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Meet D.C.’s biggest gay sports fans

Local LGBT folks take joy eschewing stereotypes, following favorite teams

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gay sports fans, gay news, Washington Blade

From left are Abby Holtz, Redskins linebacker Houston Bates and Sami Holtz. (Photo courtesy Holtz)

D.C. is known for its rabid fans whether they’re hoping for a Washington Redskins win, attending a Caps match or watching players round the bases at a Nationals game. Meet four of D.C. sports’ biggest gay supporters who bleed their team colors with pride.

Sami Holtz

Team: Washington Redskins.

Sami Holtz, an elementary physical education teacher hailing from Silver Spring, Md., has been a huge Redskins fan for years. Her wife, Abby, is more of a newcomer. She found herself engulfed in a world of burgundy and gold once the couple started dating.

“I didn’t marry you as much as I married the Redskins,” Abby jokes after listening to Sami excitedly recount tales of games.

And Sami has plenty.

One of her favorite memories is when she and her best friend went to a game right after free safety Sean Taylor’s murder in 2007. Sami says her ticket happened to have Taylor’s picture as the featured player. It’s a memento she still has to this day.

She recalls the multiple times she and her best friend, who is straight, attended Redskins games when the team was on a continuous losing streak. The pair still went to support and found themselves upgraded to club-level seats for half the games because the stadium was empty. But it only made the experience more fun for them both.

“Diehard Redskins fans are diehard Redskins fans. Whether they suck or they’re awesome, we don’t care. We go anyway,” Sami says.

Sami, Abby and Sami’s best friend are all members of Women of Washington Redskins, an organization for female fans. Through the organization, the trio have gone to the practice facility to run with the players. They were also given the opportunity to visit training camp for the day.

Sami and Abby aren’t limited to the Redskins. They enjoy attending games for D.C.’s women’s soccer team Washington Spirit as well. Sami says she loves watching U.S. women’s soccer games because she loves the sport but also because a couple players are LGBT. The couple also has been known to attend D.C. United games. For Sami, every D.C. game crackles with energy.

“I’ve been to D.C. United games and they make the whole stadium shake. D.C. area teams have such a rich history of fandom,” Sami says.

Jim Ensor

From left are Julian Bushcer, Jim Ensor and Travis Worra. (Photo courtesy Ensor)

Team: D.C. United

Jim Ensor’s allegiance to D.C. United shouldn’t come as a surprise as he’s been playing soccer since he was a child and played on his college team.

Playing a sport as a gay man was a difficult feat for Ensor in those early years. He first told his family, which he describes as “a big, loving family but they were Catholic.” His family took it well and armed with hope from their acceptance, Ensor told his college coach.

“I was having difficulty and he kept saying, ‘What is it? What are you struggling with?’ So when I told him, he was OK with it and supportive. It explained some of the difficulties I was having focusing. It made me better. I could focus more on the task at hand instead of worrying,” Ensor says.

Ensor lives in Arlington, Va., with his fiancé, whom Ensor says isn’t as into sports. His family is also planning on attending the wedding.

And his love for soccer continued.

He became a D.C. United fan after attending one game with friends, a playoff match when they first won the MLS Cup in 1996.

Ensor’s made peace with his sexuality-related struggles in sports and hopes other athletes can find the same courage.

“Athletes put too much pressure on themselves and spend too much time assuming the world will reject them. But you want to be part of the team, you want to participate and compete,” Ensor says.

Randy Meck

Randy Meck (in front/middle with sunglasses) at a Hokies Tailgate. (Photo courtesy Meck)

Team: Virginia Tech Hokies.

Randy Meck considers himself a lover of multiple sports teams including the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Reds and the Nationals. But no team won his heart quite like the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Meck, who lives and works in McLean, Va., at the corporate headquarters for Hilton Worldwide, became a Hokies fan while a student at Virginia Tech. Years later, he is now a season ticket holder.

He attends most home games and even tries to catch a couple road games when he can. It’s also a sure thing to spot Meck at a Caps or Nationals game at some point during the season. When he’s not physically at a game, he’s transporting himself there via TV screen.

Being such a big sports fan made coming out to his family and friends a bit confusing for them.

“Most of them were like, ‘Wait a minute — you’re a big sports fan, you can’t be gay,’” Meck says. “I think for them it helped break down some of the gay stereotypes. There’s plenty of straight men who are not into sports. It doesn’t matter whether you’re gay or straight, it’s just what you’re into. I have plenty of gay friends in the D.C. area who go to games.”

