Sports
The rise of esports
SonicFox is a black, gay furry — and one of best fighting game players in the world
In 1962, a space combat video game called Spacewar! was developed by Steve Russell to be installed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Its installation spread to other institutions making it the first known video game to be played at multiple computer locations.
Ten years later at Stanford University, a selected list of the best Spacewar! players were invited to watch and participate in a video game competition.
The combination of the competitive elements of gaming with a fan base laid the groundwork for what has become one of the most popular activities watched and played around the world.
The 2019 Global Games Market report forecasts that 2.5 billion gamers across the world will spend $152.1 billion on games in 2019.
The competitive side of gaming known as esports is expected to have a total audience of 454 million viewers and revenues that will top $1 billion. Online streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube have served to launch esports into the stratosphere.
But is it really a sport?
Three things have to happen for a game to become a sport. There has to be competition, tournaments and spectators. The rise of esports has all that and more. Major spectator events in the form of streamed competitions with organized leagues, professional players that can be viewed anywhere, and live events in major offline sports venues.
Adding to the credibility of esports last month was the awarding of an ESPY for best esports moment. At the conclusion of the voting, which included 231,465 votes on Twitter alone, oLarry picked up the win over Ninja/Marshmello.
One esport player who was nominated in the best esports moment category was SonicFox aka Dominique McLean for winning EVO after switching sides.
SonicFox is a black, openly gay furry who also happens to be one of the best fighting game players in the world. He is a combination of some of the least represented demographics of players in the sport today. At 21 years of age, he has already won 52 tournaments.
Also taking note of the growing popularity of esports is the LGBT sports community. The Federation of Gay Games announced in June, the list of 36 sports that will be contested at Gay Games 11 Hong Kong in 2022.
For the first time in the history of the Gay Games, esports and dodgeball were among the sports to be included in the final sports list.
The host cities of the Gay Games follow a mandated list of core sports and can then add sports that are popular in their regions. Both esports and dodgeball are wildly popular in Hong Kong.
“The appetite for specific sports changes over time and we have to open up our minds as to what that means for the future,” says Les Johnson, vice president of external affairs for the Federation of Gay Games. “Both sports will go through a ‘Red Book’ process where we establish the rules for play, age groups and medal counts.”
Of note is that esports were a part of the sports list when D.C. made it to the final three cities of the 2022 Gay Games bid process.
Earlier this year in January, esports debuted at the Sin City Classic Sports Festival in Las Vegas. Sin City is the largest annual LGBT sporting event in the world and draws more than 7,000 athletes participating in 24 sports.
Stepping in on short notice to coordinate the addition of esports were Garrett Pattiani and Russ White. They are the co-founders/co-publishers of QLife Magazine,Federated Gaymers League, the International Drag Queen Database and UV Beach Club.
The competition was hosted at The Wall Gaming Lounge inside the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Attendees from the other Sin City sports were invited to attend as spectators and experience virtual reality (VR) demonstrations.
One of Pattiani and White’s many side gigs is producing virtual reality festivals which includes egaming through VR.
“We brought along VR Oculus headsets for the gamers and spectators to experience in demo stations,” says Pattiani. “Most gamers haven’t experienced VR gaming and we believe that it will be the esport game of choice in the future.”
The tournament featured two traditional esport games – Fortnite and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. For the third game of the tournament, Pattiani and White added a VR element by introducing the competitors to Ping! (Pong).
“There has been a cost barrier for VR because game development is expensive,” Pattiani says. “As the cost comes down and more people gain access to the technology, gamers will diversify, and new spaces will be created.”
The attraction to esports for the LGBT community is that it creates a safe space where they can be themselves.
“You can be anybody you want to be – you can create avatars to mimic how you identify, you can change your name and change your hair color,” says Pattiani. “These esports communities create a space where you can be your true self and offers the gamer the ability to explore identities.”
Pattiani and White have a vision for the future that includes expanding esports at the Sin City Classic.
“We have the technology to create an LGBT community database of gamers worldwide. Leagues where they would be playing esports against each other, city against city,” says White. “With sponsorships and prize money, we could draw the best players to Vegas to compete in future Sin City Classics.”
Sports
Blade, Pride House LA announce 2028 Olympics partnership
Media sponsorship to amplify stories of LGBTQ athletes
The Los Angeles Blade and Washington Blade on Friday announced a media partnership with the Out Athlete Fund, which will produce Pride House LA for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Pride House is the home for LGBTQ fans and athletes that will become a destination during the L.A. Summer Games in West Hollywood in partnership with the City of WeHo. This 17-day celebration for LGBTQ athletes and fans will include medal ceremonies for out athletes, interactive installations, speakers, concerts, and more.
