Sports
Playing it straight
Inclusion project inspired by late gay son of Maple Leafs manager

About 16 months ago, I wrote about the role of sports heroes and how they could impact the public perception of the LGBT community. At the time, I was thinking about openly gay sports figures breaking down barriers and creating a positive image of LGBT athlete.
Fast forward to today and multiple straight sports heroes have stepped forward to help accomplish that task.
This past year has seen some incredible support from straight sports ally groups such as the ones founded by Hudson Taylor and Ben Cohen. And more recently, national buzz was created by Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo and Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe from their support of the LGBT community.
Coming on the heels of all of this is the momentum being gained by the first specifically sports-targeted campaign launched within a professional sports community, the National Hockey League (NHL). The You Can Play project kicked off in March with all three of its founders having ties to ice hockey.
The You Can Play project seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athleteās skills, work ethic and competitive spirit.
The backstory began in November 2009 when Brendan Burke, an athlete and student manager for the menās ice hockey team at Miami University, publicly came out.
The admission led to international conversation about LGBT issues in sports because Brendan Burke was the son of Brian Burke, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the upcoming U.S. Olympic hockey team. His brother was Patrick Burke, talent scout for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Brendan Burke was viewed as a pioneer in advocacy against homophobia in hockey being described as āthe closest person to the NHL ever to come out publicly as a gay manā.
In February 2010, Brendan Burke died in a car accident in Indiana at the age of 21. That month at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the United States menās hockey team wore dog tags inscribed with the words āIn Memory of Brendan Burke.ā
Patrick Burke penned a tribute to his late brother on Outsports and subsequently wrote the following phrase about Brendanās legacy: āIf you can play, you can play.ā
Over the next year, Patrick Burke began working with Glenn Witman of GForce Sports and Brian Kitts who had worked with the Colorado Avalanche and came up with the idea of enlisting NHL players to help further the cause of a safe sports environment.
āWe were in a unique position with access to professional athletes,ā says co-founder Brian Kitts.
The trio began by assembling a strong board of directors and then reached out to all 30 teams in the NHL in an effort to get support from players which was received with a strong response.
āOur mission is very specific to sports,ā Kitts says. āWe will not be addressing issues such as same-sex marriage or workplace inequality. It is our hope that by leveraging contacts with professional athletes we can gain grassroots support of the campaign.ā
As of today, more than 30 NHL players have filmed videos in support of the campaign.Ā Locally, Matt Hendricks of the Washington Capitals, the athletic department of George Washington University and the D.C. United have produced videos for You Can Play.
āIt has been great to see that the campaign has begun to cross over into other sports,ā Kitts says.
Why is the You Can Play campaign so important?
Just last month, Yunel Escobar of the Toronto Blue Jays, appeared on the field in a game against the Boston Red Sox wearing eye black stickers that read āTu Ere Mariconā (which translates to āYou are a faggotā). He was suspended for three days and his lost pay of $87,209 was donated to GLAAD and the You Can Play project.
Coming up, You Can Play will be releasing a guide for athletes, coaches, administrators and fans giving them the tools they need to make their sport, arena, team or school more LGBT friendly.
Projects like You Can Play will hopefully lead the general public to understand that the sexual orientation of an athlete should be a non-issue.
Patrick Burke will be the special guest this weekend at the Team D.C. Championās Awards at the HRC Building on Saturday. Tickets are at teamdc.org.
You Can Play can be found at youcanplayproject.org.
Sports
Los Angeles Dodgers apologize, reverse decision on disinviting drag group
Pride Night to take place June 16

In a tweet Monday afternoon, the Los Angeles Dodgers Major League Baseball franchise reversed last Wednesday’s decision to disinvite the LA Chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from a scheduled āCommunity Hero Awardā presentation for the team’s annual Pride Night on June 16.
ā Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 22, 2023
Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath announced on Twitter Monday afternoon after the Dodgers apology, and its accompanying public acceptance by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, that she had been pleased to have assisted in facilitating a meeting between the team, the Sisters and stakeholders in the LGBTQ community’s leadership both non-profit and political to come to an understanding.

