Sports
YEAR IN REVIEW 2016: Sports
Local LGBT sports leagues celebrate banner year
It was another successful year for the LGBT sports teams and clubs in the Washington metro area. Whether they were playing locally or competing in cities around the world, our local LGBT athletes continue to be a force to be reckoned with.
In June, it was announced that Team D.C., the information clearinghouse for roughly 35 local LGBT sports teams, would be bidding for the 2022 Gay Games.
Six months later, the bidding process continues and the list has been whittled down to nine cities; Washington, San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, Salt Lake City, Guadalajara and Hong Kong. Three finalists will be announced on March 1.
Look for multiple D.C. teams to compete at the Sin City Shootout (25 sports) in Las Vegas in January and the World OutGames (32 sports) in Miami in May.
The Federal Triangles Soccer Club traveled to Portland in August where they captured the Division 1 title at the International Gay & Lesbian Football Association World Championship XXII.
Federal Triangles (Photo courtesy Triangles)
The Washington Wetskins water polo team snagged the silver medal in the rec division at the International Gay & Lesbian World Aquatics Championships in August in Edmonton, Canada.
In July, players from the Capital Tennis Association won their second straight title at the 25th Atlantic Cup by defeating players from Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
The D.C. Titans of the Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League notched second place in the D Division at the 40th annual Gay Softball World Series in Austin in August.
The District of Columbia Aquatics Club won the medium-team title in Edmonton, Canada in August at the International Gay & Lesbian World Aquatic Championships.
D.C. Aquatics (Washington Blade photo by Kevin Majoros)
At the Bingham Cup (rugby) in Nashville in May, the Washington Renegades B Team won their division to take the Mark Bingham Shield.
At that same Bingham Cup, the Washington Scandals won their first match as a team.
Members of the Washington Scandals celebrate their historic win at the Bingham Cup rugby tournament in Nashville in May where they won their first match as a team. (Photo courtesy of the Washington Scandals)
Along with their successes at out-of-town tournaments, many of the teams hosted their own tournaments in D.C. and ran their own leagues. Registrations for new seasons will begin for many of the teams in January 2017.
The LGBT sports community of D.C. continues to evolve and thrive and this year’s new additions included Stonewall Yoga, Baltimore Flamingos Rugby and the relaunch of Lambda Divers Scuba.
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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