The Los Angeles Blade will serve as the exclusive L.A.-area queer media sponsor for Pride House LA and the Washington Blade will support the efforts and amplify coverage of the 2028 Games.
The Blade will provide exclusive coverage of Pride House plans, including interviews with queer athletes and more. The parties will share content and social media posts raising awareness of the Blade and Out Athlete Fund. The Blade will have media credentials and VIP access for related events.
“We are excited to partner with the Washington Blade, the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States and the Los Angeles Blade, already a strong supporter of Out Athlete Fund and Pride House LA/West Hollywood,” said Michael Ferrera, CEO of Pride House LA. “Our mission is about increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ athletes and fans to challenge the historical hostility toward our community in the sports world. Visibility is what publications like the Washington and Los Angeles publications are all about. We know they will play a key part in our success.”
“LGBTQ visibility has never been more important and we are thrilled to work with Out Athlete Fund and Pride House LA to tell the stories of queer athletes and ensure the 2028 Summer Games are inclusive and affirming for everyone,” said Blade Editor Kevin Naff.
Out Athlete Fund is a 501(c)3 designed to raise money to offset the training cost of out LGBTQ athletes in need of funding for training. The Washington Blade is the nation’s oldest LGBTQ news outlet; the Los Angeles Blade is its sister publication founded nine years ago.
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are expected to compete in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics that open on Friday.
Outsports.com notes eight Americans — including speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy and figure skater Amber Glenn — are among the 44 openly LGBTQ athletes who will compete in the games. The LGBTQ sports website also reports Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, is the first openly transgender athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics.
“I’ve always been physically capable. That was never a question,” Glenn told Outsports.com. “It was always a mental and competence problem. It was internal battles for so long: when to lean into my strengths and when to work on my weaknesses, when to finally let myself portray the way I am off the ice on the ice. That really started when I came out publicly.”
McDermott-Mostowy is among the six athletes who have benefitted from the Out Athlete Fund, a group that has paid for their Olympics-related training and travel. The other beneficiaries are freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, speed skater Brittany Bowe, snowboarder Maddy Schaffrick, alpine skier Breezy Johnson, and Paralympic Nordic skier Jake Adicoff.
Out Athlete Fund and Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood on Friday will host a free watch party for the opening ceremony.
“When athletes feel seen and accepted, they’re free to focus on their performance, not on hiding who they are,” Haley Caruso, vice president of the Out Athlete Fund’s board of directors, told the Los Angeles Blade.
Four Italian LGBTQ advocacy groups — Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano — have organized the games’ Pride House that will be located at the MEET Digital Culture Center in Milan.
Pride House on its website notes it will “host a diverse calendar of events and activities curated by associations, activists, and cultural organizations that share the values of Pride” during the games. These include an opening ceremony party at which Checcoro, Milan’s first LGBTQ chorus, will perform.
ILGA World, which is partnering with Pride House, is the co-sponsor of a Feb. 21 event that will focus on LGBTQ-inclusion in sports. Valentina Petrillo, a trans Paralympian, is among those will participate in a discussion that Simone Alliva, a journalist who writes for the Italian newspaper Domani, will moderate.
“The event explores inclusivity in sport — including amateur levels — with a focus on transgender people, highlighting the role of civil society, lived experiences, and the voices of athletes,” says Milano Pride on its website.
The games will take place against the backdrop of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s decision to ban trans women from competing in women’s sporting events.
President Donald Trump last February issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S. A group of Republican lawmakers in response to the directive demanded the International Olympics Committee ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
The IOC in 2021 adopted its “Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations” that includes the following provisions:
• 3.1 Eligibility criteria should be established and implemented fairly and in a manner that does not systematically exclude athletes from competition based upon their gender identity, physical appearance and/or sex variations.
• 3.2 Provided they meet eligibility criteria that are consistent with principle 4 (“Fairness”, athletes should be allowed to compete in the category that best aligns with their self-determined gender identity.
• 3.3 Criteria to determine disproportionate competitive advantage may, at times, require testing of an athlete’s performance and physical capacity. However, no athlete should be subject to targeted testing because of, or aimed at determining, their sex, gender identity and/or sex variations.
The 2034 Winter Olympics are scheduled to take place in Salt Lake City. The 2028 Summer Olympics will occur in Los Angeles.
Sports
‘Heated Rivalry’ stars to participate in Olympic torch relay
Games to take place next month in Italy
“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie will participate in the Olympic torch relay ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that will take place next month in Italy.
HBO Max, which distributes “Heated Rivalry” in the U.S., made the announcement on Thursday in a press release.
The games will take place in Milan and Cortina from Feb. 6-22. The HBO Max announcement did not specifically say when Williams and Storrie will participate in the torch relay.
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