Jaguars strength ach is first male ach a major US-based pro league to e out as gay - The Boston Globe

Contents:

• THE BT GAY BARS BOSTON
• BOSTON GAY SPORTS BAR — ‘HOME AWAY OM HOME’ FOR EX-MLB UMP AND A MUNY — ON THE ROP
• THE LGBTIQ+ TRAVEL GUI TO BOSTON: THE BT GAY BARS, DRAG EVENTS AND MORE
• JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY
• BOSTON ALLIANCE OF GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENR YOUTH (BAGLY)
• GAY SOFTBALL BOSTON!
• BOSTON GAY SPORTS BAR — ‘HOME AWAY OM HOME’ FOR EX-MLB UMP AND A MUNY — ON THE ROP

THE BT GAY BARS BOSTON

The Red Sox recently gave a start to a pcher who jt two years ago rolled out a homophobic tweet. Suffice to say, Major League Baseball’s celebratn of Pri Month hasn’t been whout s Boston’s queer sports fans now have more important thgs to worry about: They might be losg their beloved gay sports an age when datg apps have ma so that old-fashned, big-cy gay bars are gog the way of daily newspapers and mom-and-pop neighborhood nvenience stor, Cathedral Statn, loted the cy’s South End, fac an uncerta future.

“The future of gay bars, LGBT bars, whatever you want to ll them, they’ll have to be smaller plac that hold 100 people, 120 people, where you n get a lease. Nobody’s gog to pay $5 ln to buy a piece of property to own a gay bar.

While not technilly a gay bar, ’s a lively, gay-iendly tablishment that’s volved Boston’s LGBTQ+ muny, cludg s sponsorship of the annual Chandler Street Block ’s not jt the lol yokels who fell love wh Frz/Cathedral Statn.

BOSTON GAY SPORTS BAR — ‘HOME AWAY OM HOME’ FOR EX-MLB UMP AND A MUNY — ON THE ROP

Take, for stance, Dale Stt, a native of Portland, Ore., who ma headl 2014 when he beme the first active Major League Baseball umpire to e out as gay.

“That was pretty surreal for me … stg a gay bar watchg myself do a plate game on televisn, ” said Dale Stt, who was the first active major-league umpire to e out as gay.

THE LGBTIQ+ TRAVEL GUI TO BOSTON: THE BT GAY BARS, DRAG EVENTS AND MORE

I remember there was another gay bar nearby, a vio bar, that was up over a rtrant. That was pretty surreal for me, pecially sce was early my reer and I’m tryg to make sure Major League Baseball don’t know I’m gay.

And there I am, stg a gay bar watchg myself do a plate game on televisn. Nothg says Boston sports like a team photo of three of the cy’s all-time bartenrs clu Artie Oliver and Rob Mannke, who are themselv legends that they’ve been servg suds at var Boston gay bars for s.

The reason I me out is bee I found a gay sports league, and Cathedral Statn, and before that Frz, has been a great supporter of all the gay sports leagu for years and ’s been the place where the jocks go hang out.

JAGUARS STRENGTH ACH IS FIRST MALE ACH A MAJOR US-BASED PRO LEAGUE TO E OUT AS GAY

There are other gay bars that are about lookg cute or beg able to dance or to pick up guys. Women dot the crowd at Cathedral on many nights, and ’s not unmon for a regular to brg along a straight buddy or two or don’t help that the South End, once a thrivg gay ghetto, is now a gentrified neighborhood of high-priced ndos and fancy rtrants.

What do help is Cathedral Statn’s richly served reputatn as Boston’s “Gay Cheers, ” the place where everybody knows your name. It’s also a place where everyone knows your game, as what team you play for the cy’s many gay sports leagu, om the Beantown Softball League and Tennis4All to the FLAG (Friends, Lbians And Gays) Flag Football League and the Cambridge Boston Volleyball Associatn.

“I e here bee beg around fellow sports fans who happen to be gay adds to the sense of muny and belongg, ” said Marc Davo, 57, director of velopment and munitns for Casa Myrna, a nonprof which provis support for people impacted by domtic vlence. He was joed by Frattura and Sly Ward, 65, a former Frz/Cathedral employee who is a chef at Hale Barnard Hoe, which provis support servic for the elrly, and also vice print of Boston Alliance of Gay Sports (BAGS). It’s a place where you’re 100 percent fortable if you’re gay.

BOSTON ALLIANCE OF GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENR YOUTH (BAGLY)

Stt by then was feelg sufficiently fortable his gay sho that one night, after dog a Sox game at Fenway, he ved fellow umpir Ron Kulpa and Dan Iassogna to jo him for a few beers at they stepped si, Kulpa, a man not burned wh filters, looked around and said, “Hey, where are all the women?

”In Kulpa’s view, samplg a gay sports bar back then the pany of a gay umpire was no big al. In fact, Massachetts was the first US state to legalize gay marriage back 2004.

To this day, Boston remas one of Ameri’s most LGBTIQ+ iendly ci and has a large queer muny actively shapg the cy's future, ensurg remas one of the world’s foremost gay statns for generatns to e.

GAY SOFTBALL BOSTON!

Loted a small neighborhood that’s smooshed between the Theater District and Chatown, Jacqu is Boston’s olst operatg gay bar and the cy’s premier tablishment for drag shows. The space is a rtrant durg the early eveng hours and is popular amongst the lols, both gay and straight. It’s filled wh an endls array of gay bars and clubs, and tons of LGBTIQ+-owned rtrants, ns, B&Bs, and more.

In fact, P-town is known as one of the “gayt plac on Earth''. The Boston LbiGay Urban Foundatn is another group that has ntued to put on queer events and offer support to lols after the dissolutn of Boston Pri. Michael Sam beme the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St.

BOSTON GAY SPORTS BAR — ‘HOME AWAY OM HOME’ FOR EX-MLB UMP AND A MUNY — ON THE ROP

The Boston Alliance of Gay Sports (“BAGS”) seeks to promote and enurage uny and llaboratn among the recreatnal and petive LGBTQ+ sports leagu the greater Boston area through operatn, social activi and service to the muny. (Boston Alliance of Gay Sports). Sce s openg the South End 2014, Cathedral Statn, a gay-oriented sports bar and pub, has provid a space for the LGBTQ muny rints to gather, socialize and share important rmatn.

The proposal and Cathedral Statn’s pendg closure have brought a great al of nfn to the muny as to whether the requted nnabis dispensary is the reason why the gay sports bar and pub will be shuttg s doors. An anizatn he is a part of, Boston Alliance of Gay Sports, often hosts events there, cludg a sock drive on Friday.

“As a middle-aged gay whe male, I want to look at safety and walkg the streets I wouldn’t feel safe, ” McDavt said. There are jt a handful of gay sports bars and pubs the cy. Gay Softball Boston!