Jags' Maxen is first male Amerin pro sports ach to e out as gay - ESPN

Contents:

• ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN
• JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU

ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI

In a sea of nned cktails, Gay Water wants to stand out. In other words, where Bud Light has buckled unr prsure as bigotry grows agast the LGBTQ+ muny, Gay Water’s creator Spencer Hodson wants his new boozy brand to be the anthis of that.

“The key issue that Bud Light tapped to was the fact that they didn’t unrstand their re dience and know enough about them, ” Hodson, a gay man, told CNN about the ntroversy that began when the Anhser-Bch beer brand sent fluencer Dylan Mulvaney a n of beer. Gay Water, however, is out and proud. The nned cktail is named after a lloquialism given to the popular mixed drk (vodka and soda) orred at bars by the gay muny.

“Puttg a product wh the word gay the tle is reprentatn self, ” which he hop reclaims the word om the negativy ’s sometim associated wh. He thought of creatg Gay Water about a year ago while on a vatn wh his iend that had got a job wh the beverage dtry. The two chatted about the limed amount of gay people wh , and wh Hodson burnt out om his tradnal day job tech, started the nned cktail.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY

Hodson built up a strong social media followg on TikTok and Instagram durg Covid-19 and is g some of the money om that (as well as om iends and fay) to help fund Gay Water. “Gay is an umbrella term and the ia behd the brand is to be as clive as possible, which means we want alli, we want straight people to be part of this muny we’re buildg.

For now, Gay Water is sold largely onle (wh a few retailers) and four sugar-ee flavors — watermelon, lime, peach and grapeu — at lnch.

LGBTQ PEOPLE FLOCK TO FLORIDA FOR DISNEY'S GAY DAYS CELEBRATN

Gay Water might not have the ep pockets pared to s petors, like Whe Claw, but “even at small sle, pani of many siz are havg succs makg spir-based seltzers and premixed cktails, ” Bryan Roth, an analyst for Feel Goods Company and edor of the alhol beverage newsletter, Sightl+, told CNN. “There’s lots of space the spir-based seltzer tegory which Gay Water n play, pecially if the brand n offer a cultural or emotnal nnectn that will feel more excg than the prospect of another peapple-flavored vodka seltzer om natnal or ternatnal rporatns, ” Roth said.

Of urse, other drks e the word “gay, ” too, cludg Gay Beer and So Gay Rosé, Hodson noted, which are also tryg to reach the queer muny and offer them an alternative the straight-domated space. Power and David Philpott had to make their own ke topper by glug groomsmen figur togetherFrom “partner” to “hband”: meet one of the first married gay upl N.

Philpott and Power may have been the first gay uple the provce to be legally married, but the trail they blazed was soon followed by many, wh the St.

JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR U.S.-BASED PRO LEAGU

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn.

Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. — Tens of thoands of LGBTQ people are flockg to central Florida this weekend to go on theme park ris, mgle wh stumed performers, dance at all-night parti and lounge poolsi at hotels durg Gay Days, a s-long though Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers have champned a slew of anti-LGBTQ laws — spurrg the most proment gay rights group the U.