Sports
Row, row, row your boat
Strokes members discovered athletic passion later in life


Sue Jacoby and Christine Wirth, a veteran and a rookie respectively, of the D.C. Strokes Rowing Club. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
In the continuing Blade series on the veterans and rookies that make up the LGBT sports teams in Washington, we take a look at two rowers from the D.C. Strokes Rowing Club.
The Strokes have wrapped up their winter dryland training and took to the Anacostia River for the first time this year just last week. The two women spotlighted here did not have sports backgrounds before joining the Strokes and have since redefined themselves as competitive athletes.
Christine Wirth, who is 25 and from Columbia, Md., noticed the Strokes at the Capital Pride parade and after graduating from the University of Maryland, decided to register for their Learn to Row program in the spring of 2014.
“I tried one semester of rugby in college, but other than academics, I had never been on a team,” Wirth says. “My only sports activities were recreational biking and running.”
Following the completion of her Learn to Row classes, Wirth attended a Strokes barbeque where the veterans were on hand to encourage the rookies to join the novice program.
Wirth signed on and during the first month of the novice program, the veterans serve as volunteer coxswains to help navigate the rookies in their boats so there are no crashes.
“The Strokes offer a lot of interaction with the veterans, which was important because I had so many questions,” says Wirth. “I also enjoyed the women of D.C. Strokes practices on Sundays.”
During the first year of the novice program, the rowers compete in one sprint race and three head races (longer distance). Wirth found that the sport agreed with her in several ways.
“It has been a crazy transition into being an athlete but it suits me really well,” Wirth says. “You use all your muscles in the sport of rowing. Everything burns.”
Wirth completed her first year of winter training and will continue in the novice program this year and compete in four sprint races once the sprint series begins in June at the Stonewall Regatta which is hosted by the Strokes.
“It’s been great meeting people outside of the bar scene,” Wirth says. “I also just ran in my first Rock ‘n’ Roll half marathon and I could definitely feel the benefits of the extra cardio from the Strokes winter dryland training.”
Sue Jacoby also noticed the Strokes in the Capital Pride parades. When she was working on her doctorate, she also looked for them training as she crossed the river bridge. As a gift to herself for completing her Ph.D., she registered for the Learn to Row program in 2007, became hooked on the sport and never looked back.
Jacoby was raised in Florida, moved to D.C. 25 years ago and works as an educational administrator. She also had no experience as an athlete in high school or college.
“I had a phenomenal novice coach who helped me fall in love with rowing,” Jacoby says. “It is a combination of an individual and team sport. In the boat, you can be in sync with three or seven people only to have it change in a moment depending on the water or the team.”
Jacoby went on to join the competitive team and has since raced at USRowing Masters Nationals, the World OutGames and the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta.
Jacoby is quick to point out that the sport requires a huge commitment. Practices are at 5:30 a.m. and it is often cold and dark. As a veteran, she knows it’s important to welcome rookies, teach them the basics and show them the things that will encourage them to remain in the sport.
“The rookies are the future life blood of the team,” says Jacoby. “They will play a critical role in the growth of the team and furthering the team.”
Jacoby goes on to say that the rookies bring a level of energy, enthusiasm and curiosity that reminds her of all the great things that come from the sport and how lucky she is to be a part of it.
“I am 50 years old and I am mentally, physically and strategically stronger and faster than I have ever been,” says Jacoby. “What I get from this discipline also includes those small moments in practice and racing that I will remember forever.”
Last year at the Head of the Charles, Jacoby watched 86-year-old Mary Stone from California compete in the Senior-Veteran Singles Division and felt some added inspiration.
“I think this is going to be my most competitive summer yet,” Jacoby says. “I love being an athlete.”

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Sports
English soccer bans transgender women from women’s teams
British Supreme Court last month ruled legal definition of woman limited to ‘biological women’

The organization that governs English soccer on Thursday announced it will no longer allow transgender women to play on women’s teams.
The British Supreme Court on April 16 ruled the legal definition of a woman is limited to “biological women” and does not include trans women. The Football Association’s announcement, which cites the ruling, notes its new policy will take effect on June 1.
“As the governing body of the national sport, our role is to make football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) and FIFA,” said the Football Association in a statement that announced the policy change. “Our current policy, which allows transgender women to participate in the women’s game, was based on this principle and supported by expert legal advice.”
“This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary,” added the Football Association.
The Football Association also acknowledged the new policy “will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify.”
“We are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” it said.
The Football Association told the BBC there were “fewer than 30 transgender women registered among millions of amateur players” and there are “no registered transgender women in the professional game” in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Football Association, which governs soccer in Scotland, is expected to also ban trans women from women’s teams.

