challenges throughout his life. Ross contracted HIV in 2004 while addicted to crystal meth. He was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He had hit rock-bottom, but with the support of friends and family, he climbed his way back up to being clean and sober, now looking forward, not backwards, taking his life one day at a time. He says, “I believe we can overcome challenges to our health like HIV, substance abuse, and bipolar depression. With the proper diet and exercise routines, adherence to medication regimens, consistent communication with healthcare providers, and the support of those around you, you can live a full and healthy life." Ross continues on his mission, tirelessly aiming towards his goal of raising $21,840 for local HIV/AIDS service organizations. That's ten times the number of miles on the trail.

Professionally, Ross does fundraising and development for a non-profit organization, but it isn’t all about fundraising for him. Ross understands the importance of breaking stereotypes and being a role model. “The opportunity to prove to myself, and to others, that HIV-positive athletes can excel at sports as well as HIV-negative athletes.  Just because we have a virus does not mean we are sidelined,” he says.

Athletically speaking, Ross has dabbled in sport, but he sparkled in two: winning the silver medal in the hammer throw at Gay Games VI (in Sydney in 2002), and winning the gold medal in powerlifting in Gay Games VII (in Chicago 2006). He has also taken a shine to rugby and cycling, but not until recently, long-distance hiking. “After participating in a 200-mile cycling event in 2010 and a 218-mile hiking event in 2011, I decided to take on the Appalachian Trail in 2012. I did not know if I could do it, but once I set my mind to the previous challenges, I saw how I could accomplish amazing things, but only because I had the encouragement and support of my friends, family, and colleagues behind me.” he says.

Ross is selfless; a natural-born volunteer. In his circles, his reputation clearly stands out due to his constant offers to step up and help with any worthy cause. Last month, he took two days out of the hike to visit friends in New York and volunteer at the Heritage of Pride March. After his visit, he headed west once again, but he hit an unexpected snag when one of the straps on his backpack snapped while he was hiking through the thick forests of northwestern New Jersey. Ross posted his dilemma on Facebook and support poured in (both moral and suggestive). One person offered to FedEx a new bag to him, but if he was going to finish the trail in a timely manner, he knew he had to act quickly. Thinking, "What would MacGyver do?" Ross got to work on solving his problem with shoelaces and some cloth. "Those years as a theatre major, working in the costume shop weren't a waste of time! I had to make it WERQ!" he says with a scruffy, ear-to-ear grin. He was able to continue for two more days of hiking, enough time to catch a bus back to New York City for a replacement bag, and then get right back to where he left the trail.

Find Ross along the Appalachian Trail today by visiting http://www.hikerosshike.org.

The Weight of Water

The Weight of Water

by Jeff Kagan

Evan Matthew Cobb has an unusual story which begins about fifteen years ago. Evan was a swimmer and had been since he was a little boy. He swam competitively throughout middle school and high school. However, there was something weighing him down as he pulled himself through lane after lane of chlorinated water. Evan had come to the realization that he was a gay man, but he was not quite ready to deal with the unpredictable aftermath of revealing his secret to the world. He struggled with his sexual orientation throughout high school and decided it was best to keep his secret to himself, at least for a little while longer.

Many stories about high school athletes have a similar ending, with the athlete staying in the closet for many years to come, simply because they are not ready to give up the sport they love. Most think it’s a choice between staying closeted to continue playing, or coming out and giving up their passion. Sadly, in most cases, they realize this years later.

This is the part where Evan’s story becomes unusual. Rather than carry that burden with him when he went off to college, Evan made the bold decision to come out. He says, "In a lot of ways being able to keep swimming was a real source of strength while I was coming out. It reminded me that I didn't have to give up anything, and that being out meant I could finally be who I wanted to be, and that included being an athlete.”

Evan came out to his coach and his teammates at Oberlin College and they accepted him for who he was. This was uncommon at that time, but it showed Evan that he had surrounded himself with good, open-minded people – the same people who are still his friends fifteen years later.

“I think it was always a challenge for me to know I was hiding a huge part of myself from my team when I was younger (in high school). When I came out in college though it was like having a fresh start with my teammates, and we had great trust and a strong bond from the very beginning.”

Evan’s philosophy is that a close relationship with the team is essential in order to succeed in any sport, especially in swimming, as it requires discipline, training and perseverance. “We spend countless hours together in the pool, in the cold, and you count on your team to push you through challenges and you all learn together. Being free to be myself made it much easier and I'm very glad I got to have that experience,” he says.

Two years ago, when Evan moved to New York, he has been a member of New York’s LGBT swim team, Team New York Aquatics (TNYA). He had heard about the team through friends and couldn’t wait to join. And although swimming is mostly an individual sport in competition, having a team to train with make quite a difference. Evan says, "What I love most about Team New York (Aquatics) is that it is both a great swim team that pushes me hard -- and a family."

Two weeks ago, the team took a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland as TNYA competed in the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics (IGLA) championships where the tournament slogan is simply, “Get in the water.”

IGLA Championships are held every year, except a year when the Gay Games are played, and this year 75 TNYA swimmers, divers and water-polo players jumped right in it to win it. They had been training and preparing since the end of last year's meet in Hawaii. Their determination and preparation paid off as they swept the tournament -- winning their first-ever IGLA Championship (the large-team medal in swimming).

Now, Evan has something else weighing him down in the water: medals.

Learn more about Team New York Aquatics at www.tnya.org.