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Locals win big at EuroGames

Despite event disorganization, swimmers triumph in Stockholm

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EuroGames, gay news, Washington Blade
EuroGames, gay news, Washington Blade

Members of the D.C. Aquatics Club took home 125 medals from the EuroGames. (Photo courtesy Kevin Majoros)

Athletes from three of the local LGBT sports teams returned home this week from the 2015 EuroGames in Stockholm, Sweden. About 30 swimmers, 12 water polo players and two bowlers fromĀ D.C. competed in the event which attracted more than 5,000 athletes from 51 countries who contested events in 27 sports.

For the swimmers, the event also doubled as the annual International Gay & Lesbian Aquatics world championships. After the races in the pool ended, the District of Columbia Aquatics Club (DCAC) was in possession of 125 medals.

The Washington Wetskins Water polo players got off to a rough start but finished strong to take fifth place in the competitive division of water polo.

DCAC awarded multiple scholarships to swimmers on the team to assist in the costs associated with international travel. One of the recipients was 22-year-old Kevin Muehleman who is from Dallas and attended college at Louisiana State University. He moved to D.C. in February and joined the DCAC team the next month. The EuroGames marked his first time competing in the pool since high school, though he did swim the two-mile open water race in the DCAC hosted Swim for Life in July.

“I didn’t play sports while I was in college,” says Muehleman, who is working in the MBA office of admissions at Georgetown University. “It has been great being a part of the DCAC team and getting back into shape.”

Meuhleman’s youthful exuberance hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates who have dubbed him with the nickname, Baby Kev. He says he is hoping to recruit more swimmers around his age to line up relays to help the team score points at big meets. His scholarship paid for the registration fees and air travel to Stockholm and he is already planning his trip with the team to the world championships in Edmonton, Canada in 2016.

“This has been a great experience and I finally got to know my teammates. There isn’t time to make these connections in practice,” Muehleman says. “It is going to be much more fun going forward now that I have some history with the team.”

LGBT multi-sport events such as the EuroGames, the Gay Games and the OutGames are well known for fostering positive attention for the LGBT sports movement and for human rights. It was both heartwarming and disturbing when the Russian LGBT Sport Federation marched in during the opening ceremonies which were televised live on Swedish national television.

One of the athletes had her face covered in a bandana for fear of repercussions upon returning home. Her masked presence indicates that the LGBT climate in Russia is not progressing as rapidly as the rest of the world and that much work still needs to be done. The fact that their LGBT athletes continue to participate in these events, despite what is going on in their homeland, is a positive sign.

In terms of the sports competitions at the EuroGames, Stockholm did not receive glowing reviews and there was drama at the sports venues on a daily basis. Clearly unorganized, the city was not prepared to welcome athletes from all over the world. The volleyball players refused to play at their venue because it was not regulation and there were issues with track & field, squash, basketball, dance sport, swimming and water polo.

The worst possible thing happened on Thursday night at midnight when the triathlon was cancelled just hours before it was to be held early Friday morning. Imagine dragging your expensive bike halfway across the world only to be told you can’t race. Not to mention the costs involved.

The swimming venue was complete chaos for three days. The order of swimmers was juggled right up to the moments they stepped on the blocks. Swimmers were also forced to compete two to a lane in the distance events and in those same races had to start in the water instead of going off the blocks. On day two, they moved both the long distance events (800 and 1,500 freestyles) to the same session and the swimmers were at the pool from 7 a.m.-10 p.m.

The chaos led a European team to believe they could get away with combining swimmers from their teams (which is illegal) to win a relay gold medal. They did win the gold medal and another team noticed the false representation. A protest was filed and they were stripped of their medal. That resulted in a screaming match between a female swim official and the offending male coach which progressed into a shoving match. The swimmers were ejected from the pool.

Public apologies were issued by EuroGames Stockholm for the all the venues and the Stockholm Dolphins swim team in regard to the aquatics events. Both denied any responsibility for the missteps. The bottom line is that these are amateur athletes who trained and traveled at their own expense. No one is saying that it is easy to orchestrate multi-sports events, but in this case, the athletes deserved better. Thankfully, everyone was still smiling at the closing ceremonies.