Meck believes that the future of the gay community and sports will be a positive one as more athletes become brave enough to come out.

“Thirty, 40 years ago there were very few black athletes in pro sports and we know that has changed,” Meck says. “As athletes come out of the closet earlier and earlier … I can’t fathom coming out of the closet in high school. These days kids are coming out in fifth, sixth, seventh grades. By the time they get to high school, if they’re an athletic kid, they are now a gay athlete. And if they continue those guys are going to be the pros.”

He expects more current pro athletes to start coming out because of the changing society. He cites Michael Sam as an example and says his unsuccessful NFL run was due to skill level, not coming out.

“There were questions whether or not he would be a good pro player even before he came out of the closet,” Meck says. “If he was one of those guys who was highly ranked coming out of college and going into the pros, he would still be playing in the NFL and I don’t think it’d be a problem at all.”

Mario Villafranca

Mario Villafranca, second from left. (Photo courtesy Villafranca)

Team: Washington Capitals.

Mario Villafranca grew up watching college football games thanks to his father and brothers. He attended the University of Texas and became a huge supporter of its football team. He also would attend Texas Stars games, a minor league hockey team located in Austin.

After moving to D.C., Villafranca dipped his toe into the NHL hockey waters when he attended his first Caps game. He’s been a fan ever since.

Villafranca is proud that the NHL is a supporter of the LGBT community and has a gay ally for every team. Goaltender Braden Holtby is the Caps’ appointed gay ally.

“Seeing Holtby at the gay Pride parade as a straight athlete, sends a great message to the D.C. community and across the country,” Villafranca says. “But there’s still some locker room stereotypes that don’t upset the players as it much as it bothers some of the mainstream male typical fans of sports.”

His husband Michael isn’t as big a sports fan but now and then he will root along for Texas football.

As for if the gay community is active enough in the D.C. sports scene, Villafranca says don’t let appearances fool you. He sees plenty of gay diversity at games from bears to twinks.

“I’m part of the bear community. I know men who are joyously flamboyant and they love playing on the D.C. sports teams and follow right along beside me,” Villafranca says.

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Caitlyn Jenner backs NY county transgender athletes ban

‘Let’s stop it now while we can’

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Caitlyn Jenner endorses Nassau County's transgender athlete ban during a press conference. (YouTube screenshot)

Caitlyn Jenner flew from Malibu to New York this week to join her fellow Republicans in their nationwide quest to keep transgender girls and women from competing in sports with other women. 

“Let’s stop it now while we can,” said the Olympic gold medalist, at a news conference carried live by Fox News Channel. 

Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman organized the event so that Jenner could speak in support of his February executive order banning trans athletes at more than 100 county-owned facilities. 

“Trans women are competing against women, taking valuable opportunities for the long-protected class under Title IX and causing physical harm,” said Jenner without providing supportive evidence of her claim. Jenner said the ban would defeat “the woke agenda.” 

Her comments drew praise from former NCAA swimmer and paid shill Riley Gaines, who represents the Independent Women’s Forum and has also worked with the failed presidential campaign of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on his anti-trans athlete platform.

“If the left wants to fight this battle on this hill, it’s a losing battle,” said Jenner. “We will win the battle.” She claimed she spoke on behalf of women and girls, contradicting her past statements in support of trans girls competing according to their gender identity and despite the fact she herself still competes in women’s sports.

Shortly after the ban was announced last month, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, both Democrats, denounced it and accused Blakeman of “bullying trans kids.” 

James called the order “transphobic and deeply dangerous,” and argued that it violates the state’s anti-discrimination laws. The state attorney general challenged it in court March 1 with a “cease and desist letter,” demanding that Blakeman rescind the order, saying it subjects women’s and girls’ sports teams to “invasive questioning.”

As the Los Angeles Blade reported, Blakeman’s legal team countered with its own lawsuit on March 5, claiming her cease and desist letter violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause.

“Not only was the executive order legal, but we had an obligation to defend it,” Blakeman said Monday. 

The order has also been challenged by the New York Civil Liberties Union, which filed suit last week on behalf of a women’s roller derby league based in Nassau County that welcomes trans women and would be barred from using the county’s facilities by Blakeman’s executive order.

Just days before the Long Island news conference, Jenner joined Olympian Sharron Davies, who also campaigns against trans inclusion in sports, for an conversation with a British newspaper, the Telegraph, which has been outspoken against trans inclusion. 

