Sports
Local physical therapy group offers relief
Therapists specially trained in athlete-specific techniques
Claire Bowe, front right, leading a group at Rose Physical Therapy. (Photo by Damon Bowe)
With many joining the LGBT sports community in D.C., the need to address the prevention of injuries and rehabbing injuries is more important than ever.
As an athlete, finding a facility that has experience with sports injuries is crucial to staying or getting back to training and competing. One such facility in D.C. is Rose Physical Therapy Group, located just off the Farragut North Metro stop.
Founded in 2013 by Claire Bowe and her husband Damon, the facility has grown to eight therapists with a second location coming soon. Originally from Oregon, Bowe had been working at other facilities and had a vision for what she wanted to accomplish when she set out on her own.
“I wanted to work with a higher skill set of clients,” Bowe says. “I tied that down right at the beginning that Rose PT would be a clinic for athletes.”
Focusing on that, the therapists at Rose PT are using techniques that can reduce the possibility of an athlete having to have surgery. Those techniques include Active Release Technique, Trigger Point Dry Needling and the McKenzie Method.
“We use diagnostic protocols that help delineate which tissue is involved, which helps point to the best treatment,” Bowe says. “I really wanted our focus to be on differentiating so we can get to the heart of the matter faster.”
Several of the LGBT-based sports teams have received support from Rose PT including TriOut, District Multisport and the District of Columbia Aquatics Club.
Just last week, District Multisport needed a place to try on its members’ new racing kits as a group and was welcomed at the Rose PT facility. It was exactly what Bowe was hoping to accomplish when creating the atmosphere for the clinic.
“We wanted to create something that was very nurturing and very familial,” Bowe says. “It is important for us to have a place for athletes to get well and a place where they can be comfortable.”
Another focus for the clinic is to keep athletes in their sport while they are rehabbing or training with pain. Bryan Frank receives race sponsorship from Rose PT and has taken advantage of its services while recovering from a dislocated shoulder after a bike crash.
“The therapists at Rose PT respect what you are trying to accomplish as an athlete and don’t expect you to stop training when you are injured,” Frank says. “They help us get back out there after solving the issue, not putting a Band-Aid on it.”
Frank also visits the clinic when he is healthy and has found its techniques useful with his racing.
“They have educated me on functional movement and other techniques they are trained in,” Frank says. “I usually go in before a big race for Active Release as it is thought to serve a greater purpose than just getting a massage.”
What the therapists offer at Rose PT are things that can’t be accomplished at home, though they give athlete exercises to complete on their own.
“There is a lot of hustle and bustle at the clinic and we want the athletes to feel taken care of,” Bowe says. “Our clients come in for their one-hour appointment and all of the focus is just on themselves.”
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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