FIFA has announced Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, despite concerns over its human rights record that includes the death penalty for homosexuality.
The Associated Press reported FIFA confirmed the decision on Dec. 18. The AP noted Saudi Arabia is the only country that bid to host the 2034 World Cup.
“This is a historic moment for Saudi Arabia and a dream come true for all our 32 million people who simply love the game,” said Sport Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al- Faisal, who is also president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, in a statement the Saudi Press Agency posted to its website.
Saudi Arabia is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
A U.S. intelligence report concluded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “likely approved” the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. A federal judge in 2022 dismissed a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed after the Biden-Harris administration said he was immune to the lawsuit because he is the country’s prime minister.
Human rights activists have also criticized the Saudi government over the treatment of women, migrant workers, and other groups in the country.
“No one should be surprised by this,” Cyd Zeigler, Jr., co-founder of Outsports.com, an LGBTQ sports website, told the Washington Blade in an email after FIFA confirmed Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. “FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, and many other world governing bodies routinely turn to authoritarian countries with terrible human-rights records to host major sporting events. There are simply few other countries willing to spend the billions of dollars it takes to build the needed infrastructure.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, in a statement described FIFA’s decision as “a betrayal of the values that football should stand for: Inclusivity, fairness, and respect for human rights.”
“This is not about football; it’s about sportswashing,” said Tatchell. “The Saudi regime is using the World Cup to launder its international image and distract from its brutal abuses. By granting them this platform, FIFA is complicit in whitewashing their crimes.”
Qatar, which borders Saudi Arabia, hosted the 2022 World Cup.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in Qatar.
“Saudi Arabia was the only country to bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup,” said Zeigler. “So, until FIFA, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and other governing bodies ban major human-rights violators from hosting, we’ll continue to see events like this in Saudi Arabia, China, Qatar, and other countries with terrible LGBTQ rights issues.”
The Blade has reached out to FIFA and the Saudi government for comment.
Sports
Controversy grows over member of Calif. university’s women’s volleyball team
Coach suspended, NCAA sued, more rivals forfeit

San Jose State University’s women volleyball team has collected yet another W by forfeit — its seventh so far this season — as controversy swirls around one player on its roster. She’s one of the seniors, and she has been dragged in the media by her own co-captain, who outed her as transgender.
The Washington Blade is not naming this student athlete since neither she nor the school have confirmed or even commented on her gender identity.
SJSU visited San Diego last weekend for a match before the Aztecs’ biggest home crowd of the season — including protesters waving “Save Women’s Sports” banners and booing one player on the Spartans team in particular: The woman who is reported to be trans.
Security was tight, with metal detectors and extra guards and police officers present. Video posted to YouTube by a right-wing sports media site — which names the player — shows an angry fan arguing with security about his First Amendment rights.
Video recorded during Nov. 9’s game shows a player for San Diego was injured following a spike by the player rumored to be trans, and had to be helped off the court. However, the video clearly shows that player was injured by landing poorly on one foot, not as a result of the spike.
The Aztecs defeated the Spartans 3-1, but San Jose has still punched its ticket to the conference finals, thanks to its record number of forfeits.
Wyoming was set to visit SJSU Thursday, but for the second time is joining other universities that have forfeited games against the Spartans, all without providing a reason. Boise State announced it will forfeit an upcoming match set for Nov. 21, its second forfeit against SJSU.
In September, the Spartans’ co-captain, senior Brooke Slusser, outed her own teammate, the player at the center of this controversy, in joining a federal lawsuit against the NCAA spearheaded by anti-trans inclusion activist and former college athlete Riley Gaines.
Slusser said in the lawsuit and in subsequent interviews that the player in question shouldn’t be on her team. The suit claims the NCAA’s policy on trans athletes violates Title IX by allowing “men” to compete in women’s sports and use women’s locker rooms where they display “full male genitalia.”
The NCAA policy for trans athletes participating in women’s volleyball aligns with that of USA Volleyball, which requires trans female athletes to suppress their testosterone below 10 nmol/L for a period of one year before competition. That is also how the NCAA determines eligibility. SJSU has stated repeatedly that all its players are eligible.
The lawsuit also asks the NCAA to revoke any titles or records won by trans female athletes in women’s competitions, which seems to be specifically aimed at stripping out trans NCAA champions Lia Thomas and CeCé Telfer of their titles in swimming and track and field, respectively.
Prior to this season, the player rumored to be trans did not attract any attention other than being a successful starter, like Slusser. But now that she is in the media spotlight, Slusser has come forward to tell right wing media, including Megyn Kelly, why she feels another woman two inches taller than she is poses a danger.
“I don’t feel safe,” Slusser said on “The Megyn Kelly Show” last month. “I’ve gone to my coaches and said I refuse to play against [her] … It’s not safe.”
In the video, both Kelly and Slusser refer to the player as “him” and a “man,” and name her.
Now comes another twist: San Jose State University suspended associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose with pay, indefinitely, after she filed a Title IX complaint against SJSU. She claims the player Slusser identified as trans conspired with an opponent to help the team lose a match and injure Slusser. Batie-Smoose named the player in question in her complaint and on Sept. 23, joined the same lawsuit that Slusser is now a part of.
“Safety is being taken away from women,” Batie-Smoose told Fox News. “Fair play is taken away from women. We need more and more people to do this and fight this fight because women’s sports, as we know it right now will be forever changed.”
Media reporting on the suspension, including Fox News, continue to name the athlete in question, with some also reporting what they say is the athlete’s birth name.
San Jose State released a statement following the suspension of Batie-Smoose: “The associate head coach of the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team is not with the team at this time, and we will not provide further information on this matter,” the team said.
SJSU Coach Todd Kress told ESPN that reports saying that any member of the Spartans colluded with their opponent are “littered with lies.”
The Spartans are currently among the top six finishers in the Mountain West Conference that will qualify to compete in the conference tournament scheduled for Nov. 27-30.