Thanks to the @LADragnuns for your work to serve & uplift the LGBTQ+ community. You model the best of my faith.
ā Lindsey P. Horvath (@LindseyPHorvath) May 23, 2023
@Dodgers, it is rare for an organization like yours to publicly recognize mistakes & commit to doing better – thank you šš¼
In a Monday afternoon phone call with the Los Angeles Blade, Horvath explained that important dialogue between the Dodgers and other parties had commenced. She said that earlier on Monday, in a meeting at Dodger Stadium, the stakeholders met to work out a solution.
“I was honestly moved and grateful by the commitment in the room by all the parties, especially Dodgers president and part-owner Stan Kasten,” Horvath said.
In addition to the representatives from the Sisters drag group, the meeting was also attended by Los Angeles LGBT Center Chief Executive Officer Joe Hollendoner, LA Pride President Gerald GarthBoard, West Hollywood Mayor Sepi Shyne, state Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, and state Sen. Caroline Menjivar. Zbur and Menjivar attending on behalf of the California Legislative LGBTQ caucus.
Horvath indicated that she felt it was a critically important meeting with all stakeholders as they worked through the anger, sense of betrayal, and misgivings over the Dodgers actions. She pointed out that she was convinced that the Dodgers president was genuinely remorseful and apologetic.
In an email Monday night, Zbur told the Blade: “It was clear that todayās meeting followed meaningful internal dialogue among Dodgers management, with whom I had numerous frank conversations during the week and weekend. Iām pleased that the Dodgers came to understand the genuine hurt and injury caused by the decision to exclude the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence ā one that did not reflect our Los Angeles or California values.
As the only LGBTQ members of the Legislature representing Los Angeles, Senator Menjivar and I participated in the meeting at the request of the California LGBTQ Legislative Caucus to express the serious and uniform concern of Democratic members of the California Legislature.
After hearing the perspectives of the Sisters, L.A. Pride and the LGBTQ+ leaders in the room, the Dodger management apologized unequivocally for their mistake, re-invited the Sisters to participate in the event, and engaged in a discussion about the steps that they could take to reconcile with LGBTQ+ community.
I was proud of the Sisters, who demonstrated resilience, strength and a commitment to the LGBTQ+ community during the discussion, and I was impressed with the sincerity of the apology by the Dodger management.”
The Los Angeles LGBT Center had called on the team to cancel Pride Night altogether. After the Dodgers had made their public apology, Hollendoner issued the following statement:
āTodayās decision by the Dodgers to publicly apologize to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and roll back their exclusion from next monthās Pride Night is a step in the right direction, and we support the Sistersā vote to accept their much-deserved Community Hero Award.
Last weekās debacle underscores the dangerous impact of political tactics by those who seek to stoke the flames of anti-LGBTQ bias at a time when our rights are under attack. We must continue to stand together as a community in defense of the rights and recognition of LGBTQ+ people in Los Angeles and beyond.
The Center is filled with gratitude to our Los Angeles community, who mobilized to support the Sisters, all of which compelled the Dodgers to ultimately do right by LGBTQ+ people everywhere. We are proud to stand with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and will join them at Pride Night to honor their many important contributions to our movement.
The Dodgersā course correction and the conversations we have had with the organizationās leadership since last week demonstrates the version of allyship we have come to expect from the team over the years. The Center will always strive to hold our corporate partners accountable ā which means so much more than waving a rainbow flag.ā
The team announced last week it would drop the drag group from its celebration of LGBTQ+
fans, the day after a letter-writing campaign was launched by the anti-LGBTQ Catholic League. Catholic League President Bill Donohue accused the team of “rewarding anti-Catholicism” by honoring the group.
“The Catholic League has been the leading critic of this bigoted organization for many decades,” Donohue wrote on the organization’s website. “… These homosexual bigots are known for simulating sodomy while dressed as nuns.”
He added, “Just last month, they held an event mocking our Blessed Mother and Jesus on Easter Sunday.”
One of those writing, was U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) who also sent a letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred, stating that he was questioning whether the League is āinclusive and welcomingā to Christians.
At the time, the Dodgers said they removed the group from their Pride Night celebration āgiven the strong feelings of people who have been offended by the Sistersā inclusion in our evening, and in an effort not to distract from the great benefits ⦠of Pride Night.ā
On Saturday, Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken invited the drag group to Angels Pride Night in a tweet, as reported by the Blade: āIām inviting the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to join me for @Angels Pride Night at Anaheim Stadium on June 7. Pride should be inclusive and like many, I was disappointed in the Dodgersā decision,ā tweeted the Mayor .
Neither the Angels nor the mayorās office confirmed that invitation as of press time, and also did not comment on the Dodgersā reversal.
However, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange took aim at Aitken for extending the invitation to the drag group:
āThe decision to openly embrace a group whose demeaning behavior is anti-Catholic and anti-Christian is misguided and disrespectful to the sisters of the Catholic Church who minister in Orange County and selflessly dedicate their lives to Godās underserved people,ā said Jarryd Gonzales, spokesman for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange on Monday.
āWe cannot condone any actions that have historically shown such high levels of disregard for the sincerely held beliefs of the faithful,ā he added.
“Our June 7th Pride Night is part of Major League Baseball’s league-wide effort to raise awareness and promote acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. As in the past, OC Pride has assisted our Organization in the planning of this event as well as outreach to all fans throughout Southern California,” an Angels spokesperson said on the mayor’s invitation.
The Sisters have not indicated publicly if they plan to attend the Angels Pride Night as of yet.
Sources tell the Blade out gay Dodgers Vice President Erik Braverman was being advised on this crisis by Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler. When contacted by the Blade, Zeigler declined to comment.
A spokesperson for the Dodgers did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Sports
Vice president meets Brittney Griner before first game back
Russia released WNBA star from penal colony late last year

