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Gay Jamaican swimmer says coming out has not affected career

Michael Gunning hopes to compete in 2020 Summer Olympics

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Michael Gunning, Washington Blade, gay news
Michael Gunning came out on ā€˜The Bi Life,ā€™ a British dating show. (Photo courtesy Gunning)

A gay swimmer of Jamaican descent says concerns that his decision to come out would adversely impact his career have not come to pass.

“Everyone has a different story, but for me personally I was worried that ‘coming out’ would take away from my sporting achievements/performances that I’ve worked and decided my whole life to,” Michael Gunning told the Blade on Aug. 8 in an email.

“Most sports are quite masculine dominated and I think itā€™s a worry for many athletes that it will take away the fear element from their performance ā€” their opponents might see it as a weakness,” he added. “But for me, when I stand up to race I have to be happy ā€” I normally wave to the crowd and listen to upbeat music, so it hasn’t really affected my ‘role’ as an athlete.”

Gunning, 25, lives in London.

He began to swim when he was 4 after his parents made him and his brother take swimming lessons. Gunning said he “hated it at first, but once I started getting confident in the water I was always getting in trouble for diving under the water and not listening to my teachers.” 

He joined a swimming club when he was 7.

“Iā€™ve stayed in a competitive swimming club swimming ever since,” said Gunning.

Gunning, whose father was born in Jamaica, spoke with the Blade after he competed in the Pan-American Games in Lima, Peru. Gunning said he hopes to represent Jamaica in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

“The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is the ultimate goal for just now,” said Gunning. “Itā€™s always an honor to represent my county at any competition but the Olympics is so special and itā€™s something Iā€™ve been working towards all my life so it would be the icing on the cake of my professional career.”

Gunning in 2018 decided to participate in “The Bi Life,” a British dating show that takes place in Barcelona.

“For the past 20 years swimming has taken up the majority of my life as I never dated or been in a relationship before as I never really found the time,” he said. “Despite walking around poolside with fit half naked people, I just learnt to switch off the attraction to anyone and it wasnā€™t until last year that I felt it was time to put myself out there and find myself a little more and I decided to do the show. I liked the concept of living with like-minded people in a villa for a few weeks ā€” without the competition element ā€” and find out what I was missing out on. 

“Iā€™ve met so many people who struggle to come to terms with their sexuality so a part of me wanted to take part in the show to inspire as many people as I possibly could to show them that itā€™s ok to be new and inexperienced to dating and allow them share the journey with me,” added Gunning.

Gunning told the Blade he was a “real person going into the villa and just acted on real feeling.” He described his first date as “so nice.”

“After I went on a few more dates and a rollercoaster of emotions … I knew automatically that my feelings towards men overpowered the feelings towards women and it was so nice to be able to share those feelings with my villa mates as they were so supportive and were part of the journey with me,” said Gunning. “I had so many wonderful comments towards my coming out scene and it was so comforting to know that many people had been through the same thing too.” 

Gunning told the Blade that some people thought “I already knew I was gay.”

“But I felt like I owed it to myself to explore and find out for myself in my own way and it just happened that for me it was on TV,” he added. “The girls I dated on the show were so understanding and itā€™s wonderful that we live in a society where people are so loving and supporting others finding them self, and Iā€™m still really good friends with them now.” 

Gunning met Tom Daley, a British Olympic diver who is married to director Dustin Lance Black, at the London Aquatics Performance Center in 2014. Gunning described Daley as a “great role model” who has “always been a dear friend of mine.”

“Iā€™m also constantly inspired by the current people out in the LGBTQ world making a difference as everyoneā€™s story is so unique and personal to them and itā€™s great they feel they should share it,” said Gunning.

Jamaica is among the dozens of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain criminalized. Violence and discrimination against Jamaicans based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity also continues to make headlines, even though the island’s LGBTI rights movement has become more visible in recent years.

“There is a harsh reality out in many Caribbean countries that any same-sex affection and/or activity is illegal and publishable of up to 10 years imprisonment,” acknowledged Gunning. “It breaks my heart that I would have to keep such affection to myself should I ever go and visit Jamaica.”

Gunning nevertheless told he Blade he regularly receives messages from LGBTI Jamaicans who share their stories with him.

“I do my best to offer them support and guidance,” he said. “I canā€™t imagine what itā€™s like to live out there with those legislations put in place, but they come to me because they donā€™t have anyone else and I try so hard to tell them everything is going to be ok. I hope within time and with the help of more black LGBT representatives, different Caribbean countries will be more willing to accept the developments of same sex couples.”

Amini Fonua, an openly gay Olympic swimmer from Tonga, applauded Gunning for his decision to come out.

“I think him coming out in a country as homophobic is super brave,” Fonua told the Blade.

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Caitlyn Jenner backs NY county transgender athletes ban

‘Letā€™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. 

ā€œLetā€™s stop it now while we can,ā€ 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. 

