Sports
GAME CHANGERS: Local Stonewall Kickball team captain enjoys ‘semi-competitive’ team
Out player wants a more inclusive, more diverse sports league
This week in the ongoing Game Changers series in the Washington Blade, we meet an athlete from Stonewall Kickball who is carving his path both on and off the playing field.
Recently voted onto the Stonewall Sports national board as the Washington representative, Viet Tran plans to be outspoken about diversity, equity and inclusion. He refers to those as key values in his life.
Born in Vietnam and raised in San Diego, Tran grew up in a family that believed children should be active. He played Little League and tennis including two years on his high school tennis team.
During his undergrad work at University of California San Diego, he was a member of the quidditch team and running club along with picking up Olympic-style weightlifting.
Because of his interest in policy and politics, he moved to D.C. three days after graduating in 2014 to pursue a post-undergrad internship. He joined Stonewall Kickball in 2016 and is now team captain.
“I was looking to integrate into the LGBT community and for me, Stonewall provided a strong vibrant community,” Tran says. “My team is semi-competitive and I like to create an environment where people are comfortable. Winning is a bonus but it is more about the camaraderie and social aspects.”
In his role on the Stonewall Sports national board, Tran is hoping to be involved in developing a committee that focuses on diversity, equity and inclusion. He says things like adding pronouns on the Stonewall shirts would create a bridge to a more inclusive culture.
“I came from a large Asian community and it was different when I arrived here in D.C. As I became more informed about my own queer identity, I became more aware that there are not a lot of Asian Americans in that community,” Tran says. “The numbers are growing in Stonewall and I want to be more welcoming to all communities including trans, nonbinary and women players. My team is diverse, but it doesn’t extend to the entire league.”
Outside of the kickball field, Tran has had a loaded career trajectory with each experience evolving around his key values.
He has worked with the Victory Fund, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and the Conference on Asian Pacific American Leadership. Currently he is the deputy press secretary at Human Rights Campaign.
“The work that I have done and the issues that I advocate for are tied to my own identity. I am an Asian-American immigrant who is queer,” Tran says. “It is important that I work in the communities that I resonate with.”
When Tran came out to his mother, he spoke to her in Vietnamese as a sign of respect to her heritage and to meet her halfway on connecting as immigrants.
“The narrative and culture in D.C. is so rich. I want to be a part of creating an environment that is reflective and representative of everyone,” Tran says. “It is my mission to make it an intentional action.”
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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