List of the DCAC medal winners:

Steve Dickens 1 Silver

Candace Crasto 4 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze

John Crowe 1 Silver

Shannon Green 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze

Eric Czander 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

Sara Hewitt 2 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Bronze

Wonkee Moon 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze

Lindsey Warren-Shriner 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

Jay Calhoun 3 Gold, 4 Silver

Noura Hemady 3 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

Dustin Sigward 1 Gold, 3 Silver

Craig Franz 4 Gold, 1 Silver

John Tustin 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

Andrew Frampton 2 Gold, 3 Silver

Neill Williams 6 Gold, 1 Silver

Paul Quincy 2 Gold, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze

Dawson Nash 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 4 Bronze

Kevin Muehleman 1 Silver, 1 Bronze

Patrick Barrett 1 Gold, 2 Silver

Fred Dever 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze

Molly Lincoln 5 Gold, 1 Silver

Rob Jeter 1 Gold, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

Jonathan Horsford 1 Silver

Sam Smedinghoff 2 Bronze

Jason Bricker 2 Silver, 1 Bronze

Kevin Majoros 1 Bronze

Rebecca Menes 1 Silver, 2 Bronze

Jeff Mead 1 Gold, 1 Bronze

Brent Quinn 1 Bronze

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University of Nevada forfeits game rather than play possible trans athlete

Womenā€™s volleyball team cites ā€˜not enough players to competeā€™

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(Public domain screenshot from University of Nevada, Reno, website)

For the fifth time, a womenā€™s volleyball team has chosen to forfeit instead of play against San Jose State University, because of rumors that one of its players is a transgender woman. 

The University of Nevada, Reno, officially announced on Friday that it would forfeit Saturdayā€™s game against the SJSU Spartans. This followed an announcement by Wolf Pack players who said they “refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes,” without providing further details.

Originally, Nevada’s athletic department had said the program would not back out from the match, citing state equality laws, but also said that no players would be disciplined if they chose to not participate.

ā€œThe vast majority of our team decided this is something we wanted to take a stand on,ā€ Nevada team captain Sia Liilii told Fox News. ā€œWe didnā€™t want to play against a male player.”

ā€œIn all of our team meetings it just kept coming back to the fact that men do not belong in womenā€™s sports. If youā€™re born a biological male, you donā€™t belong in womenā€™s sports. Itā€™s not even about this individual athlete. Itā€™s about fair competition and safety for everyone.ā€

Outsports and several conservative and right-wing websites have identified the player who is rumored to be trans, but the Washington Blade has opted to not do so since she herself has not come forward to either acknowledge or deny she is trans.Ā 

As ESPN reported, Nevada follows Southern Utah, Boise State, Wyoming, and Utah State in canceling games against the Spartans. Boise State, Wyoming, Utah State, and Nevada are all members of the Mountain West Conference, so those contests are considered forfeits and count as valuable wins in the league standings for San Jose State.

Riley Gaines, the anti-trans inclusion activist for the Independent Womenā€™s Forum has joined the chorus in claiming the Spartansā€™ roster includes a trans woman.

Despite this, neither San Jose State nor any of the other forfeiting teams have said the universityā€™s women’s volleyball team has a trans player. SJSU issued a statement defending its roster.

ā€œOur athletes all comply with NCAA and Mountain West Conference policies and they are eligible to play under the rules of those organizations. We will continue to take measures to prioritize the health and safety of our students while they pursue their earned opportunities to compete,ā€ the statement read.

The governors of Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming ā€” all of whom are members of the Republican Party ā€” have issued public statements supporting the cancellations, claiming itā€™s in the interest of fairness in women’s sports. This week, Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee and former president, spoke at a Fox News televised town hall when asked about trans athletes in women’s sports. 

ā€œWeā€™re not going to let it happen,ā€ Trump said. ā€œWe stop it, we stop it, we absolutely stop it. We canā€™t have it. You just ban it. The president bans it. You donā€™t let it happen. Itā€™s not a big deal.ā€ 

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Homophobes threaten lives of WNBA star and wife

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart and Marta Xargay received anonymous emails

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(Photo courtesy of Xargay's Instagram page)

While the New York Liberty are focused on defeating the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA finals, one of its stars has come under attack from anti-gay bigots who made death threats against that player and her wife, according to the Associated Press.

The homophobic death threats targeted forward Breanna Stewart and her wife, retired Phoenix Mercury guard Marta Xargay. Stewart said they arrived in Xargayā€™s email inbox. 

ā€œThe fact it came to Martaā€™s email is something she (had to) see. The level of closeness was a little bit different,ā€ she said. ā€œMake sure that myself and Marta are okay, but that our kids are the safest.ā€

Stewart, the two-time MVP known to teammates and on social media as ā€œStewie,ā€ told reporters Tuesday she notified her team about the emails, The Liberty then escalated it to WNBA security.

