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Best LGBT sports stories of 2011

We begin this year’s bests once again with the top 5 sports stories of 2011. Tune in every days for the first days of 2012 to wish 2011 farewell. […]


Rugby star and gay rights advocate Ben Cohen comes to PDX!

As we mentioned here a few weeks ago, rugby star and noted ally Ben Cohen recently hung up his boots, deciding to focus on his new anti-homophobia and anti-bullying initiative, the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation.

Cohen is kick starting his project by touring the US, and on Thursday he’ll be here in Portland! He’ll be at Niketown (at SW 6th and Salmon) from 7:30 pm – 10:30 pm.

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The tide is starting to turn as athletes and others in the sports world come out

Will Sheridan in his playing days

As you may have heard, there has been some extremely exciting news in the intersecting worlds of gay people and sports lately.

On Monday, Rick Welts, the chief executive and president of the Phoenix Suns, came out in a very public way (you can’t get much more public than the front page of the New York Times, can you?). In coming out, Welts aims to break the silence surrounding homosexuality in sports. The reaction to his news has been very encouraging. David Stern, the commissioner of the NBA, has been nothing but supportive. Before coming out to the world at large, Welts came out to Bill Russell, one of the greatest basketball players of all time, and to Steve Nash, the Suns point guard and two-time NBA MVP, both of whom offered their full support and respect.

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Athletic Allies

Rugby pro Ben Cohen

A lot of people, myself included, wish that more top-level athletes would come out. Based on rough statistics, it’s clear that there are many athletes competing in the upper echelons of their sports who are queer but remain closeted. The fact is, though, that coming out as an elite athlete is a catch 22–athletes aren’t going to come forward until there is less of a stigma around homosexuality in sports, but there isn’t going to be less of a stigma until there are more openly gay athletes.

This is where straight allies come in. Recently, several high profile straight athletes have publicly declared their allegiance to lgbt rights and to lgbt athletes.

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kegs, rugby and vagina wigs (a women’s rugby review)

Oy. I am definitely still in recovery mode from my stellar weekend at Maggotfest, theĀ  annual rugby festival in Missoula, Montana. In a 72 hour period, I spent over 18 hours in a car as the gracious DD to a wild and crazy group of ruggers. The drinking started in the car on Friday and didn’t end until we got back into the car Sunday afternoon.

rugby girls know how to get down.

rugby girls know how to get down

Maggotfest, my friends, is serious business. Serious drinking, costumes, nudity, ridiculousness, and rugby. Ok, so the rugby part isn’t that serious, but it is there–there are actual referees and real teams* and at the end of every game, there is only one winner.

This was my red dress party. Unlike red dress, most of the gay folks at Maggotfest were ladies who could ruck, maul and scrum it like a rockstar. I would argue that Maggotfest was clearly where it was at. It was–in a word–epic.

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Rugby (fun)draiser

Today from 6 until late pm theĀ  Oregon Rugby Sports Union (ORSU) women’s team will be holding an all you can eat, all you can drink spaghetti feed. There will be kegs and large vats of spaghetti as well as a silent auction.

The ORSU team have been slected to compete in the brand new USA Rugby Premiership. The Premiership is a league of the best teams in […]