Puerto Rican gay boxer Orlando Cruz to marry boyfriend

in: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/08/15/puerto-rican-gay-boxer-orlando-cruz-to-marry-boyfriend/





Puerto Rican professional boxer Orlando Cruz is to marry his long term boyfriend José Manuel after proposing on Facebook.

In a video message posted to the social networking site, Cruz said (via translation) “I wanted to tell you how much I need you and how much I miss you”.

Mentioning his upcoming WBO Featherweight Title fight against Mexico’s Orlando Solido, he said to Manuel: “Now, more than ever that I have an important fight coming up for the world championship, I want to tell you that you are a very special person in my life. I am a little nervous, but I want to tell you and share with your friends and my friends if you want to marry me. I want you to be part of my life and me be part of yours.”

In a similar video reply, Manuel accepted his boxing boyfriend’s proposal.

Cruz went public about his sexuality in October 2012 and became boxing’s first openly gay professional fighter in the process.

He released a statement to the world saying: “I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself.

“I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career.

“I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”

Equal marriage is not currently recognised in Puerto Rico.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/08/15/puerto-rican-gay-boxer-orlando-cruz-to-marry-boyfriend/

WWE wrestler Darren Young comes out as gay: ‘I’m comfortable with myself, and I’m happy’

in: http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/08/15/wwe-wrestler-darren-young-comes-out-as-gay-im-comfortable-with-myself-and-im-happy/





WWE wrestler Darren Young has come out as gay in an interview with TMZ.

The 29-year-old American was asked in the interview, posted Thursday morning, whether he believes a gay wrestler can be successful in the WWE.

“Absolutely,” Young responded. “Look at me. I’m a WWE superstar and to be honest with you, I’ll tell you right now, I’m gay. And I’m happy. I’m very happy.

“I’m just letting you know that I’m happy who I am, I’m comfortable with myself, and I’m happy to be living a dream.”

Young said his sexual orientation does not matter to his profession.

“Some people might not like it. Some people will like it. But I’m here to please myself. I’m here to be happy.”

He added that he was “hoping to be able to make a difference” with his revelation.

“It’s very important to me that people understand that someone’s sexual preference shouldn’t really matter. It should be about the person.”

WWE released a statement in support of Darren Young later on Thursday.

“WWE is proud of Darren Young for being open about his sexuality, and we will continue to support him as a WWE Superstar. Today, in fact, Darren will be participating in one of our Be A STAR anti-bullying rallies in Los Angeles to teach children how to create positive environments for everyone regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation.”

In another interview with TMZ, fellow wrestler John Cena said it was “wonderful” that Young came out.

“It doesn’t affect his work. He’s a wonderful worker in the ring,” Cena told TMZ. “Darren Young is a consummate professional. I’m actually very proud of him for doing that.”

WWE wrestler and executive Triple H voiced his support via Twitter.

In April, Jason Collins became the first gay athlete in one of the four major men’s professional sports in North America to come out during his career. Liz Carmouche and Jessica Andrade faced off in the first UFC fight featuring two out lesbians at the end of July. 

 

Also this year Robbie Rogers, who revealed he was gay upon his retirement over the winter, made his return to Major League Soccer, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy. American soccer player Megan Rapinoe came out before the London Olympics and first overall pick Brittney Griner is among the WNBA’s openly gay players.

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2013/08/15/wwe-wrestler-darren-young-comes-out-as-gay-im-comfortable-with-myself-and-im-happy/

Canadian Olympians march for tolerance at Vancouver Pride Parade

in: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Canadian+Olympians+march+tolerance+Vancouver+Pride+Parade/8748166/story.html

Two Olympians representing Canada's Olympic Team marched in Vancouver's Pride Parade today.

Canadian Olympic officials say it was an effort to spread a message of tolerance, acceptance and diversity in light of Russia's anti-gay laws and the upcoming 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

Alpine skier and 2010 Olympian Mike Janyk and two-time Olympian snowboarder Mercedes Nicoll joined Pride participants as they marched through Vancouver's downtown and the West End.

Canadian Olympic Committee president Marcel Aubut says the coming together of COC and Pride is a reminder that sport is open to everyone, regardless of race, religion, creed or sexual orientation.

Anti-gay laws in Russia have provoked strong protest from Canada's gay community, and anti-Russian sentiment was visible throughout Sunday's Parade.

