Sports
Leather, drag enthusiast finds community in D.C.
Miguel Ayala finds connections if ‘you dig deeper’
Miguel Ayala in his various guises. (Photo left courtesy Ayala; middle photo by Denis Largeron; photo three courtesy Manor Photography)
Trying to figure out where you belong in the LGBT community can be an intimidating process. The transient nature of Washington means there is a revolving door of new people moving to the District on a regular basis.
It’s possible that newcomers were tied to an LGBT community in their prior location, but moving to a new city is an opportunity to explore new options. It might be a chance to find their inner athlete, try a harness on for the first time or imagine the thought of getting up on stage in drag.
Providence, proximity or common purpose can lead anyone to something new, but it could also be as simple as just leaving fears behind and taking that step forward.
Miguel Ayala has found a place in multiple LGBT communities and there were varied reasons for him joining each of them.
“A lot of people think there is no crossover in the LGBT communities, but if you dig deeper you are going to find the connections,” Ayala says. “People are exploring what makes them tick and to accomplish that, they are looking in several places.”
Ayala grew up in Chicago and that first step forward happened for him when he was browsing curriculum as a high school freshman and he noticed that there was English and African-American literature, but nothing for the Latino community.
“That really got my wheels turning,” Ayala says. “I thought there should be parity and I got involved in trying to change the curriculum.”
He served on student council and the city-wide Chicago school board along with starting the LGBT Student Pride Club. His political path continued at DePaul University where he served as a resident assistant and his fraternity chapter president along with being a member of the Pride Club and multicultural Greek council.
During his undergrad years he spent a summer as an intern with congressman Luis Gutierrez and after graduation, he moved to the District in 2002. For 14 years he worked as a federal employee, mostly on Capitol Hill.
After volunteering with the Obama campaign, he left his job in 2016 to join the Clinton campaign as communications director for the State of Nevada. He is now self-employed as an independent contractor.
“When I first came to D.C., I thought I would do my graduate work at one of the universities here,” Ayala says. “I ended up with the political bug and was lured in by the Capitol dome.”
Finding his LGBT community in the District evolved into finding multiple communities. The only sports he played growing up were neighborhood games of basketball and football. Hoping to embrace a more fit and healthy lifestyle, he started going to pick-up basketball games with the D.C. Sentinels and eventually joined their league along with Stonewall Kickball and the D.C. Front Runners.
He ended up running several half marathons including the race at the Cleveland Gay Games. His first full marathon was completed at the Marine Corps Marathon. Since 2013, he has been a board member of Team D.C., the information clearinghouse for LGBT sports.
“Joining the sports community was an opportunity to build friendships not tied to going to bars,” Ayala says. “It was eye-opening that there was this whole LGBT community dedicated to sports in D.C. and even beyond through tournaments. I am building connections all around the country.”
Another community was a curiosity, but the stereotype of masculinity meant dealing with a structure where he might not be accepted. He popped into the International Mister Leather conference in Chicago and ran out the door.
When the D.C. Eagle was on New York Avenue, he moved nearby and wanted to check out his neighborhood bar. He met Kyle Collins and it was a launchpad to finding other ways to get involved with the leather community. He ran for the Mr. D.C. Eagle title and became one of the co-founders of D.C. Leather Pride.
“The leather community has allowed me to embrace my sexuality and to appreciate that there are different people who like different things,” Ayala says. “I didn’t understand that until I was part of the community. I have found another family that reaches across the country.”
Dressing as a woman for Halloween in high school might not count as drag, but Ayala recognized that there is a thriving drag community. When he found out that the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant was supporting nonprofits, he put his energy into having some fun. Enter Moka Loka Latte.
As a member of the Dupont Social Club, he has competed three times at Miss Adams Morgan. Next month he will be performing at Valentine’s Day is a Drag to benefit SMYAL.
“Performing in drag without making a living out of it, allows me to do something for our community through fundraising,” Ayala says. “It is fun and it has an impact.”
The commonality in all of Ayala’s endeavors is “found family” and community. It reaches far beyond the D.C. metro area.
“I choose to be a part of all of these communities because I like to see their impact on our entire community,” Ayala says. “Their effect goes well beyond D.C. and creates national communities.”
Sports
English soccer bans transgender women from women’s teams
British Supreme Court last month ruled legal definition of woman limited to ‘biological women’
The organization that governs English soccer on Thursday announced it will no longer allow transgender women to play on women’s teams.
The British Supreme Court on April 16 ruled the legal definition of a woman is limited to “biological women” and does not include trans women. The Football Association’s announcement, which cites the ruling, notes its new policy will take effect on June 1.
“As the governing body of the national sport, our role is to make football accessible to as many people as possible, operating within the law and international football policy defined by UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) and FIFA,” said the Football Association in a statement that announced the policy change. “Our current policy, which allows transgender women to participate in the women’s game, was based on this principle and supported by expert legal advice.”
“This is a complex subject, and our position has always been that if there was a material change in law, science, or the operation of the policy in grassroots football then we would review it and change it if necessary,” added the Football Association.
The Football Association also acknowledged the new policy “will be difficult for people who simply want to play the game they love in the gender by which they identify.”
“We are contacting the registered transgender women currently playing to explain the changes and how they can continue to stay involved in the game,” it said.
The Football Association told the BBC there were “fewer than 30 transgender women registered among millions of amateur players” and there are “no registered transgender women in the professional game” in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
The Scottish Football Association, which governs soccer in Scotland, is expected to also ban trans women from women’s teams.
FIFA has announced Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, despite concerns over its human rights record that includes the death penalty for homosexuality.
The Associated Press reported FIFA confirmed the decision on Dec. 18. The AP noted Saudi Arabia is the only country that bid to host the 2034 World Cup.