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

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

ā€œIf the left wants to fight this battle on this hill, itā€™s a losing battle,ā€ said Jenner. ā€œWe will win the battle.ā€ 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 womenā€™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 ā€œbullying trans kids.ā€ 

James called the order ā€œtransphobic and deeply dangerous,ā€ and argued that it violates the stateā€™s anti-discrimination laws. The state attorney general challenged it in court March 1 with a ā€œcease and desist letter,ā€ demanding that Blakeman rescind the order, saying it subjects womenā€™s and girlsā€™ sports teams to ā€œinvasive questioning.ā€

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 Amendmentā€™s equal protection clause.

ā€œNot only was the executive order legal, but we had an obligation to defend it,ā€ 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 womenā€™s roller derby league based in Nassau County that welcomes trans women and would be barred from using the countyā€™s facilities by Blakemanā€™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.Ā 

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

ā€œI can still hit a golf ball 280 yards,ā€ Jenner continued, not mentioning she plays from the ladiesā€™ tee. She did however opine about not being ā€œa real woman,ā€ acknowledging that many trans women disagree with her view. 

ā€œThey keep saying, ā€˜Oh, Iā€™m a real woman, Iā€™m a real woman,ā€™ and Iā€™m going, ā€˜No, youā€™re not,ā€™ā€ said Jenner. ā€œI 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, itā€™s fine, but biologically youā€™re still male.ā€

She added: ā€œā€‹Let me explain ā€” I am biologically male, OK? Iā€™m XY. Thereā€™s nothing I can do to change that. If you believe in gender dysphoria, and I think most people do realize itā€™s not a disease, itā€™s a mental condition, just like some people are left-handed and some people are right-handed, itā€™s kind of the way youā€™re born and Iā€™ve dealt with it my entire life.ā€œ

ā€œI 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 Iā€™m not.ā€

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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 schoolā€™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.

ā€œIt was kind of like a mutual understanding between the two of us, me and basketball,ā€ Meyers told the Washington Blade. ā€œI took more individual lessons, and I just realized that the potential was sky high.ā€

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.

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

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 ā€œlearning experience.ā€ 

ā€œI got to relearn what it meant to be a rookie again,ā€ Meyers said. ā€œAll 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.ā€

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

ā€œBy 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,ā€ Meyers said.

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

ā€œAt the end of the day, it’s your own race; run it at your own pace,ā€ Meyers said.  ā€œNever be apologetic for who you are. When you have to start compromising yourself and your values for other people like though thatā€™s not the community you want to be a part of.ā€

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 Meyersā€™ 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 todayā€™s shifting climate, it has become easier for female athletes to express their identities

ā€œWomen who express strong emotions in sports are often treated differently than men who do the exact same thing,ā€ Hazra said in an interview. ā€œI 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.ā€

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

ā€œIt doesn’t matter your sexuality, your gender identity, all that stuff. That doesn’t matter when you’re playing a sport,ā€ Hazra said. ā€œA 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.ā€

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. 

ā€œShe 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,ā€ Pinzan described. ā€œI am glad to have met someone like Abby, with such a kind soul.ā€

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

ā€œThey 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,ā€ Pinzan wrote about the Terrapins in an interview. ā€œDespite 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.ā€

Meyers agreed that there is a lot to look forward to this March Madness. She said that with Coach Brenda Freseā€™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 womenā€™s basketball this year, pointing out that itā€™s more popular right now than menā€™s games, as womenā€™s basketball is selling out arenas.

ā€œI only think it’s gonna get better and it’s going to grow even more,ā€ Meyers said. ā€œJust the marketing, the social media, the overall awareness of the women’s game. Fans are growing by the number.ā€

Meyers believes that female basketball players have to rely more on their skill than their athleticism, which she believes makes womenā€™s games just as ā€” if not more ā€” exciting than menā€™s games. She said that over the past few years, there has been a strong shift in womenā€™s viewership that has shrunk the gap between menā€™s and womenā€™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 ā€” especially the women.

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Banned trans golfer Hailey Davidson: ā€˜Hate and bigotry will never win’

NXXT mandates players must be ā€˜biological female at birthā€™

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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 ā€œa biological female at birthā€ in order to participate. 

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

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

According to a statement by the tourā€™s CEO, Stuart McKinnon, the change underscores the organizationā€™s commitment to ā€œmaintaining the integrity of womenā€™s professional golf and ensuring fair competition.ā€ NXXT Golf issued that statement on International Womenā€™s Day.

ā€œAs we navigate through the evolving landscape of sports, it is crucial to uphold the competitive integrity that is the cornerstone of womenā€™s sports,ā€ said McKinnon in the statement. ā€œOur 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.ā€

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. 

ā€œYou know what really bugs me is that people think I win just by showing up,ā€ she wrote. ā€œThis 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.

ā€œYou think youā€™re attacking me, but youā€™re actually attacking and putting down ALL other female athletes.ā€

She concluded with a vow: ā€œYou 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.ā€

Davidson also posted a message for the women she had planned to compete against: ā€œI 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.ā€ 

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