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All star spotlight: D.C. Gay Flag Football

With 300 players on 22 teams, standing out is tough in local league

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D.C. Gay Flag Football League, gay news, Washington Blade

Lindsey Walton, left, and Jordan Anderson excel with the D.C. Gay Flag Football League. (Photos courtesy D.C. Gay Flag Football League)

Each LGBT-inclusive sports team or club in the D.C. area is loaded with athletes and leaders who make their respective organizations a success.

In the launch of the new D.C. All-Stars series in the Washington Blade, we shine a light on the two MVP award winners from Season 13 of the D.C. Gay Flag Football League.

With more than 300 players on 22 teams, standing out as an All-Star during a 10-week season requires a special mix of leadership and athletic excellence.

In her first season with the league, Lindsey Walton captured the female rookie of the year award. In her second season this past fall, she followed that up with the female MVP award.

Growing up in Pittsburgh, Walton excelled in soccer, basketball and softball. She took on another sport when a coach saw her throwing a football.

ā€œI always had an interest in football, but my mom wouldnā€™t let me play because I was small,ā€ says Walton. ā€œThe track and field coach saw me throwing a football and recruited me to throw the javelin.ā€

She would be recruited again for college, this time playing four years of soccer as the starting goalkeeper at Howard University. After graduating she remained in the sport playing club soccer with men as a goalkeeper.

After several years in D.C., Walton moved to Chicago and picked up flag football in an attempt to make new friends. She continued in the sport when she returned to D.C. and joined a womenā€™s league and a co-ed league. The demands of the one league sent her on a different sports path.

ā€œThe league I joined was more physical than most and allowed downfield blocking with no body protection,ā€ Walton says. ā€œI decided I needed to put on pads and play full tackle.ā€

She joined the Washington Prodigy in 2014 and continues to play as a punter, kicker and receiver. Two years later she added on flag football with the league, which doesnā€™t utilize downfield blocking rules.

ā€œI like competing against guys and I like giving them the work. Itā€™s fun for me,ā€ says Walton. ā€œSome guys take it easy on me which just makes me have to embarrass them.ā€

Walton, who works as a communications director with the D.C. Council and met her girlfriend in the league, is also a member of two of the leagueā€™s travel teams, the Washington Senators and DC Delta Force.

The Delta Force won the title at the Pride Bowl in Chicago last June and this weekend, she will be traveling with her Senators teammates to compete in the Sunshine Bowl in Fort Lauderdale.

Jordan Andersonā€™s life growing up as a military brat included time spent in multiple states including California, Virginia, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Despite all the moving, he found success in football, basketball and track and field.

He spent three years as a running back on the football team at James Madison University and after redshirting a year, completed his fourth year of athletic eligibility as a running back at Virginia State while earning his masterā€™s degree.

When his mother became stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in 2014, he decided to stay in the area to help care for his 8 year-old twin siblings. He went with a friend to watch a league game and joined in the spring of 2016.

ā€œI was drafted onto a team full of rookies in my first season,ā€ says Anderson. ā€œWe came together as a team as the season progressed and finished as runner-ups in the season-ending Super Bowl.ā€

Because of the way the league draft system works, Anderson found himself on a new team with only one person from his prior team in his second season last fall. It was on that team that Anderson found that balance of sportsmanship, leadership and community spirit that would propel him to the seasonā€™s male MVP award.

ā€œI like to help people to believe in themselves,ā€ Anderson says. ā€œIf someone wants to play cornerback, I want to help them achieve that goal. In the long run, it also helps to make my team better.ā€

Anderson, who is working as a medical assistant with an eye on moving towards physical therapy, is enjoying that the League fills his competitive needs as well as the social aspects of being around so many athletes.

ā€œI love the competition and this is a great way for me to get exercise; jumping, running and cutting is just better than a gym workout,ā€ says Anderson. ā€œAlso, as one of the younger players, it is a big plus for me to be around fellow athletes who are doctors, lawyers and community leaders.ā€

Registration for Season 14 of the DCGFFL will begin on January 24 for returning players and January 31 for new players.

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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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