Sports
Olympic gold for gay ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron
So far, 2 gold medals have been awarded to out LGBTQ athletes competing in Beijing while trailblazing gay American athlete shows Pride
Another out gay athlete is taking home the gold at the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Ice dancer Guillaume Cizeron of France, a four-time World Champion and five-time European Champion, won the Ice Dancing competition Monday with his longtime partner, Gabriella Papadakis.
Cizeron is 27, Papadakis 26. Their almost perfect performance scored the pair an overall record 226.98 points in their world-leading win. This is a huge comeback after the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, when Papadakis suffered a loss of concentration during a wardrobe malfunction. Their combined struggle to avoid embarrassment on the ice cost them the gold.
This time, their gold, red and black outfits behaved, and their nearly flawless routine won over the judges.
As the Los Angeles Blade reported on Feb. 8, out bisexual speedskater Irene Wüst of the Netherlands was the first out medalist in Beijing to win a medal, and it was gold. Wüst, 35, made history as the first Olympian to win an individual gold medal in 5 Winter Games. So far, according to Outsports, no other out athletes have won medals in Beijing.
But an out gay pioneer in the sport of skeleton did the next best thing: He showed Pride despite the International Olympic Committee’s ban on protests and demonstrations at the Winter Games.
Andrew Blaser, 32, was the only American male skeleton racer competing in Beijing — the first time the U.S. had sent only one. The Idaho native is also the first publicly out gay man to ever compete in the sport at the Olympics. On Feb. 10, he raced with a rainbow saddle on his sled, which Outsports reported was a surprise gift from TeamUSA bobsledder Sara Roderick.
You can see the saddle on YouTube:
“It’s kinda fun!” he told USA Network. “Makes me smile.”
Blaser finished 21st out of 25 racers after his two heats last week. Unfortunately, neither he nor teammates Katie Uhlaender, 37 of Colorado, or Airman Kelly Curtis took home a medal. Curtis, 33 of New Jersey, is the first Black American to compete in skeleton. The last time TeamUSA won a medal in this event was in 2014.
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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