At least one marcher wore a T-shirt and hoisted a sign featuring a photoshopped image of Russian President Vladimir Putin wearing blue eye shadow and blush.

This is the first time the COC has participated in Pride festivals across the country — Olympians have already marched in Toronto and will also be present in the upcoming Pride celebrations in Ottawa, Calgary and Montreal.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Canadian+Olympians+march+tolerance+Vancouver+Pride+Parade/8748166/story.html

Orlando Cruz on Jason Collins: ‘Coming out as gay doesn’t make you less of a man’

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/orlando-cruz-jason-collins-%E2%80%98coming-out-gay-doesn%E2%80%99t-make-you-less-man%E2%80%99020513

The first professional boxer to come out as gay has sounded off on the recent coming out of Jason Collins, the NBA star that came out this week.

Orlando Cruz, who revealed his sexuality last year, said the two of them are showing being gay does not make them any less than straight men.

‘Coming out does not make him less of a man because he is a great athlete,’ Cruz told NBC Latino.

‘[Collins] is living the dream of every high school kid who wants to play basketball. He should always keep his self-esteem up because he has the right to be where he is like any other athlete.’

When Cruz came out, he says all he wanted was respect for who he is as an athlete. The Puerto Rican is currently ranked as the number four featherweight boxer in the world.

‘We are two individuals that are making history,’ Cruz said. ‘He is the first active gay basketball player. But I was the first in boxing. I feel very happy that I’m inspiring other athletes to gain the courage to do the same.’

The 31-year-old said he understood the physical and mental preparation that Collins went through to make the announcement, who spent two years in counseling in order to prepare to come out to the world.

Losing only two fights in his professional career, Cruz is now hoping to become the first openly gay world champion in a sport.

When asked what will happen when he faces a homophobic opponent, Cruz said last year he knows he has some ‘tough days’ ahead of him.

He said: ‘Someone will come along who calls me a faggot or a fairy. I’ll say: “What? You call me a faggot?

‘But you’d better watch out, because I’m the faggot who’s going to kick your ass”.’

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/orlando-cruz-jason-collins-%E2%80%98coming-out-gay-doesn%E2%80%99t-make-you-less-man%E2%80%99020513

Leeds United and US soccer star Robbie Rogers comes out as gay

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/leeds-united-and-us-soccer-star-robbie-rogers-comes-out-gay150213



Photo by Longbomb.

 

American international and former British Leeds United football midfielder Robbie Rogers has come out as gay.

The 25-year-old told fans he no longer wants to keep his sexuality a secret.

He added he ‘couldn’t be happier’ with his decision.

He’s the highest profile footballer to come out in Britain’s national game since Justin Fashanu in 1990. He committed suicide in 1998.

Writing on his blog Rogers said he had feared coming out as gay would get in the way of his dreams.

‘Dreams of going to a World Cup, dreams of The Olympics, dreams of making my family proud. What would life be without these dreams? Could I live a life without them?’ he asked.

But now he has decided to get things off his chest.

He wrote: ‘Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple.

‘Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.

‘I always thought I could hide this secret. Football was my escape, my purpose, my identity. Football hid my secret, gave me more joy than I could have ever imagined… I will never forget the friends I have made a long the way and the friends that supported me once they knew my secret.

‘Now is my time to step away. It’s time to discover myself away from football.

‘Life is so full of amazing things. I realized I could only truly enjoy my life once I was honest. Honesty is a bitch but makes life so simple and clear. My secret is gone, I am a free man, I can move on and live my life as my creator intended.’

Rogers started playing in college football at the University of Maryland. After moving to Dutch Eredivisie side Heerenveen in 2006 he returned to the US to sign for Columbus Crew the next year.

He played for the USA in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He won an MLS Cup title with Columbus Crew that same year.

In 2012 he was with British Championship side Leeds United. He was then on loan to League One team Stevenage, also in the UK, from August 2012 until January 2013.

He is the co-owner of menswear brand Halsey.

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/leeds-united-and-us-soccer-star-robbie-rogers-comes-out-gay150213

NFL player Chris Culliver to undergo sensitivity training for homophobic comments

in: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/02/nfl-player-chris-culliver-to-undergo-sensitivity-training-for-homophobic-comments/

 
Chris Culliver is to undergo sensitivity training after saying gay players weren't welcome (Image: Twitter)

San Francisco 49ers player, Chris Culliver, who earlier this week said there were no gay players on the team, and if there were, they wouldn’t be welcome, is to begin sensitivity training following this weekend’s Super Bowl.

