How One Gay Athlete's Comg Out Led To An Activists' War

lgbt sports coalition

The rights of gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr people have taken centre stage ahead of Spa's July 23 natnal electn.

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HOW ONE GAY ATHLETE'S COMG OUT LED TO AN ACTIVISTS' WAR

Nike has unveiled s latt le of rabow-lored sneakers unr s #BeTe Free Run 5.0 le as a nod to gay pri and the LGBT muny. Profs of the llectn's sal will go to the LGBT Sports Coaln, which has set the goal to end the practice of anti-LGBT discrimatn sport by 2016. * lgbt sports coalition *

"Najee Harris ments on Saquon Barkley and the value of RBsOffEnglishTwo days after Gordon told his team he was gay, an LGBT sports advocy group tent on makg self part of the story sent out a letter that broke Gordon's small circle wi open. "A UMass basketball player is g out as gay next week.

St was aghast: "Were they really gog to people and tellg them Derrick is gay before he's ready to e out?

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At the heart of the drama was a clash over philosophi about how bt to support closeted and openly gay athlet. The procs, iated by his agents, was shepherd by high-powered publicist Howard Bragman and Outsports's Cyd Zeigler, whose experience both the media and gay rights advocy make him a go-to nsultant for anyone needg help wh eher. Beg a gay NFL prospect isn't enough if you're not his behd-the-scen look, Zeigler h on an exposed nerve.

… His role the movement toward LGBT equaly sports will be simply playg the sport as an out gay man. Athlete Ally was formed as a nonprof 2011 by Hudson Taylor, a former llege wrtler who got fed up wh all the homophobic talk he heard the locker room.

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Athlete Ally has gay ambassadors as well, but s missn is geared around outreach toward the heterosexual teammat and iends of gay athlet. "Athlete Ally's board is filled wh heavy hters, cludg NFL player Brendan Ayanbajo, former NHL player Sean Avery, former New York Cy Council speaker Christe Qun, and polil strategist Brian Ellner, who is as rponsible as anyone for the succsful gay-marriage ph New York State.

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Athlete Ally remaed the aln by five is a victory, measurable prtige and fundg, for an advocy group to own the story of a gay athlete. Over a year ago, Gordon reached out to Wa Davis, the openly gay former NFL player who serv as the executive director for You Can Play.

Nimo says Gordon was relieved to disver that there was an entire muny of gay basketball fans, ach, and former players. "I wanted to let you all know I'm gay, " the ach said. "The versn that went to the UMass athletics office read, part:We have been privy to nfintial - that a UMass basketball player is g out as gay next week, which I'm sure you're timately volved .

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* LGBT SPORTS COALITION

How One Gay Athlete's Comg Out Led To An Activists' War .

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