Sports
Lesbian softball lover builds championship team
D.C. Swag won 2018 championship D Division title
This week in the Game Changers series we meet an athlete from Chesapeake and Potomac Softball (CAPS) who has taken its women’s softball program to new heights.
Growing up in New England, Rhonda Jackson found a safe haven in sports as a three-letter athlete in basketball, softball and field hockey.
“Sports was a completely freeing experience and a place where I could express myself,” Jackson, who identifies as a lesbian, says. “It also gave me an avenue to connect to a community.”
After completing four years at Virginia Commonwealth University on a basketball scholarship, Jackson took a break from sports to refuel. She remained in Virginia and was soon asked to play softball with the Chesapeake and Potomac Softball League.
Playing on a CAPS team led to starting her own CAPS team in 2008. After the Sunday games, she would sit on the hill and socialize with other players before they all went home. Jackson found herself wanting a more complete experience.
Out of her team the Capitol Cougars, came the formation of their new travel team, D.C. Swag. Jackson had a vision of growing the CAPS women’s division and creating a more competitive environment.
“I often say to players that we want the CAPS to be your softball home. It’s important to build something that has value in your community,” Jackson says. “It’s not always about the sport, it’s about how you connect to people.”
At the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA) Softball World Series in 2018, D.C. Swag captured the championship title in the D Division. The women from D.C. fought their way back from a deficit in nine of the 14 games they played.
ASANA was created in 2007 as a non-profit organization comprised of women dedicated to promoting the participation of LGBT people in an organized softball competition.
“In the ASANA community, D.C. is known for our ability to be inclusive and provide access to a diverse group of people — deaf, sober, partnered, single — all are welcome,” Jackson says.
Last summer, CAPS hosted its largest MAGIC Tournament with over 40 teams participating, including its largest ever women’s division. Members are expecting another big women’s division this year as MAGIC has once again been named as a qualifying tournament for the 2020 ASANA Softball World Series in Norfolk.
Recently, D.C. was awarded the 2021 ASANA World Series with Jackson serving as co-chair along with CAPS Commissioner Tony Mace. They’re hoping to draw 60 teams from around the country with 1,300 athletes, friends and allies.
“D.C. is an amazing city filled with diverse, talented and vibrant people. The World Series will be an opportunity to highlight the best of the city,” Jackson says. “We want to give all of our participants a memorable experience.”
Jackson works as an epidemiologist in a program that evaluates standards for the military. She plays softball from April to November, three days a week at shortstop or third base.
“Sports is where I have found my comfort and it is where I am grounded,” Jackson says. “My spirit is collaborative and the sports community has given me a wonderful opportunity to connect with interesting people.”
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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