Culliver is to begin the sensitivity training and education and then begin volunteer work with at-risk gay youths nationwide, the Associated Press reports.

Earlier this week, Chris Culliver, who is set to play for the San Francisco 49ers in this weekend’s Super Bowl said in an interview that he didn’t think there were any gay players on his team, and that they wouldn’t be welcome if there were.

Mr Culliver since apologised, and said his comments were “hurtful and ugly”, and said they didn’t reflect his true feelings on the issue.

“[I was] really just not thinking. [It was] something that I thought. Definitely nothing that I felt in my heart,” Culliver said.

The cornerback is to start working with the Trevor Project, a US LGBT suicide prevention organisation, said public relations rep, Theodore Palmer.

Palmer said that Culliver would spend time at a crisis centre in San Francisco.

Openly gay former 49ers player, Kwame Harris, also spoke out about the comments made by Culliver prior to his apology being issued.

Mr Harris told NBC: ”It’s surprising that in 2013 Chris Culliver would use his 15 minutes to spread vitriol and hate. I recognize that these are comments that he may come to regret and that he may come to see that gay people are not so different than straight people.”

Earlier this week, Mr Harris was charged with felony domestic violence and assault charges involving a former boyfriend.

San Francisco coach Jim Harbaugh said the comments were not acceptable.

“We reject what he said. That’s not something that reflects the way the organization feels, the way most of the players feel,” Harbaugh said.

A statement from Mr Culliver’s team condemned his comments: “The San Francisco 49ers reject the comments that were made yesterday, and have addressed the matter with Chris. There is no place for discrimination within our organization at any level. We have and always will proudly support the LGBT community.”

 

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/02/02/nfl-player-chris-culliver-to-undergo-sensitivity-training-for-homophobic-comments/

Trans teen skates with hockey hero he named himself after

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/trans-teen-skates-hockey-hero-he-named-himself-after300113

An amateur hockey goaltender from Canada, who is an open trans advocate, met his hero on the ice rink

A 16-year-old trans teenager from Canada always dreamed of meeting Vancouver Canucks hockey star Cory Schneider, but it always felt like he would never get there.

But for Cory Oskham, his dreams became reality when he met the star and shared the ice with his hero.

On 21 January, the teen and advocate was preparing to give one of his speeches on homophobia and transphobia in schools at the Dare to Stand Out Vancouver conference.

Just before the presentation, his mother wowed him by revealing his hero had heard about the teen and wanted to skate with him that day.

‘I’m a really big card collector,’ Oskham told the official Canucks website. ‘I was collecting all kinds of cards and my mom said to pick my favourite and collect him – it was getting a bit out of control.

‘Then I opened a pack of cards and pulled a really sick Cory Schneider card. It just clicked; I needed to start collecting him.

‘Around the time I started collecting Schneider, it was time to pick a name. I went through a handful: Will, William, Matt, Matthew, none of them really felt right, then my mom suggested Cory and I started using it around the house. It felt very right. Cory felt very right.’

Oskham, who also plays as goaltender for the Brittania School Hockey Academy, began taking hormone blockers at age nine and started taking testosterone a year and a half ago.

‘I went into high school not who I am, but being in grade 10 now I feel very much like part of the high school,’ Oskham said.

‘I felt like an outsider, but now I have a great support system and a great group of friends, which I’ve never had before. Life is great.’

http://gaystarnews.com/article/trans-teen-skates-hockey-hero-he-named-himself-after300113

Transgender College Hoops Player Is Inspiring Others

Racism, homophobia tarnish Zenit supporters

in: http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/12/17/racism_homophobia_tarnish_zenit_supporters/

Fans of two-time defending Russian champion Zenit St. Petersburg are calling for non-white and gay players to be excluded from the team, another sign of the racism that is plaguing the country that will host the World Cup in 2018.

Landscrona, the largest Zenit supporters' club, released a manifesto Monday demanding the club field an all-white, heterosexual team. It added that "dark-skinned players are all but forced down Zenit's throat now, which only brings out a negative reaction" and said gay players were "unworthy of our great city."

The club quickly sought to distance itself from the fans. Without directly referring to their manifesto, Zenit's Italian head coach, Luciano Spalletti, said on the club's website that "tolerance for me is most of all the ability to understand and accept differences."

