National
Jason Collins plays in NBA game
Center is first out gay athlete to play for major professional sports team
Jason Collins (Image courtesy of Sports Illustrated)
Collins played 11 minutes during the second quarter of the Brooklyn Nets game against the Los Angeles Lakers. The former Washington Wizards center did not score, but fans at the Staples Center applauded Collins when he took the court.
Collins signed a 10-day contract with the Brooklyn Nets earlier on Sunday.
“Right now, I’m focused on trying to learn the plays, the game plan assignment,” Collins told reporters during a pre-game press conference as the New York Times reported. “I don’t have time to really think about history right now.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDnzbwMa2mI&feature=youtu.be
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is among those who applauded Collins.
“Jason told us that his goal was to earn another contract with another team,” said Silver in a statement. “I want to commend him on achieving his goal. I know everyone in the NBA family is excited for him and proud that our league fosters an inclusive and respectful environment.”
Collins last April became the first male athlete who actively played in a major American professional sports league to come out as gay when Sports Illustrated published his op-ed.
He had remained unsigned since his announcement.
“There’s a lot of speculation as to why I haven’t signed,” Collins told the Washington Blade in December during an interview that marked the first time he spoke to an LGBT media outlet since he publicly declared his sexual orientation. “I choose to focus on what I can control and that’s how hard I work out.”
The deadline for NBA teams to send their playoff rosters to the league is March 1.
“That’s the ultimate deadline,” Collins told the Blade. “But up until that date I’m going to continue to work out, continue to train. I consider myself a free agent and I’m ready when and if an NBA team calls my name.”
The former Washington Wizards center last May attended a New York City fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Leadership Council with First Lady Michelle Obama. Collins was also among her guests at last month’s State of the Union address and attended a state dinner earlier this month held in honor of French President François Hollande.
Collins marched in Boston’s annual Pride parade in June with Massachusetts Congressman Joseph P. Kennedy, III, with whom he lived while they attended Stanford University. The former Washington Wizards center also introduced Macklemore and Ryan Lewis at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards before they performed their song “Same Love” that advocates for marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Collins was also among those who sat on a U.N. panel last December that commemorated the 65th anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
He signed with the Brooklyn Nets two weeks after University of Missouri defensive lineman Michael Sam came out to the New York Times and ESPN.
Sam, whom Collins congratulated after he publicly declared his sexual orientation, is poised to become the country’s first openly gay professional football player
National
Queen Jean is Tony’s first transgender winner
Designer/activist wins for work on ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’
It was a historic night at the 79th annual Tony Awards on Sunday as Queen Jean won the award for Best Costume Design of a Musical, making her the first out transgender person to win a Tony.
“This experience has been monumental. We are here for the legacy of queer people, trans people,” she said. “We are taking up space in ways we have to take up space. We have to shift the paradigm. So I just want to say, thank you all so much for this incredible honor. The world right now is deeply, deeply combating so many ailments, and we know as a society that when we come together, we can make real, permanent change.”
She won the award for her work on “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” and was also nominated for best costume design of a play for “Liberation.”
In addition to her stage work, Queen Jean is the founder of Black Trans Liberation, an organization that supports trans and gender-nonconforming people in New York City.
National
Madonna turns Times Square into massive dance floor
Pop icon celebrates Pride month with surprise performance
Pop icon Madonna celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York City’s Times Square on Thursday to the delight of 50,000 fans.
She performed for about 15 minutes high above street level, including several songs from her new album “Confessions II” due on July 3, along with a trio of songs from the first “Confessions on a Dance Floor.”
In addition to the brand new “Love Sensation,” she performed “I Feel So Free” and “Bring Your Love,” plus “Hung Up,” “Get Together” and “I Love New York.” She wished the crowd a happy Pride season; the event was shared with audiences through Grindr’s first-ever livestream.
National
Gallup finds LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping
Marriage equality support lowest since 2016
Gallup, one of the leading organizations in public opinion polling, has found that LGBTQ support among Americans is dropping.
The poll, whose data was collected using Gallup’s annual Values and Beliefs survey, was conducted in May and was published on Wednesday. The data was collected through telephone interviews from a sample of more than 1,000 adults living in all 50 states and D.C. using random digit dialing.
It highlights declining attitudes surrounding LGBTQ issues in multiple areas — from support for same-sex marriage to views on gender identity and the morality of one’s sexuality.
One of the most striking findings was that support for marriage equality fell six points from its 2022-2023 high.
The survey also found that 62 percent of Americans view gay and lesbian relations as morally acceptable, the lowest level since 2016 just after same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide by the U.S. Supreme Court.
One newer question on the poll found that the perceived morality of changing one’s gender has dropped eight points since 2021, indicating the American public is less supportive of transgender people.
The data attributes much of the decline to shifting Republican views alongside the party itself. Conservative leaders have pushed back against diversity, equity, and inclusion programs that were intended to foster greater acceptance of LGBTQ people and other historically disadvantaged groups.
President Donald Trump has been a guiding force behind waves of anti-LGBTQ sentiment, particularly when it comes to trans rights. The president has enacted multiple executive orders, including Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” which mandates that gender be defined by one’s sex assigned at birth. He also signed Executive Order 14183, “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” which barred qualified trans applicants from joining the military and led to the removal of trans service members already serving in the armed forces.
Additionally, he signed Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which prohibits trans female athletes from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.
In February, Gallup found that an estimated 9 percent of Americans identified as part of the LGBTQ community in some form.
The organization also found that 23 percent of adults under age 30 identify as LGBTQ, compared with 10 percent of those ages 30 to 49 and 3 percent or less among those ages 50 and older.
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