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D.C. Front Runners honor dead members with tree memorials

Group looks back on 30th anniversary to those lost to AIDS, other causes

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Front Runners, gay news, Washington Blade

D.C. Front Runners honor dead members by planting trees. (Photo by Justin Fritscher)

This month, the D.C. Front Runners commemorated the 30th anniversary of their Memorial Grove by gathering about 40 volunteers to plant new trees.

The planting was a group effort with contributions from the D.C. Front Runners, Casey Trees, Veteran Compost and Open City Diner.

In the 1980s, HIV/AIDS took the lives of many D.C. Front Runners and in 1988, the club laid an AIDS quilt panel on the National Mall in honor of its lost members. That was followed by the planning of a memorial grove of flowering trees in collaboration with the National Park Service.

They chose a location along their weekly Saturday morning running/walking route. Starting from the Taras Shevchenko statue, the D.C. Front Runners Memorial Grove is located just over the second footbridge, on the right, near the Calvert/Connecticut Avenue entrance to Rock Creek Parkway by the Taft Bridge.

The Front Runners started with five trees and by the mid-‘90s, the trees and shrubs were well rooted and healthy. More club members died in the ‘90s, some of causes other than AIDS, and the Front Runners expanded the original concept of the Grove to memorialize all members who had died.

On the Grove’s 20th anniversary in 2008, the D.C. Front Runners planted 10 new trees and took care of them during the following two years until they were strong enough to grow on their own.

This month on the 30th anniversary, they renewed their commitment by planting an additional 10 trees that were selected, just like the trees before them, because they are native species that belong in the local ecology. This year’s planting was three Dogwoods, two Bur Oaks, two Eastern Redbuds, two Fringetrees and one Hackberry.

D.C. Front Runners walking coordinator, Larry Lee, was one of the club members who provided maintenance and watering to the trees in 2008. His service will continue following the most recent planting.

“I didn’t know any of the original members who passed but it is a nice feeling to be a part of something that memorializes them,” Lee dsud. “This year felt like a renewal. No matter where we run or walk through this area, there is a reminder of those who came before us.”

Casey Trees donated the trees and worked with the National Park Service to get the permits, planned the schedule for delivering the trees and created a staging area. They also provided volunteers along with the Front Runners who will provide watering and weed pulling during the first two years to assure that the trees develop a strong root system.

D.C. Front Runner Rob Geremia mentioned one runner who was a recent reminder of the significance of the Grove. Alan T. died suddenly in December, 2016 shortly after marrying his husband.

“We don’t dedicate specific trees to anyone, but we were thinking about Alan this year,” Geremia says. “Many of the participants in this month’s planting were in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Now a whole new generation of Front Runners have ownership and a connection to the Memorial Grove.”

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English soccer bans transgender women from women’s teams

British Supreme Court last month ruled legal definition of woman limited to ‘biological women’

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(Photo by Kirill_M/Bigstock)

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.

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Saudi Arabia to host 2034 World Cup

Homosexuality remains punishable by death in the country

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(Image by wael_alreweie/Bigstock)

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.

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Controversy grows over member of Calif. university’s women’s volleyball team

Coach suspended, NCAA sued, more rivals forfeit

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(Photo by muzsy/Bigstock)

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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