"Furthermore, being tolerant means that you fight against any kind of stupidity," he added.

The club, which is owned by state-controlled natural gas giant Gazprom, also told the R-Sport news agency it picked players on ability alone, insisting that "the team's policy is aimed at development and integration into the world soccer community, and holds no archaic views."

Zenit was the only top-flight Russian team without a black player until this summer, when it acquired Brazilian striker Hulk and Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel for 80 million euros ($105 million). French midfielder Yann M'Vila declined a move to the club in August after receiving death threats.

"I can personally assure you that I will do everything I can to help those who seek to explain to people what tolerance is, and the need to respect other cultures and traditions," Spalletti said. "I think that Zenit has proven through its work that the club understands what tolerance is, and what it means to have tolerant behaviour. The team has gathered players from different countries and ethnic groups who work together to achieve a common goal, and work well."

Fans insisted that "we are not racists and for us the absence of black Zenit players is just an important tradition that underlines the team's identity and nothing more."

Russia has struggled to deal with racism and violence at its stadiums as it prepares to host the 2018 World Cup. Black players are frequently the targets of monkey chants and some, including Anzhi Makhachkala's Robert Carlos and Christopher Samba, have had bananas thrown at them by fans.

Officials have at times shown little enthusiasm for targeting racism. When Lokomotiv Moscow fans held up a banner in 2010 thanking an English team for signing their black striker Peter Odemwingie with a picture of a banana, the head of Russia's World Cup bid awkwardly claimed they were referencing a quaint, little-used Russian expression meaning "to fail an exam."

Zenit's fans have long been the country's most problematic. Dick Advocaat, the team's former Dutch manager, once admitted that "the fans don't like black players" and that it would be "impossible" for Zenit to sign one.

Several black players have also singled out Zenit's fans as particularly racist. Former Russian top scorer Vagner Love told a Brazilian newspaper in April that Zenit was "the most racist team in Russia" and the only one whose fans had abused him in his seven years playing for CSKA Moscow.

Five years earlier, Krylya Sovetov Samara's former Cameroon international Serge Branco told a local newspaper that Zenit's management were "the real racists" for not combatting the problem, adding that "in a civilized country they'd smack them down to the third division for their fans' behaviour."

Zenit's fans have also come under the spotlight recently after one of them threw a firecracker that injured Dinamo Moscow's goalkeeper during a match in November. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, himself a Zenit fan, called for violent spectators to be banned for life from attending matches. Parliament has drafted a bill that would ban hooligans for a year.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2012/12/17/racism_homophobia_tarnish_zenit_supporters/

Football team fired after hurling anti-gay insults at rivals

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/football-team-fired-after-hurling-anti-gay-insults-rivals061212

Sweden, the home of football's only openly gay pro player Anton Hysén, is shocked after footballers shouted homophobic insults




A Swedish football club has fired all of their players after complaints they had hurled homophobic remarks at members of a rival team.

During a recent Division Seven match with the Stockholm Snipers, players from Sörskogens IF were heard shouting insults such as ‘you suck cock for 50 kronor’, ‘all of you have HIV’, and ‘we’re probably going to get infected’.

Club chair Ketil Torp said: ‘We had no choice but to suspend the entire team. That kind of language isn't appropriate for football or anywhere else.’

Speaking to local radio station Sveriges (SR), Torp added it was ‘damaging’ for the club.

‘We distance ourselves from all insults. Clearly it’s damaging for the club to have players who don’t follow the rules,’ the Local reports he said.

Stockholm Snipers coach Christoffer Smitz said it was a ‘little unpleasant’ in the changing room after the game, saying one of the players was threatened physically.’

Sörskogens IF was fined 5,000 kronor ($757, £470, €579) by the Stockholm Football Association, which also demanded that top club officials attend a training course.

According to SR, it is the first time the Stockholm Football Association has penalized a club for homophobic behaviour.

Anton Hysén, the second ever professional player worldwide to come out, has found fame in his home country.

In 2012, he became the first ever gay man to win ‘Let’s Dance’, the Swedish version of Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars.

Speaking to The Guardian, Hysén said: ‘There's nothing to be a role model for – you're gay, it's not a big thing.

‘People tell me I'm a celebrity now, and I shouldn't be. But as long as it helps others by speaking openly, I'll do everything I can.