ā€œWeā€™re taking the proper precautions,ā€ Stewart said, noting that she felt the Libertyā€™s winning streak was only encouraging more threats. New York is leading their opponents two games to one after Tuesday nightā€™s 80-77 win in Minneapolis. ā€œWe love that people are engaged in our sport, but not to the point where thereā€™s threats or harassment or homophobic comments being made.ā€

Xargay filed a complaint with the New York Police Department at the advice of the team and security, said Stewart.

ā€œBeing in the finals and everything like that it makes sense to file something formal,ā€ she said.

The NYPD confirmed to the Associated Press that it received a report of aggravated harassment involving emails sent to ā€œa 33-year-old victim,ā€ said a police spokesperson. The departmentā€™s media relations team added that the NYPD hate crimes task force is investigating the threats. 

Although Stewart told reporters she has an agency that reviews most of the messages she receives, she was stunned to learn from her wife about the hateful messages that wound up in Xargayā€™s inbox. She said thatā€™s why she decided to let fans know thereā€™s no justification for hate. 

ā€œFor me to use this platform to let people know itā€™s unacceptable to bring to our sport,ā€ she said.

Last month, WNBA players and their union representatives called out league commissioner Cathy Engelbert for failing to condemn a spike in racist attacks on players. Itā€™s been a long-standing problem exacerbated by the rivalry between Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark and the Chicago Skyā€™s Angel Reese. The league has never been more popular than it is now, and with that success, fans have escalated their criticism of players. 

Since then, Engelbert has addressed the rise in player harassment on social media in an address prior to Game 1 of the WNBA finals one week ago. 

ā€œIt just is something where we have to continue to be a voice for this, a voice against it, condemning it, and making sure that we find every opportunity to support our players, who have been dealing with this for much longer than this year,ā€ Engelbert said.

In her address, Engelbert pledged the league will work with the playersā€™ union to figure out what they can do together to combat it. 

ā€œWe continue to emphasize that there is absolutely no room for hateful or threatening comments made about players, teams or anyone affiliated with the WNBA,ā€ a league spokesperson said in response to questions about the death threats made against Stewart and Xargay. ā€œWeā€™re aware of the most recent matter and are working with league and team security as well as law enforcement on appropriate security measures.ā€

The Liberty play the Lynx again Friday night in Minneapolis. 

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JK Rowling condemns history-making transgender Paralympian

Valentina Petrillo will race again Friday after failing to qualify in 400m final

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Valentina Petrillo (Photo courtesy of Valentina Petrillo's Instagram page)

Valentina Petrillo ran her personal best Monday at the Paralympics in Paris, but it was not enough to qualify for Tuesdayā€™s finals in the 400m T12 competition. Losing to two cisgender women was also not enough to quell a social media firestorm of transphobia and hate directed at the first out trans Paralympian runner.

Hajar Safarzadeh Ghahderijani of Iran was first across the finish line, followed by Venezuelaā€™s Alejandra Perez. Petrillo, the Italian sprinter, finished third with 57.58.

ā€œI tried until the end, I couldnā€™t do it,ā€ Petrillo, 51, told reporters after the race. ā€œI missed that last straight. I pushed harder than this morning and I tried. They are stronger than me. There is nothing I can do. I had to do 56 to get into the final. Itā€™s impossible, 57.58. I have to be happy even though Iā€™m a little upset.ā€ 

Petrillo also spoke indirectly about haters, but what concerned her most, she said, was the perspective of her son, 9-year-old Lorenzo, who calls her ā€œDad.ā€ 

ā€œI hope my son is proud of me,ā€ Petrillo, said, amid tears. ā€œThatā€™s important to me because Iā€™m a trans dad, itā€™s not everyoneā€™s dream dad. But I hope he will be proud of me. I hope he will always stand by me, I hope that he loves me even if I am like this. I canā€™t help it if Iā€™m like this, Iā€™m sorry. Donā€™t treat trans people badly. We suffer. Itā€™s not fair. We donā€™t hurt anybody.ā€ 

JK Rowling disagrees. 

In a social media post on what was Twitter, the outspoken opponent of trans rights and inclusion denounced Petrillo as an ā€œout and proud cheat.ā€ 

Others condemned Petrillo as a ā€œpervert,ā€ a ā€œdisgraceā€ and of course, a man, and a ā€œbiological maleā€ who ā€œrobbed a young disabled womanā€ of her chance to compete.Ā 

Petrillo has one more chance to compete for a medal this Friday in the 200m T12 visual impairment competition. Sheā€™ll compete against Katrin Mueller-Rottgardt of Germany.

