UFC fighter apologises for anti gay slur - Australia Gay News Network
By glrfcentral, in Acceptance,
Acceptance
Amanda Nunes: UFC's first openly gay champion - Australia Gay News Network
By glrfcentral, in Acceptance,
Jones said while he was a college student at Mercer University in Georgia, one of his teammates on the college soccer team found out he was gay.
The teammate threatened to reveal his secret if Jones did not replace a backpack which had been stolen from the teammate.
Jones wrote:
‘Upset that his expensive hiking backpack was gone, he threatened to out me to my team if I didn’t pay for it.’
Jones bought the teammate a new backpack however the threat that his teammates could find out he was gay did not disappear.
‘The fear of my teammates finding out I was gay scared the life out of me,’ he writes. ‘I no longer had control over who knew my secret. My biggest insecurity was now in the hands of someone who was willing to use my sexuality against me as blackmail.’
Jones then seriously contemplated suicide but thankfully decided his life was worth living.
Jones remained closeted while still at college, however since then he has come out to friends and said many of them have been supportive.
‘One teammate in particular called me on my drive back to Virginia with so much remorse for ever making me feel uncomfortable or unloved,’ Jones writes.
‘I pulled over and sobbed after that phone call. One of the people I was most fearful of coming out to loved me for me.’
Jones now has a successful career as an openly gay man in college athletics but says homophobia is still an issue in sport.
‘It is by no means easy being gay in today’s society, especially in the world of college athletics,’ he writes.
‘Being black and gay adds another entire level of difficulty, but I’ve been getting through it. … I continually think, “is there a need to hide myself from the world anymore?” ‘I truly don’t think there is.’
Author Rachel Cook
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During the show, Smyth recounted a story in which he scolded his daughter for allowing his grandson to confuse AFL team Collingwood with the All Blacks.
"Well I turned to my daughter and said: 'Are you telling me that you really are going to have him play for that tight pants, weird singlet, bloody gay, homo sport?'"
Watson attempted to soften Smyth's remarks, saying the comments were "derogatory".
Smyth responded that he was saying it "in a controversy corner sort of a way," to which Watson responded: "I know, but we have to appease the one per cent of people who control society."
Radio Sport boss Steve Kyte said the matter was being taken seriously but refused to comment further.
"We are taking this very seriously but we won't be making comment on employee matters."
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"Lesbianism kills teams. People are afraid to talk about it. The coaches also take advantage of the girls, so there is much more to build in female football."
The Nigerian women's soccer team, known as The Super Falcons, has won nine of the 11 Africa women's championships, however, the team has failed to qualify for the last two Olympic Games.
Homophobia is rife in Nigeria with widespread violence against the LGBT community.
Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Nigeria. The punishments can include imprisonment and being sentenced to death.
Author Rachel Cook
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The game drew 40,000 people, the team’s largest regular season crowd in ten years and 100 per cent of the ticket proceeds went to the Pulse Victims Fund.
Billy Bean, a gay former Major League Baseball player now a vice president in the league office, threw out the first pitch. He said:
"I think today will be just a great moment if baseball can make everybody smile, enjoy a great baseball game, feel a little closer to one another.
“It's not specific to one person or another, or race or gender or color or sexual orientation or gender identity. It's about people feeling connected and supportive."
49 people were killed and 53 people injured when a gunman stormed the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Author Rachel Cook
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