Jacksonville Jaguars assistant Kev Maxen be first male ach major U.S. pro league to e out as gay - CBS News

Contents:

• THE GUY WHO PLAYED TKY WKY, THE ‘GAY’ PURPLE TELETUBBY, HAS DIED
• THE WHOLLY UNSURPRISG STORY BEHD TKY WKY’S ELEVATN AS A GAY IN
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

THE GUY WHO PLAYED TKY WKY, THE ‘GAY’ PURPLE TELETUBBY, HAS DIED

Is there a lor that reprents gay people? Towards the end of the 19th century, however, the public began lkg lavenr wh homosexualy. Newspapers nounced Athet as effemate, not least one of the proment lears of the movement, Osr Wil, who equently remisced about his “purple hours” spent wh rent boys, and provoked a moral sndal wh the homoerotic them “The Picture of Dorian Gray.

THE WHOLLY UNSURPRISG STORY BEHD TKY WKY’S ELEVATN AS A GAY IN

Gay men Ameri were tnted for posssg a “dash” or “streak” of lavenr, thanks large part to Abraham Lln’s bgrapher Carl Sandburg, who scribed one of the print’s early male iendships as ntag a “streak of lavenr, and spots soft as May vlets.

Durg the McCarthy era, there was state-sanctned discrimatn when print Eisenhower signed Executive Orr 10450, which beme part of a natnal wch-hunt to purge homosexual men and women om the feral ernment.

Lavenr sash and armbands were distributed to a crowd of hundreds a “gay power” march om Washgton Square Park to Stonewall Inn New York, to memorate the Stonewall rts that had jt taken place a month before. The lor, St Clair said, has been buoyed by the ton achieved by the LGBTQ muny recent years, cludg some untry’s mov to legalize same-sex marriage, and the US, gay mayor Pete Buttigieg’s printial n and last year’s Met Gala theme of “Camp: Not on Fashn.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH MAJOR U.S. PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

” The “attacks on gay and transgenr civil rights by the current admistratn, ” she add, has also creased the spotlight on the muny, enuragg them “to rally around each other and explore and celebrate intifyg symbols that have been important to them the past.

In this story:Jacksonville JaguarsJaguars associate strength ach Kev Maxen beme the first publicly-known male ach Amerin men’s profsnal sports to e out as gay Thursday.Maxen spoke wh Outsports to share his journey and why he’s choosg to e out publicly.“I don’t want to feel like I have to thk about anymore,” Maxen said. I want to be vol support of people livg how they want to live, but I also want to jt live and not feel fear about how people will react.”Maxen, who has been wh his partner Nick for over two years, exprsed that the ntued support om the people around him helped him feel fortable to share his news.“It wasn’t until recently—and wh the immense love and support of my fay, my iends, lleagu and peers, and the urage and sacrifice om my partner—that I realized I have the right and rponsibily to love and be loved, and that maybe sharg this will hopefully give someone else the strength to accept their own life and take ntrol of their own story,” Maxen said.Maxen also noted that he reached out to Carl Nassib, who is the only known gay NFL player the league right now, back Feb. Four days ago, Simon Barn, the 52-year-old actor bt known for playg Tky Wky, the purple creature the BBC prchool children’s seri Teletubbi, passed away, givg pse to remember Wky’s legacy as the “the gay Teletubby.

In a 1999 article by homophobic televangelist Jerry Falwell published his magaze Natnal Liberty Journal, Falwell clared that Tky Wky was gay. “He is purple, the gay pri lor, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle, the gay pri symbol. First off, purple isn’t the gay pri lor — ’s lavenr or rabow.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ASSISTANT COACH KEV MAXEN MAK HISTORY AFTER COMG OUT AS GAY

Outspoken gay gossip lumnist Michael Mt clared, “Tky Wky is … a great msage to kids: not only that ’s okay to be gay, but the importance of beg well-accsorized. ” But even before Falwell’s article, The Advote had lled Tky Wky, a “big, fabulo fag, ” a Brish media rearcher lled him, “the first queer role mol for toddlers” and The Inpennt labeled him “a gay in. In an emergency prs nference about Falwell’s claim, Teletubbi spokman Kenn Viselman said, “If gay people thk Tky Wky is gay, ’s bee there aren’t enough gay role mols on TV.

Barn, who had taken over the role of “the gay Teletubby” 1997 om Dave Thompson who was unexpectedly fired om the show.