Alex Reimer: what ’s like to be gay sports talk rad - Outsports

Contents:

• A CHAT WH ALEX REIMER, THE GAY SPORTSWRER WHO’S NOW PUTY MANAGG EDOR AT OUTSPORTS
• WHEN THIS SPORTS WRER SAID HE’S GAY, RAD HOSTS GOT MAD AT HIM FOR BURYG THE LEAD
• WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY SPORTS TALK RAD
• TAL OM A GAY FOOTBALL FAN

A CHAT WH ALEX REIMER, THE GAY SPORTSWRER WHO’S NOW PUTY MANAGG EDOR AT OUTSPORTS

When I applied to work for Outsports, I wrote my ver letter that I’ve always known two thgs about myself: I’m gay, and love wrg about sports. I’m movg onto a full-time role at Queerty, and will be wrg about gay athlet and celebri every day. But more importantly, I’ve better learned who I am as a gay man.

Instead, I will remember disverg a gay muny sports that I didn’t know existed.

WHEN THIS SPORTS WRER SAID HE’S GAY, RAD HOSTS GOT MAD AT HIM FOR BURYG THE LEAD

For much of my life, I thought the ia of beg a sports fan and gay man were ngo. But then I met somebody like UCLA volleyball ach Alfie Reft, who disvered his love for volleyball playg the sport at a Wt Hollywood gym wh an eclectic group of gays. Right om the get-go, the out gay sportswrer was on the hot seat, fieldg tough qutns like, “Are the Patrts fished?

Boston-based sports wrer Alex Reimer cid to e out publicly as gay Wednday durg a spot on WEEI’s “Kirk & Callahan” show. Reimer did reveal Wednday that not only do he have a csh on Jt Bieber, he also plays the Boston gay flag football league. Wh out gay guys sports like Buck, LZ Granrson, Izzy Gutierrez, Chuck Culpepper, Jared Max and others, he’s good pany.

That meant publicly g out as gay, so I uld be unburned to share the timate tails of my life to the listeners. On this week’s edn of “The Sports Kiki, ” I was granted the rare opportuny to nnect wh another gay sports talk guy, Ben Livgston.

WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY SPORTS TALK RAD

” We both spoke liberally on the air about our gay liv, whout obftg many of the tails.

TAL OM A GAY FOOTBALL FAN

“I wanted me talkg about beg gay on the rad to be jt like when people talk about beg straight, ” Livgston told me.

I was aaid at first that if I talked about thgs germane to beg gay, would be a turn off to the listeners. But I realized that talkg about gay datg really isn’t that different.

I wanted to stand out, and show “Chris the r” that homosexualy is somethg to celebrate. Bis some nasty texts and tweets, I n’t say I enuntered a lot of homophobia on the job, though there’s no doubt some listeners probably were unfortable. Livgston says he hop openly gay sports talk hosts speakg openly about their liv will eventually propel the format to bee more clive.