Sports
Bullseye!
MOVA-based Stonewall Darts gearing up for third season
A member of Stonewall Darts in action. (Photo courtesy John Jack Photography)
Registration for the winter season of Stonewall Darts opens Monday and runs through Thursday (Dec. 12). League fees are $35 for returning players and $40 for new players.
The League was launched in January when some space in a back room opened up at MOVA Lounge D.C.
“I was bartending at MOVA when my bosses indicated that something needed to be created for the back room,” says Austin Henderson, commissioner and founder.
Henderson, who also plays Stonewall Kickball and Stonewall Bocce, went on a road trip to Harrisburg, Pa., and stumbled upon an LGBT darts league.
“I came back and told my bosses about it,” Henderson says. “Next thing you know, we launched a league with 72 players.”
The second season of the League grew to 94 players and the coming season, its third, is expected to cap out at 108 players with six players per team.
The players consist of male and female members of the LGBT community and their allies and the League will play on Thursday nights from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at MOVA starting on Jan. 9.
Players can join as a six-member team or sign up as free agents to be placed on a team. The season runs for eight weeks and is followed by the league playoffs.
At the beginning of each season, the teams nominate a charity of their choice to be the benefactor of any money raised by the respective teams who make it to the playoffs. At the Mid-Season Social, teams have an additional opportunity to raise funds for their charities.
“Last summer we had a bachelor and bachelorette auction at mid-season to supplement the money that is raised by the teams in the playoffs,” Henderson says. “Over the past two seasons, we have raised over $4,200 for charities such as the Trevor Project, Martha’s Table, City Dogs Rescue and the Point Foundation.”
During regular season play, six teams compete on three boards for roughly 45 minutes. The remaining teams follow in six-team increments.
After registration closes, the League holds a kickoff party where the teams are announced, T-shirts are handed out and an overview is given on the rules and scoring.
“In our League, we value each player for who they are and what they bring to the League’s community,” Henderson says. “We also believe that organized communities have the ability and responsibility to support others in need.”
Registration for Stonewall Darts is at stonewalldarts.leagueapps.com.
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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