ā€œBasically, everyone should live how they like in everyday life,ā€ Mueller-Rottgardt told the German tabloid Bild. ā€œBut I find it difficult in professional sports. She lived and trained for a long time as a man, so thereā€™s a possibility that physical conditions are different than for someone who comes into the world as a woman. So, she could have advantages from it.ā€ 

For her part, Petrillo is not letting detractors stop her from running as the woman she is and living as the woman she is. 

ā€œThere are lots of people dying only for being trans, people are killed because they are trans, people commit suicide because they are trans and lose their jobs, or are not included in sport,ā€ she said. ā€œBut I made it. If I can make it, everyone can make it.ā€ 

As for so-called ā€œadvantages,” Petrillo cites a study funded by the IOC ā€” and published in April in the British Journal of Sports Medicine ā€” showing that trans women are actually at a physical disadvantage compared to cis women across several areas, including lung function and lower body strength.

ā€œThis means rather that I have a disadvantage, because apart from anything else, going through hormonal treatment means I am going against my body so against the biology of my body and thatā€™s certainly something thatā€™s not good for it,ā€ Petrillo told the Associated Press in an interview in a suburb of Bologna, where she lives and works in the IT sector. 

She was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a degenerative eye condition, at the age of 14, and can only see 1/50thĀ of what most people can. Petrillo cannot drive and uses public transportation to get around, and told me in aĀ 2020 podcast interview thatĀ the trauma of her disability has haunted her all her years.

ā€œI tried to lead a normal life as much as possible,ā€ she said through a translator.Ā Ā 

Although her condition forced her to give up running as a teen, she picked it up again in her 40s, telling me it felt empowering, ā€œKnowing I have two good legs,ā€ she said. ā€œRunning is life.ā€

But it was not enough. Petrillo, who was raised as a boy, had been keeping a secret since she was a child, saying that even at age seven, she knew who she was. ā€œI didnā€™t feel like myself.ā€

ā€œI decided to transition after years of fighting myself and not understanding what was the problem,ā€ Petrillo said. ā€œIt was a very difficult decision.ā€ 

Petrillo came out to her wife, Elena, in 2017, just one year after they wed. With Elenaā€™s support, she transitioned in 2018 and started her medical transition the following January. They remained married, for a time, and have another child in addition to Lorenzo. ā€œMy wife is very supportive,ā€ Petrillo told me in 2020. ā€œ99 percent of the stories end up in divorce, but my wife is the most important love of my life.ā€ 

Elena and Valentina have since divorced but remain friends. She and Lorenzo and Petrilloā€™s brother, Francesco, were in Paris to cheer her on.

ā€œFamily is everything,ā€ she said this week.Ā 

Petrillo won 11 national competitions in the male T12 category between 2015 and 2018, then won gold in her first official race as the woman she is, in the 100m, 200m and 400m T12 events at the 2020 Italian Paralympics Championship. Last year, she won two bronzes at the World Para Athletics Championships. 

In that competition, she narrowly beat Melani Berges of Spain, who placed fourth in the semifinal. That meant Berges didnā€™t qualify for the final and missed her chance to make it to the Paralympics.

Calling it an ā€œinjustice,ā€ Berges told Spanish sports site Relevo that she ā€œaccepts and respectsā€ trans people, but ā€œwe are no longer talking about daily life, we are talking about sport, which requires strength, a physique.ā€

The International Paralympic Committee says it ā€œwelcomesā€ Petrillo, who is not the first out trans Paralympian. That honor belongs to Dutch discus thrower Ingrid van Kranen, who finished ninth in the 2016 Rio Games. The rules of the World Para Athletics organization state a person who is legally recognized as a woman is eligible to compete in female categories. She legally changed her name and gender in 2023. 

Back in 2020, Petrillo told me the 200m race she will compete in this Friday is her favorite, because of the performance of her personal hero, 1980 Olympic champion Pietro Mennea, who holds Italyā€™s world record in the event.Ā 

ā€œIā€™m dreaming about this,ā€ she said, recalling the memory of seeing him compete when she was seven years old. ā€œThe determination that Mennea showed was something he taught all of us. That is how I feel when I am running. That same determination and that same drive.ā€ And she said again, ā€œRunning is life.ā€  

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