‘If there's anyone afraid of coming out, they should give me a call.’



http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/football-team-fired-after-hurling-anti-gay-insults-rivals061212

Homophobia in sports: interviews to 2 Canadian CFL teams

Toronto Argos talk about homophobia

Calgary Stampeders on homophobia and transphobia

Calgary's Cornish shows he's cool

in: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Calgary+Cornish+shows+cool/7598435/story.html

His mom has a wife, he has a new trophy

 

Jon Cornish became an instant Right to Play champion when he revealed his mom has a wife. When he accepted his top Canadian player award Thursday, he thanked both his mothers.
Photograph by: Colleen De Neve , Calgary Herald

 

To those of us not in daily contact with Jon Cornish, the story in the paper seemed to have a misprint. It was a reference to his mother, Margaret, an Anglican priest, travelling in Jerusalem with her wife.

It's all right, the Calgary Stampeders running back said Thursday. He made the same mistake the first time his mom told him she had met someone.

"What's he like?" Cornish said, home for Christmas from the University of Kansas, sensing her excitement.

"Well, it's a she," said his mom.

Cornish, bless his free-spirited heart, told this story after practice, to a roomful of reporters at Rogers Centre, and you could have heard a pin drop. He was remembering his own reaction to the news that his mother was gay.

"It took like 15 seconds to process, and then I was like, 'OK, that's pretty cool.' And that was it," he said.

Cornish, who ran for a league-leading 1,457 yard this season and broke Normie Kwong's 56-year-old record for rushing yards by a Canadian, didn't win the Gibson's Finest CFL award for most outstanding player Thursday night - Toronto Argonauts' record-breaking triple-threat Chad Owens won it - but he did get the prize as the league's top Canadian.

As importantly, perhaps, he gained something only his forthrightness in the national spotlight could have won him: a seat at the head table of the You Can Play movement, which is gathering steam and still awaits the day an active player in one of North America's four major professional sports comes out.

Stampeders head coach John Hufnagel was asked how accepting he thinks his club would be of an openly gay athlete.

"Can he throw?" said Huf-nagel. "Can he catch? Is he fast? It's a free country."

Cornish is aware that there is even a battle still to be fought to keep the homophobic reflex out of the locker-room.

"I'm actually pretty outspoken. I don't like certain slurs being used, and any time I hear them, I speak up," he said.

"I think for the most part, my team's pretty respectful. We have a lot of smart people on this team.

"People are always surprised when I tell them about my mom's situation, but for me, it's something I'm proud of. Because she'd been through a lot, and she finally found someone who she loved, and for me, there's nothing more positive in the world."

Margaret Cornish raised five children by herself on a music teacher's salary, he said, and got them into private schools "but when we were all done, she decided to go back to school, and got her Masters of Ethics, and became a priest in the Anglican Church," he said. "So that's what she wanted to achieve, and for me that's been a motivation my whole life."

Cornish himself is as unpredictable in an interview as he is on the field, where his ability to bowl over tacklers, shed others and weave his way through traffic made him the first Canadian to lead the league in rushing since Ottawa's Orville Lee in 1988.

His mooning of the crowd in Regina during a loss to the Roughriders this year was deeply embarrassing but "I would say that I let out all my immaturity that I had left in that moment," he said Thursday. "It was like, 'OK, that's it.'"


"He's a good football player, and a smart guy," said offensive co-ordinator Dave Dickenson. "He's not that different from most people. Everybody has their own little thing ... Jon, to me, is very coachable, very detailed - he's a little bit inquisitive, but I don't think that's really a negative."

The top Canadian award - referred to, at times in its history, as the Tallest Midget - can hardly be called that this year, with both Cornish and Montreal middle linebacker Shea Emry (defensive player, Canadian) double nominees for major awards. Emry lost the defensive vote to Edmonton linebacker J.C. Sherritt.

But playing a Canadian like Cornish at a skill position traditionally manned by an import does require some managing, as it has with Harris.

"When I first got up to the FL, I thought it would be a ositive. So when I came up, was a little bit surprised o find that me being a Canadian didn't really matter," Cornish said.

"In fact, because I would need a Canadian backup, that created more problems. So I ended up thinking it wasn't the best thing. But now that I am a starter and we've got an extra American wide receiver on the field, Mo Price, it's a pretty big positive."