“This is a historic moment for Saudi Arabia and a dream come true for all our 32 million people who simply love the game,” said Sport Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al- Faisal, who is also president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, in a statement the Saudi Press Agency posted to its website.
Saudi Arabia is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.
A U.S. intelligence report concluded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “likely approved” the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. A federal judge in 2022 dismissed a lawsuit against Prince Mohammed after the Biden-Harris administration said he was immune to the lawsuit because he is the country’s prime minister.
Human rights activists have also criticized the Saudi government over the treatment of women, migrant workers, and other groups in the country.
“No one should be surprised by this,” Cyd Zeigler, Jr., co-founder of Outsports.com, an LGBTQ sports website, told the Washington Blade in an email after FIFA confirmed Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup. “FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, and many other world governing bodies routinely turn to authoritarian countries with terrible human-rights records to host major sporting events. There are simply few other countries willing to spend the billions of dollars it takes to build the needed infrastructure.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, in a statement described FIFA’s decision as “a betrayal of the values that football should stand for: Inclusivity, fairness, and respect for human rights.”
“This is not about football; it’s about sportswashing,” said Tatchell. “The Saudi regime is using the World Cup to launder its international image and distract from its brutal abuses. By granting them this platform, FIFA is complicit in whitewashing their crimes.”
Qatar, which borders Saudi Arabia, hosted the 2022 World Cup.
Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized in Qatar.
“Saudi Arabia was the only country to bid for the 2034 FIFA World Cup,” said Zeigler. “So, until FIFA, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) and other governing bodies ban major human-rights violators from hosting, we’ll continue to see events like this in Saudi Arabia, China, Qatar, and other countries with terrible LGBTQ rights issues.”
The Blade has reached out to FIFA and the Saudi government for comment.
Sports
Controversy grows over member of Calif. university’s women’s volleyball team
Coach suspended, NCAA sued, more rivals forfeit
San Jose State University’s women volleyball team has collected yet another W by forfeit — its seventh so far this season — as controversy swirls around one player on its roster. She’s one of the seniors, and she has been dragged in the media by her own co-captain, who outed her as transgender.
The Washington Blade is not naming this student athlete since neither she nor the school have confirmed or even commented on her gender identity.
SJSU visited San Diego last weekend for a match before the Aztecs’ biggest home crowd of the season — including protesters waving “Save Women’s Sports” banners and booing one player on the Spartans team in particular: The woman who is reported to be trans.
Security was tight, with metal detectors and extra guards and police officers present. Video posted to YouTube by a right-wing sports media site — which names the player — shows an angry fan arguing with security about his First Amendment rights.
Video recorded during Nov. 9’s game shows a player for San Diego was injured following a spike by the player rumored to be trans, and had to be helped off the court. However, the video clearly shows that player was injured by landing poorly on one foot, not as a result of the spike.
The Aztecs defeated the Spartans 3-1, but San Jose has still punched its ticket to the conference finals, thanks to its record number of forfeits.
Wyoming was set to visit SJSU Thursday, but for the second time is joining other universities that have forfeited games against the Spartans, all without providing a reason. Boise State announced it will forfeit an upcoming match set for Nov. 21, its second forfeit against SJSU.
In September, the Spartans’ co-captain, senior Brooke Slusser, outed her own teammate, the player at the center of this controversy, in joining a federal lawsuit against the NCAA spearheaded by anti-trans inclusion activist and former college athlete Riley Gaines.
Slusser said in the lawsuit and in subsequent interviews that the player in question shouldn’t be on her team. The suit claims the NCAA’s policy on trans athletes violates Title IX by allowing “men” to compete in women’s sports and use women’s locker rooms where they display “full male genitalia.”
The NCAA policy for trans athletes participating in women’s volleyball aligns with that of USA Volleyball, which requires trans female athletes to suppress their testosterone below 10 nmol/L for a period of one year before competition. That is also how the NCAA determines eligibility. SJSU has stated repeatedly that all its players are eligible.
The lawsuit also asks the NCAA to revoke any titles or records won by trans female athletes in women’s competitions, which seems to be specifically aimed at stripping out trans NCAA champions Lia Thomas and CeCé Telfer of their titles in swimming and track and field, respectively.
Prior to this season, the player rumored to be trans did not attract any attention other than being a successful starter, like Slusser. But now that she is in the media spotlight, Slusser has come forward to tell right wing media, including Megyn Kelly, why she feels another woman two inches taller than she is poses a danger.
“I don’t feel safe,” Slusser said on “The Megyn Kelly Show” last month. “I’ve gone to my coaches and said I refuse to play against [her] … It’s not safe.”
In the video, both Kelly and Slusser refer to the player as “him” and a “man,” and name her.
Now comes another twist: San Jose State University suspended associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose with pay, indefinitely, after she filed a Title IX complaint against SJSU. She claims the player Slusser identified as trans conspired with an opponent to help the team lose a match and injure Slusser. Batie-Smoose named the player in question in her complaint and on Sept. 23, joined the same lawsuit that Slusser is now a part of.
“Safety is being taken away from women,” Batie-Smoose told Fox News. “Fair play is taken away from women. We need more and more people to do this and fight this fight because women’s sports, as we know it right now will be forever changed.”
Media reporting on the suspension, including Fox News, continue to name the athlete in question, with some also reporting what they say is the athlete’s birth name.
San Jose State released a statement following the suspension of Batie-Smoose: “The associate head coach of the San Jose State University women’s volleyball team is not with the team at this time, and we will not provide further information on this matter,” the team said.
SJSU Coach Todd Kress told ESPN that reports saying that any member of the Spartans colluded with their opponent are “littered with lies.”
The Spartans are currently among the top six finishers in the Mountain West Conference that will qualify to compete in the conference tournament scheduled for Nov. 27-30.
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