Sports
‘Game Face’ explores out athletes
Clemens, Fox share stories in new doc
Michiel Thomas introducing a screening of his film ‘Game Face.’ (Photo courtesy Thomas)
When Michiel Thomas was planning his first feature documentary, he wanted to create a better understanding about the athletes in the LGBT sports community. As a gay athlete, it’s topic he’s passionate about.
The resulting film is powerful. “Game Face” ollows the path of MMA fighter Fallon Fox and college basketball player Terrence Clemens. Both athletes began their sports careers in the closet before revealing that they were transgender (Fox) and gay (Clemens).
The film is an emotional rollercoaster as it showcases the inner conflicts, highs and lows that happen as the two athletes try to be the best they can be with the obstacles they face.
“I wanted to show that Fallon and Terrence are people just like everyone else. There are still so many misunderstandings,” Thomas says. “The LGBT teen suicide rate is through the roof and I have LGBT friends who have lost scholarships, friends and teammates. I wanted to educate in a compelling way.”
Thomas was born and raised in Neerpelt, Belgium and ran track and field until he became fixated on basketball at age 12. At 16, he was selected to be a junior player with Bree, a Belgian First Division professional team.
He left the team after three years realizing that at a height of 6’1” he was not tall enough to have a professional career. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in filmmaking in Brussels, Thomas headed to the Los Angeles area to pursue broadcasting and journalism and received another degree from Santa Monica College.
At 29, he now makes his living doing freelance camera work and editing. He found it tough as a first-time filmmaker getting his feature documentary picked up by film festivals. For the first five months there was no response and then it finally opened at the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival in April. It has been screening ever since almost every weekend in film festivals all over the world.
“It has been a very satisfying year,” Thomas says. “The film has won several awards and was even screened by the Olympic Committees in Oslo, Norway and Rio de Janeiro.”
Thomas says the most satisfying thing to come from the film has been the evolution of his subjects. Fox and Clemens who were both nervous when the movie came out.
“The first Q&A with Terrence was in Miami and he was very shy. It has been very cool to see both him and Fallon blossom into doing speaking engagements,” Thomas says. “I was hoping all along that this would create opportunities for both of them. I think they will inspire many people.”
As for Thomas, he has been happily a part of the National Gay Basketball Association’s tournaments playing for five years with the L.A. Dream and now playing with 3 the Hard Way. He will be competing in the Daytona tournament next month.
“We are currently in talks to have the film distributed to the public and I look forward to more people to seeing my work,” he says.
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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