They recalled that in their day, tests to determine sex were mandatory in order to compete, and Jenner said she has been “pushing” for sex tests to return to sports, decades after sports organizations around the world abandoned the practice because they were unreliable. “If they continue down this road, it will be pretty much the end of women’s sport as we know it.”

“I can still hit a golf ball 280 yards,” Jenner continued, not mentioning she plays from the ladies’ tee. She did however opine about not being “a real woman,” acknowledging that many trans women disagree with her view. 

“They keep saying, ‘Oh, I’m a real woman, I’m a real woman,’ and I’m going, ‘No, you’re not,’” said Jenner. “I will use your preferred pronouns, I will treat you as a female, you can run and dress and do whatever you want, I have nothing against that, it’s fine, but biologically you’re still male.”

She added: “​Let me explain — I am biologically male, OK? I’m XY. There’s nothing I can do to change that. If you believe in gender dysphoria, and I think most people do realize it’s not a disease, it’s a mental condition, just like some people are left-handed and some people are right-handed, it’s kind of the way you’re born and I’ve dealt with it my entire life.“

“I consider myself a trans person, I am still genetically male, I changed all of my ID right down to my birth certificate so technically yes, I am female, but on the other hand I know I’m not.”

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Former UMD basketball player Abby Meyers discusses lesbians in sports, March Madness

Potomac native signed with the London Lions last August

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Abby Meyers (Photo courtesy of Abby Meyers)

Star basketball player Abby Meyers signed with the London Lions last August, but she called Maryland home before calling the shots in London.

Meyers, a lesbian shooting guard, grew up in Potomac and graduated from Walt Whitman High School in 2017. She played for Princeton in her undergraduate years and played for the University of Maryland during graduate school.

She began playing basketball in elementary school, and she was already showing an abundance of potential by the time she was in high school.

In her freshman year of high school, the school’s basketball coach sat down with Meyers and her family and showed them a list of universities with Division I basketball teams. Meyers circled the names of the schools that she was interested in attending. From there, the doors leading to a collegiate basketball career began to open. She began working towards her dream and ended up playing for Princeton.

“It was kind of like a mutual understanding between the two of us, me and basketball,” Meyers told the Washington Blade. “I took more individual lessons, and I just realized that the potential was sky high.”

She came back to her home state to attend the University of Maryland not only for its business program but also for its celebrated basketball team.

“I grew up watching Alyssa Thomas, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and so many other legends that passed through that program,” Meyers said. “So for me, I knew that basketball-wise, it was the best decision I could make. … They definitely had all of the qualities to make me the best player I could be.”

Before shipping off to London, Meyers briefly played in the WNBA for the Washington Mystics in the summer of 2023. In fact, the aforementioned UMD alum Shatori Walker-Kimbrough was one of her teammates.

She described her time with the WNBA and in London so far as a “learning experience.” 

“I got to relearn what it meant to be a rookie again,” Meyers said. “All of a sudden you enter a new team, a new level and you’re at the bottom, and you just have to let your actions speak louder than your words.”

Meyers publicly came out around 2019, and since then she has been a role model for many other lesbian women in sports.

“By coming out I’m actually being my authentic self, but I was scared that people were going to judge me and look at me differently when in fact, I was met with open arms, love, and appreciation,” Meyers said.

Meyers believes the journey one takes to coming out is an individual process that looks different for everyone.

“At the end of the day, it’s your own race; run it at your own pace,” Meyers said.  “Never be apologetic for who you are. When you have to start compromising yourself and your values for other people like though that’s not the community you want to be a part of.”

She has not experienced much anti-LGBTQ stigma since coming out, but that does not mean that it does not exist in other sports communities. However, in this modern social climate, Meyers pointed out, people are much more accepting of gay women in sports.

Nina Hazra, a University of Maryland medical student, grew up playing basketball with Meyers. The two were on the same team in middle school, but they went to different high schools and would often play against each other. 

Hazra did not play much past high school, but she remained close friends with her former teammate and rival to this day. She went to most of the home games during Meyers’ stint at UMD.

Though Hazra does not identify with the LGBTQ community, she noticed a tension in the sports world that affects all women, regardless of sexuality. However, with today’s shifting climate, it has become easier for female athletes to express their identities

“Women who express strong emotions in sports are often treated differently than men who do the exact same thing,” Hazra said in an interview. “I feel like as we’ve gotten older, there’s been a lot more celebration of womanhood in whatever form in sports, and I think that’s one of the places where you can then kind of go outside those societal norms.”

