Sports

Flag Football fun

Local gay group continuing to attract diverse roster

Published

13 years ago

December 6, 2012

Kevin Majoros

J.J. Johnson, whose leadership helped the D.C. Gay Flag Football League flourish. (Photo courtesy of Kevin Majoros)

In the movie “Field of Dreams,” James Earl Jones whispered the now iconic phrase, “If you build it, they will come.”

The phrase applies to many things in life, but doesn’t necessarily apply to building an LGBT sports team. The building of a sports team requires a leader, a driving force, or as some might say, someone to be the mule.

For the past several years, the D.C. Gay Flag Football League has exploded behind the leadership of JJ Johnson. It came into existence in 2009 and has grown to 270 players. On any given day, the backseat of Johnson’s care is filled with field marking equipment, cones and footballs.

In the mid 1990s there was a loose knit group of gay guys playing pickup games on the mall, led by Charles Salem. The organization level consisted of an email blast.

There were also straight guys playing on the Mall, and the two groups ended up merging. In 2003, the group went on to win Gay Bowl III, hosted by the National Gay Flag Football League under the name Washington Monuments.

It continued on as a ragtag bunch until April of 2009 when the national League contacted organizers to host Gay Bowl IX.

“There were many people involved in that mad scramble to get organized including Sean Bartel, John Williams and Chris Cormier,” Johnson says. “Within our six-month deadline, we were able to raise $50,000, get our 501(c)(3) status and have everything in place to host over 500 players from across the country.”

After the championships, the group was physically and emotionally spent from all the hard work. “Hardly anyone was showing up on Sundays for pickup games,” Johnson says.

In the fall of 2010, partly to keep their nonprofit status and partly to inspire the group, the inaugural D.C. League season was launched.

“That first season consisted of 72 players on six teams. We didn’t follow any templates used by other cities,” Johnson says. “We wanted to play by our own rules.”

Those rules reveal the many facets that make up the League. Each season, captain/quarterback pairings are drawn from a hat and followed by a draft. That creates new squads each season and prevents dynasties from being formed.

The group plays on the Carter Barron fields and offer up things such as skills clinics, referee clinics, travel teams, Friday Night Lights (played under the lights at Randall Fields) and a recreational league, which consists of players from the competitive league who are playing different positions within their teams to sharpen their overall skills.

“We are always looking for new quarterbacks or new superstars,” Johnson says. “We are currently at 20 teams with a maximum potential of 24 teams. Real estate is hard to find in D.C. so we are just about at our player capacity.”

To help with fundraising, Johnson also helped launch Ping Pong Madness at Nellies Sports Bar even building the ping pong tables himself. The ads featured Johnson holding a paddle with the tagline, “You need a spanking.”

Johnson has just resigned from the board of the League citing a need to stay focused on his business and the confidence that the organization will continue to prosper.

“There are still some strong leaders on the board such as Brandon Waggoner and Barry Mauck,” Johnson says. “And I will still be involved in some capacity.”

Johnson says there are many things that made him thankful to be a part of the League.

“I am so proud that we created a league for everybody,” he says. “Every year we have more women and more straight guys. On any game day Sunday night, you can find a local watering hole flooded with (our) players. This couldn’t have happened 20 years ago.”

Regardless of what Johnson’s future role is in the League, he will always be remembered as a leader in the local LGBT sports community. Thanks JJ.

The team can be found on the web at dcgffl.org.

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Sports

‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to participate in Olympic torch relay

Games to take place next month in Italy

Published

1 week ago

January 23, 2026

Staff reports

(Photo courtesy of Crave HBO Max)

“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will participate in the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that will take place next month in Italy.

HBO Max, which distributes “Heated Rivalry” in the U.S., made the announcement on Thursday in a press release.

The games will take place in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6-22. The HBO Max announcement did not specifically say when Williams and Storrie will participate in the torch relay.

Sports

Capitals to host 10th annual Pride night

Pre-game block party planned at District E

Published

2 weeks ago

January 16, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Washington Capitals will host Pride Night on Saturday, Jan. 17, when they host the Florida Panthers at Capital One Arena. A special ticket offer featuring a Pride-themed Capitals rainbow jersey is available at washcaps.com.

Fans are invited to a pre-game Block Party at District E beginning at 5 p.m. The event will feature a performance by the band NovaKane. Specialty happy hour food and beverages will be available, as well as giveaways. There will also be a presence by several local LGBTQ+ community organizations.

Egypt

Iran, Egypt object to playing in Seattle World Cup ‘Pride Match’

Game to take place on June 26

Published

2 months ago

December 11, 2025

Michael K. Lavers

(Photo by fifg/Bigstock)

Iran and Egypt have objected to playing in a “Pride Match” that will take place in Seattle during the 2026 World Cup.

The Egyptian Football Association on Tuesday said it told FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström in a letter that “it categorically rejects holding any activities related to supporting (homosexuality) during the match between the Egyptian national team and Iran, scheduled to be held in Seattle, USA, on June 26, 2026, in the third round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.” Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran President Mehdi Taj told ISNA, a semi-official Iranian news agency that both his country and Egypt “protested this issue.”

The 2026 World Cup will take place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The draw took place at the Kennedy Center on Dec. 5.

Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.

The State Department’s 2023 human rights report notes that while Egyptian law “did not explicitly criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, authorities regularly arrested and prosecuted LGBTQI+ persons on charges including ‘debauchery,’ prostitution, and ‘violating family values.’” Egyptian authorities “also reportedly prosecuted LGBTQI+ individuals for ‘misuse of social media.’”

“This resulted in de facto criminalization of same-sex conduct and identity,” notes the report.

The 2024 human rights report the State Department released earlier this year did not include LGBTQ-specific references.

Soccer has ‘unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs’

The June 26 match between Iran and Egypt coincides with Seattle Pride. The Washington Post reported the Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 Local Organizing Committee decided to hold the “Pride Match” before last week’s draw.

“As the Local Organizing Committee, SeattleFWC26’s role is to prepare our city to host the matches and manage the city experience outside of Seattle Stadium,” said SeattleFWC26 Vice President of Communications Hana Tadesse in a statement the committee sent to the Washington Blade on Wednesday. “SeattleFWC26 is moving forward as planned with our community programming outside the stadium during Pride weekend and throughout the tournament, partnering with LGBTQ+ leaders, artists, and business owners to elevate existing Pride celebrations across Washington.”

“Football has a unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs,” added Tadeese. “The Pacific Northwest is home to one of the nation’s largest Iranian-American communities, a thriving Egyptian diaspora, and rich communities representing all nations we’re hosting in Seattle. We’re committed to ensuring all residents and visitors experience the warmth, respect, and dignity that defines our region.”

The 2034 World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death in the country. The 2022 World Cup took place in neighboring Qatar, despite concerns over the country’s anti-LGBTQ rights record.