Cornish lost the outstanding player vote by a 41-16 margin to Owens, not a terribly big surprise - nothing like Calgary's Henry Burris losing to Montreal's Anthony Calvillo in 2008, and vowing revenge (and getting it) in the Grey Cup game.

"I think players will use whatever ammunition they can to get motivated," said Hufnagel, "and that was a small motivational piece to that puzzle, that year."

Will it be for Jon Cornish, who has been held to under 50 yards by the Argos in two meetings this year, both Calgary losses?

"I would say there's a significant chance it'll be better than 50 yards on Sunday," he said. "If it's less than 50, I'd be really disappointed."

Thursday, there was nothing to be disappointed about. Nothing important.

Earlier in the day, Margaret Cornish and her wife Andrea Mann arrived in Toronto to hear him say:

"I want to thank my mom - my two moms, really. Because what are we without our families?"

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/sports/Calgary+Cornish+shows+cool/7598435/story.html

Holanda faz campanha contra a homofobia

Former US Olympic skater Matt Savoie marries partner in Massachusetts

in: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/former-us-olympic-skater-matt-savoie-marries-partner-massachusetts221012


He was teammate of Johnny Weir at 2006 Winter Olympics


 

He may not be as famous as Johnny Weir but Matt Savoie does have a few things in common with the popular ice skating star: both have represented the US in the Olympics and both got married this year to their male partners.

Savoie, 32, married attorney Brian Boyle earlier this month in Massachusetts while Weir married Victor Voronov last January in New York City.

'One thing that even our officiant talked about in our ceremony, and that Brian and I have experienced in this process, is that it’s really wonderful to be in a state that recognizes marriage between gay couples, to be able to be understood as a couple in the same way that our parents understood each other and understand other married couples,' Savoie tells Ice Network. 'That validation is hard to describe. It’s very important to us. We’re really proud to live in a state that supports it.'

It was back in 2006 that Savoie reached both the pinnacle then the end of his skating career.

He won the bronze medal at the US Championships that year which earned him a spot on the Olympic team, along with Weir, to compete in Turin, Italy.

Savoie finished seventh in the Olympics and retired from the sport that year. He had deferred his acceptance into the law school at Cornell University a year earlier in able to compete in the Olympics.

The skater met Boyle in law school and they both graduated in 2009. They became engaged last November.

'We had a really lovely ceremony,' he said. 'Everyone was participating in the ceremony in some way. It was wonderful to have them there.'

http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/former-us-olympic-skater-matt-savoie-marries-partner-massachusetts221012

Major US sports leagues and celebs to go purple in show of support for LGBT youth

in: http://gaystarnews.com/article/major-us-sports-leagues-and-celebs-go-purple-show-support-lgbt-youth181012

 This week's Spirit Day to combat bullying getting unprecedented support

Just two years after the first Spirit Day took place, unprecedented support from the worlds of sports and entertainment is shaping up for the day to 'go purple' as a statement against LGBT bullying.

Observance of the day is on Friday (19 October) and participating will be the National Basketball Association (NBA) / Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), the National Football League (NFL), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB), Major League Soccer (MLS) and NASCAR's diversity program.

More than 100 celebrities have also pledged support including Ricky Martin, George Takei, Chely Wright, Andy Cohen, Cyndi Lauper, Cheyenne Jackson, Kathy Griffin, Bernadette Peters, Margaret Cho, Chaz Bono, Fran Drescher, Kathy Griffin and Judith Light, among others.

In addition, Viacom will turn its on-air logos purple with its MTV turning its high-definition screen in Times Square purple for the day. Comcast and NBCUniversal and The Sundance Channel will also participate.

Among the landmarks that will go purple: The 'Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Sign' and several hotels on the Las Vegas strip, the Duke Energy Tower in Charlotte, the New York Stock Exchange, Thomson Reuters’ Times Square screen, the LAX Pylon Lights and the JFK traffic tower.

'From sports leagues to faith institutions to national monuments, schools and celebrities, millions of Americans will unite this week in an extraordinary show of support for LGBT youth and in a stand against bullying,' said Herndon Graddick, president of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation which is spearheading the day. 'At a time when 8 out of 10 LGBT youth report being harassed at school, it’s now more important than ever that we let every young person know that it’s okay to be who you are.'

  http://gaystarnews.com/article/major-us-sports-leagues-and-celebs-go-purple-show-support-lgbt-youth181012