But Hazra still noticed the impact Meyers had on younger generations in sports who may be struggling with their identities.

“It doesn’t matter your sexuality, your gender identity, all that stuff. That doesn’t matter when you’re playing a sport,” Hazra said. “A lot of us didn’t have role models in those years growing up and just to get to see her being that for so many girls is so amazing.”

Elisa Pinzan, also a former Terrapin, is good friends with Meyers. 

Originally from Italy, Pinzan played for the University of South Florida for four years before entering the transfer portal and landing at UMD. She now plays for Keflavik IF in Iceland.

Pinzan and Meyers formed a strong bond while playing for the Terrapins together. 

“She was the first person I got close to; she is very open, smiley and friendly, and I felt comfortable around her from the first day,” Pinzan described. “I am glad to have met someone like Abby, with such a kind soul.”

Pinzan thought that fans should keep their eyes peeled for the Terrapins this upcoming March Madness season. 

“They are a very young team with energy, enthusiasm and grit on the floor, and I think they are a lot better than the record they have,” Pinzan wrote about the Terrapins in an interview. “Despite being young though, they are learning a lot every game and I am sure they will be able to transfer these lessons for the best time of the year coming up.”

Meyers agreed that there is a lot to look forward to this March Madness. She said that with Coach Brenda Frese’s game plans and strong assistant staff, the Terrapins have a strong chance of advancing throughout the competition.

According to Meyers, March Madness will be different for women’s basketball this year, pointing out that it’s more popular right now than men’s games, as women’s basketball is selling out arenas.

“I only think it’s gonna get better and it’s going to grow even more,” Meyers said. “Just the marketing, the social media, the overall awareness of the women’s game. Fans are growing by the number.”

Meyers believes that female basketball players have to rely more on their skill than their athleticism, which she believes makes women’s games just as — if not more — exciting than men’s games. She said that over the past few years, there has been a strong shift in women’s viewership that has shrunk the gap between men’s and women’s basketball, including from a technical standpoint, given that men and women play with the same level of equipment.

Regardless of where UMD ends up this March Madness, Meyers will be cheering the Terrapins on from across the pond — especially the women.

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Banned trans golfer Hailey Davidson: ‘Hate and bigotry will never win’

NXXT mandates players must be ‘biological female at birth’

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Hailey Davidson on Good Morning Britain. (Good Morning Britain YouTube screenshot)

Transgender pro golfer Hailey Davidson is pushing back against a policy change announced Friday by the Florida-based mini-tour, NXXT. From now on, competitors must be “a biological female at birth” in order to participate. 

“Effective immediately, I have been removed (banned) from the next three NXXT tournaments that I had already signed up for and been approved to play,” said Davidson in a post on Instagram. “They changed their policy mid season, after signing me up already and being 2nd in the Player of the Year race.” 

The three-time winner from Scotland has played nine times on the tour this season.

According to a statement by the tour’s CEO, Stuart McKinnon, the change underscores the organization’s commitment to “maintaining the integrity of women’s professional golf and ensuring fair competition.” NXXT Golf issued that statement on International Women’s Day.

“As we navigate through the evolving landscape of sports, it is crucial to uphold the competitive integrity that is the cornerstone of women’s sports,” said McKinnon in the statement. “Our revised policy is a reflection of our unwavering commitment to celebrating and protecting the achievements and opportunities of female athletes. Protected categories are a fundamental aspect of sports at all levels and it is essential for our Tour to uphold these categories for biological females, ensuring a level playing field.”

Davidson said the policy change in her social media post was discrimination, adding that the decision denigrates cisgender female athletes as well as trans athletes. 

“You know what really bugs me is that people think I win just by showing up,” she wrote. “This is such a slap in the face to ALL female athletes being told that any male can transition and beat them regardless of the life of hard work those women put in.

“You think you’re attacking me, but you’re actually attacking and putting down ALL other female athletes.”

She concluded with a vow: “You can scream at me, threaten me, throw insults at me, and even ban me BUT I will ALWAYS get back up and keep fighting to the very end. Hate and bigotry will never win.”

Davidson also posted a message for the women she had planned to compete against: “I hope those NXXT players who are now in the top five are still able to earn those Epson Tour exemptions they were promised and continue to be reminded of in the previous couple of tournaments.” 

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