National
Wade Davis launches youth initiative
Gay former NFL player prepares to take reins at You Can Play

Wade Davis came out in 2012; he formerly played for the Redskins. (Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas)
When Wade Davis came out of the closet in June 2012, his story made national headlines. The former NFL athlete who played for the Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks and Tennessee Titans as well as two teams within NFL Europe made the rounds on the media circuit to share his story.
At the time, Davis was working at Hetrick-Martin in New York as the assistant director of job readiness, where he helped LGBT youth learn life skills. He also served as an LGBT surrogate for President Obama during the 2012 election.
Fourteen months later, Davis has launched You Belong: LGBTQA Youth Sports and Leadership Initiative with its first leadership camp recently held in Chicago focusing on basketball.
FIND MORE OF THE WASHINGTON BLADE SPORTS ISSUE HERE.
The You Belong initiative was founded by Davis and writer/activist Darnell Moore and serves to provide LBGTQA youth ages 14 to 24, access to various sports through a series of four-day comprehensive sports instruction and leadership development clinics.
The goal is to create a safe space where LGBTQA youth can become well-rounded athletes, leaders and human beings.
In addition, Davis this month was named the new executive director of the You Can Play Project.
The Blade caught up with Davis a few weeks after the completion of the first You Belong Leadership Camp held in Chicago through July 28th.
Washington Blade: Congratulations on the first leadership camp. How did it go?
Wade Davis: It was life changing. There is a lack of resources for LGBTQA youth and it was great to be able to share with these kids that they have options going forward.
Blade: Who made up your group of youths?
Davis: We had 40 in attendance that ranged in age from 14 to 22. There was a nice mix of LGBT and straight and most of them were marginally housed. There was a familiar bond as many of them were facing the same struggles.
Blade: How did the kids find out about the Leadership Camp and what were they offered over the course of the four days?
Davis: We worked with the City of Chicago, the Mayor’s Office and the Center on Halstead to find youth who might benefit from the program. The program was a series of workshops that focused on team building, anti-bullying, safe space and nutrition among other things. There was also a series of speakers that spoke to the kids over the course of the weekend.
WNBA player Tangela Smith, WNBA & NBA consultant Donnie Arey, NBA player and coach Bill Cartwright, NBA players Jarron and Jason Collins, NFL player Marques Sullivan, transgender MMA fighter Fallon Fox, You Can Play founder Patrick Burke and Go! Athletes founder Anna Aegenes were all at the camp to interact with the youth.
Blade: How did you come up with that list of speakers?
Davis: Each one of them brought a different perspective that the kids will be able to use going forward. Bill Cartwright who is 7’1″ shared with them how he felt different growing up because of his height. Playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney of “Choir Boy” fame came in as the closing speaker, which was a nice way to share something with the kids outside of sports. Over the course of the four days, we ran through all the gamut of emotions. We laughed, we cried, we danced.
Blade: What are the plans for the camps going forward?
Davis: In 2014, we are planning to have three Leadership Camps and the length of them will probably be reduced to three days. I am thinking football will be the focus of one and track and field the focus of another one. We are hoping that the third one will be directed at female youth and at some point we would like to work with trans-identified youth. The scheduling is the difficult part as the camp has to be in the off-season of the targeted sport so the professional athletes can be involved.
Blade: Congratulations on the new position at You Can Play.
Davis: Yes, I was not expecting there to be this much attention. I think part of it is that I will be one of the few African-American gay men leading a national LGBT organization.
Blade: This is a full-time paid position. Are you leaving Hetrick-Martin?
Davis: My last day at Hetrick-Martin will be on Sept. 6. I will still be based in New York, so I fully intend to continue stopping in to see the kids. There is so much to learn from them.
Blade: How will your new position at You Can Play affect your work at You Belong?
Davis: Both projects will continue on their respective missions and I expect them to work together cohesively. You Can Play will offer access to professional athletes for the You Belong Leadership Camps. You Belong will offer a youth audience to further the mission of You Can Play. I think there will be great synergy.
Blade: I know from talking to you in prior conversations that you are a huge sports fan and love to compete. What are you doing to stay in shape?
Davis: I am the captain of the national travel team for the New York Gay Flag Football League and generally use my birthday at the end of July as my launching pad to be in great shape for Gay Bowl in October. I don’t want to give anyone the opportunity to say that they outplayed the former professional football player.
Blade: Tell me about the book you are writing.
Davis: It is called “Interference” and it is the story of my journey so far. It has actually evolved over the past year because of all the changes in my path. Now it will include educational tools for people who are interested in getting involved in social justice. It will be on the newsstands in late 2014.
Arizona
Shooting outside gay bar in Ariz. leaves three dead
Tucson police investigating double murder-suicide as a hate crime
Three people were fatally shot outside a gay bar in Tucson, Ariz., early Monday morning, about a mile from the city’s nightlife district.
Police have said the shooting, which took place in the parking lot of Venture-N bar at 1239 N. 6th Ave., was likely a hate crime and a double murder-suicide following a verbal altercation.
The suspect, Ousman Ceesay, allegedly shot Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara while they were outside the club around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
Reports show Capara and Siqueiros were pronounced dead at the scene. Ceesay died after being taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
Police have also said that Ceesay was carrying a list of LGBTQ businesses at the time of the shooting.