Vice President Kamala Harris accompanied by her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, greeted WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury star center Brittney Griner and her wife Cherelle Friday night before Griner’s first professional basketball game back since being released from a Russian penal camp last December.
According to the White House Press Pool reporter traveling with Harris, she and Emhoff arrived at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles and met with the Griners prior to the game between the LA Sparks and Phoenix Mercury.
After conversations between the four, the vice president met with the rest of the Mercury in their dressing rooms before meeting with host team the LA Sparks in theirs.
According to the Advocate’s reporter Christopher Wiggins, in her meeting with the Mercury, the vice president said:
āI came here to talk to the team to congratulate you on exhibiting excellence in every way. You are some of the finest athletes in the world, and to do what you do every day shows that it is right to have ambition,ā she said.
āIt is right to have aspirations. It is right to work hard. It is right to compete when you know you have put everything into it; when you have trained, when you have discipline, when you have intelligence and when you have brilliance.ā
She added, āIt makes me so proud as vice president of the United States to go around the world talking to folks about a variety of issues, and one of the subjects that does come up is the WNBA. [The world] is watching what you guys are doing, lifting up the excellence of the finest athletes in the world.ā
After meeting both teams Harris then showed up at center court to cheers from about 10,000 people and received an honorary jersey from the Sparks.
Great time at the game tonight cheering on the @LASparks and @PhoenixMercury as we celebrated @BrittneyGriner‘s return to the court.
ā Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP) May 20, 2023
Her grace, courage, and determination are an inspiration to all. pic.twitter.com/0fTx952IWj
The Sparks beat the Mercury 94-71, although the Advocate pointed out: “Grinerās return to the floor and doing what she loves was more important than the result. Six rebounds, four blocks, and 18 points rounded out her performance.”
Sports
West Virginia University basketball coach apologizes for gay slurs
Bob Huggins used the āF wordā in a radio interview discussing a rival team when he was coaching menās basketball at University of Cincinnati

The coach of the West Virginia University Menās Basketball team said heās sorry for homophobic slurs he used to described fans of a rival team during a radio interview on Monday. Administrators said they are reviewing the incident and Coach Bob Huggins said he is prepared to face the consequences.
āAll those fags, those Catholic fags,ā Huggins said, when he was asked about Xavier University on Cincinnati station 700WLWās āBill Cunningham Show.ā Huggins was discussing his 16-season tenure with the University of Cincinnati and the schoolās intracity rivalry with Xavier.
The host asked the former coach of the Bearcats about a moment during a Crosstown Shootout game against the Musketeers. Huggins said Xavier fans threw sex toys onto the court.
āIt was transgender night, wasnāt it?ā asked Cunningham, making a wisecrack since there was no such thing. āIt was the Crosstown Shootout,ā Huggins replied. āWhat it was, was all those fags, those Catholic fags, I think, threw them.ā
Huggins added that the fans would āthrow rubber penises on the floor and then say they didnāt do it.ā
āThey were envious they didnāt have one.ā
ā ļø Hereās the audio of Bob Huggins calling Xavier fans āCatholic f–sā during an appearance on Bill Cunninghamās WLW radio show in Cincinnati pic.twitter.com/JTftGx9rQE
ā Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 8, 2023
The Mountaineers coach issued a statement of apology within hours of those comments:
āEarlier today on a Cincinnati radio program, I was asked about the rivalry between my former employer, the University of Cincinnati, and its crosstown rival, Xavier University.
āDuring the conversation, I used a completely insensitive and abhorrent phrase that there is simply no excuse for ā and I wonāt try to make one here.
āI deeply apologize to the individuals I have offended, as well as to the Xavier community, the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University.
āAs I have shared with my players over my 40 years coaching, there are consequences for our words and actions, and I will fully accept any coming my way. I am ashamed and embarrassed and heartbroken for those I have hurt. I must do better, and I will.ā
The university condemned Hugginsā comments and said in a statement, āThe situation is under review and will be addressed by the university and its athletics department.ā
ā WVU Men’s Basketball (@WVUhoops) May 8, 2023
Former Cincinnati City Councilman Chris Seelbach, the cityās first openly gay councilmember, told WKRC-TV heās neither surprised by the comments nor by the fact that they were celebrated on Cunninghamās show.
āI feel sorry for him, he holds that kind of hatred for people that are different in his heart, because thatās clearly where itās coming from,ā said Seelbach. āI get angry because Iām a Catholic man, I am a graduate of Xavier, and Iām gay.ā
Seelbach says he believes most Catholics donāt have the same views as Huggins and Cunningham.
āI want him to say that to my face, because thereās a lot of us who are taxpaying regular citizens who happen to be Catholic and gay who donāt appreciate it, and I donāt know if he would have the courage to say it to our face,ā said Seelbach.
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