Arizona Public Media has said police are investigating the case as a hate crime because the suspect was carrying a note containing the names of multiple LGBTQ-associated businesses.
“I am deeply saddened that another senseless loss of life has happened in our community,” Tucson Police Chief Monica Prieto said in a statement. “Bias-based crimes are especially heinous and have no place in our community.”
According to Prieto, there is no imminent threat to the community, and the Tucson Police Department is working to provide extra protection to various LGBTQ businesses across town.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva, who represents the area, issued a statement condemning the act of violence, which appears to have been at least in part motivated by homophobia.
“I am disgusted and deeply saddened to learn of a targeted act of hate and the cold-blooded murder of two members of our LGBTQIA+ community, Vincent Siqueiros and Cameron Capara, at the Venture-N bar in Tucson last night. This horrific attack is a painful reminder that even in welcoming communities like Tucson, hate and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community still exist.”
“When that hate is combined with easy access to firearms, the consequences can be deadly. I am sick and tired of Congress refusing to lift a finger to protect our communities while, every day, dozens of people are shot and killed across the country. It does not have to be this way. The House of Representatives is returning to session this week, and our first action should be passing common-sense gun safety reforms that we know can save lives.”
Other federal lawmakers also condemned the shooting.
The Congressional Equality Caucus, which is made up of federal legislators advancing LGBTQ interests, issued a statement after news broke.
“Our hearts are with the friends and loved ones of the victims of this devastating attack outside a Tucson gay bar and with the Tucson LGBTQI+ community,” it said on X. “No one should fear violence because of who they are — and we’re going to continue fighting to build a world where no one does.”
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ organization in the country, released a statement following the shooting.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of Vincent Anthony Siqueiros and Cameron Davis Capara and our hearts are with their families, loved ones, and the entire Tucson LGBTQ+ community. Once again, we are reminded that gun violence robs people of their lives, destroys families, and devastates communities.”
A candlelight vigil honoring the victims is planned for Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. at Catalina Park in North Tucson.
Congress
HRC president campaigns for Chris Pappas in NH
Gay congressman running to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson on Sunday campaigned for U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in New Hampshire.
Robinson traveled to Manchester, the state’s largest city, nine days before the Sept. 8 primary that will determine who will vie for retiring U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)’s seat.
We’re hitting the pavement across New Hampshire to fight for a freer, fairer future for everyone.
Glad to have Human Rights Campaign President @KelleyJRobinson join us for a canvass launch in Manchester today. pic.twitter.com/XWCEaQxy4o
— Chris Pappas (@ChrisPappasNH) August 30, 2026
Former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, who represented New Hampshire in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, will face off against former U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, who represented Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate from 2010-2013, in the Republican primary.
Karishma Manzur is among the Democrats challenging Pappas.
A poll the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released on Aug. 26 shows Sununu is ahead of Brown. The same survey shows Pappas ahead of Manzur and his other Democratic challengers.
The UNH Survey Center poll shows Sununu ahead of Pappas by a 45-43 percent margin if they were to face off in the general election. The margin of error is +/-2.1 percent.
Pappas would become the first openly gay man elected to the U.S. Senate if he were to win in November.
National
Milo Yiannopoulos deported to UK
ICE arrested far-right provocateur in New Orleans on Thursday
Editor’s note: The Department of Homeland Security on Saturday said Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported to the U.K.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday arrested far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos.
A DHS spokesperson in a statement sent to the Washington Blade said ICE arrested Yiannopoulos, who they described as “an illegal alien from the United Kingdom,” at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.
The DHS spokesperson said Yiannopoulos “legally entered the country” in New York on May 14, 2019.
“He chose to overstay his welcome in violation of our nation’s laws,” said the spokesperson.
The DHS spokesperson said an immigration judge on July 22 “issued a final order of removal” for Yiannopoulos “after failing to show up for his immigration hearing.” The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans on Friday reported Yiannopoulos is being held at an ICE detention center in Alexandria, La., which is about 200 miles northwest of the Crescent City.
“He will remain in ICE custody pending removal,” said the DHS spokesperson.
Yiannopoulos has, among other things, repeatedly targeted transgender people and Muslims.
The American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conversative Political Action Conference, in 2017 disinvited Yiannopoulos from speaking at that year’s CPAC after a video in which he appeared to condone sex between adults and underage boys emerged. Yiannopoulos subsequently resigned from Breitbart News, a far-right news website, where he had been a senior editor.
Yiannopoulos later that year married his boyfriend in Hawaii. The far-right provocateur in 2021 claimed he was an “ex-gay.”
The Australian government in 2019 banned Yiannopoulos from entering the country “on character grounds.” Yiannopoulos was also banned from Facebook, Twitter (now X), and other social media platforms.

The Times-Picayune reported Yiannopoulos “most recently worked for” Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
The controversial rapper is scheduled to perform in New Orleans on Friday.
Laura Loomer, a far-right conspiracy theorist who is close to President Donald Trump, has called for Yiannopoulos’s deportation. Loomer on Friday wrote on X that she “reported him to ICE and the FBI” after he “called for me to be assassinated.”
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