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HOLLYWOOD – Many want to saddle singer Greyson Chance with the label “comeback” or having a “return from retirement.” It is an understandable mistake as the “fame to disaster” narrative IS there. The real story is about one of the most exciting new artists of today. One that speaks to not only the LGBTQ youth of today, but of their entire generation.
Over a decade ago, there was a boy. The boy was very gifted at the piano, and at singing. He entered a talent contest and belted out a well known pop song by one of the trendiest artists of the day. Of course, there was a video. Social media was itself an infant, and as such, started launching like videos into the stratosphere. His video was one of the first to be seen gazillion of millions of times. Then there was the Ellen show, then the record contracts and a music video where he was Ariana Grande’s love interest.
Life would never be the same again. It would not be the same as Greyson Chance would be forever entwined with Lady Gaga and Paparazzi. It would not be the same as when his voice changed and it all came crashing down. “The second that the momentum stopped, you know, I truly was just sort of thrown to the curb when I was 15. I, all in the same day, got dropped by my record label, my management, my publicist, and my agent. It was the ultimate for me, as a child musician.” Greyson told me.
The real story however, is of a fantastic singer/songwriter who hit the industry in a big way with a debut album of his own work in 2019. He emerged then as a honed artist who had already been educated on the workings of the industry, and as a professional who knew how to walk in with his own vision and make it happen.
“It is a machine and, when I when I came on the scene originally, I had this huge viral video and with that, a lot of money coming around, and big players kind of involved in the industry,” he says. He made music their way. He did the songs they wrote, and played the part of the person they wanted him to be.
(Photo Credit: Broderick Bauman)
He learned how to be the kind of artist he did not want to be. The young artist went back to Oklahoma and enveloped himself in the cocoon of normalcy. He incubated there, fell in love, and had his heart broken by someone he thought he was going to hold onto forever. At that point, he emerged from the cocoon, with a full self-written album in hand, a musical butterfly spreading his wings.
“I’m 23 years old right now. And I started off with my first record deal when I was 12 years old. There was so much of my adolescence, in my childhood in music, where I wasn’t given the chance to not only make music that I really wanted to do, but also to be writing. I was being forced to do records, I didn’t have a huge artistic involvement in anything I was doing. So when I came back into music, I really wanted to finally show the world that I was a songwriter, that I had a unique voice. That I had some unique things to say. I really emphasize authenticity. These are stories that are coming from the heart. These are things that are coming from my own life. It’s not even really a choice that I have anymore. It is honest, from a place that’s true and genuine,” Greyson states.
Greyson represented not only with a new thematic “voice”, but an actual new physical voice as well. “It was interesting, what I went through, they always tell you that when your voice changes, it’s going to be sort of a tough go and that is such an understatement. It was so hard for me for a few years to really kind of find comfortability in my physical voice again. I mean, I really struggled through my voice change. But ultimately, I learned as a kid when I was on the road that in a way, when you’re a touring musician, you’re sort of like an athlete. My muscle is, is my voice.” Greyson’s new voice is far superior to his belting-out-broadway boy voice. He has a harmonic high register, and a sultry deep one. It copies no one else’s, this voice is uniquely his own.
In 2019, Greyson came out with his launch album “Portraits”. The stories of the album gave vision to the various personas he saw of himself as he navigated an ill fated romance. One week, he was looking at engagement rings, the next week, out of the blue, “the man of his dreams” left him without explanation. Greyson works each personal portrait into the prism of a beautiful, musically shiny diamond. “Portraits for me was truly my reinvention piece. And what I mean by that is, at the time before I put out that album, you know, I couldn’t even get a meeting in LA with anybody. You know, no one wanted to touch me, no one wanted to be involved in in my project and involved in my music. So I told myself, You know what, I’m going to write a record, and I’m going to write a full album. I’m going to give this one last shot, and see, see what happens. And, fortunately, it went over very, very well.”
In 2019 he filled 109 venues performing the songs from Portraits. He publicly came out as gay in response to a fan during a conversation about living authentically. He has also been transparent about his personal challenges, including his on-going battle with anorexia. “It was truly very, very difficult to diagnose it. I had come off of this really bad breakup that I wrote my album Portraits about, and I was developing habits of not eating and not taking care of myself. I blamed it on the sadness I was feeling at the time. Then, as things became a little more normal, and I became a bit more stable, I noticed that I still had had this issue and things that were going on. For me, I had to work through a lot of therapy, to get a grasp on it. I brought it public because it was so stigmatized, and still is. I like to think that I have my life together. But here’s the deep issue that I struggle with, and I go through. I’m on a road to recovery, it’s never ending when you are battling with an eating disorder, but I’m doing very, very well right now. I’m staying on top of it. Through my disclosure, there was such an amazing and beautiful dialogue that keeps happening, people reaching out to me and sort of sharing their own struggles and battles with it as well. I’m working on trying to be the best version of myself that I can be.”
(Photo Credit: Broderick Bauman)
After a forced lockdown during the pandemic of 2020, Greyson is ready to move into the next phase of his butterfly trajectory. He has released two singles off his next EP, Trophies, and he is in love again. The songs on the EP will be in a thematic composition. The two first released create a spiritual arc from the heavenly rich ballad-like Holy Feeling to the high-pop danceable hedonistic Hell Boy.
He says of the new material, “My boyfriend and I just celebrated our one year anniversary yesterday. Trophies, is really expressing the fear of now losing love, and sort of that fear that was created in the old relationships that I’ve had. It is the desire for my fans and queer people around the world to know what truly being in love is. We’re constantly told as, as queer people that, our relationships are always going to be rocky, they’re never going to be sort of American Dream type relationships. Because we’re different, these relationships are going to be different, because we’re inherently different. That is just absolutely BS. Regardless of how you identify who you love, you can totally have all of this stereotypical white picket fence, you know, dog in the backyard green grass type of thing. It is so within your wheelhouse. It’s not out of reach. This record is emotionally going through all those those things, and talking about them in the music.”
A decade ago there was a boy made famous by a pop song and a viral video. Today, there is an artistic, powerful singer song writer who sings the authenticity of his generation. The rush you feel is the wind from rainbow colored butterfly wings taking flight, and the knowledge that the most famous Greyson Chance is the one yet to come.
A GENDER NEUTRAL vintage shop has celebrated a successful launch after opening its doors to the public.
Stay in Your Lane Vintage in Brighton’s North Laine, aims to offers its customers an alternative to fast fashion with its preloved and non-gendered clothing.
Becci Thackray, director and founder, said her shop will be a safe-space where everyone, no matter their gender identity, can feel “comfortable.”
She said: “It ought to be possible to buy cool clothes without adding to environmental damage or compromising your values. The future of fashion is slow not fast.
“My goal is to create a space where everyone can find great clothing without contributing to fast fashion waste and be a safe space where all humans can feel comfortable to be themselves.
“So, at Stay in Your Lane there will no separation in clothing genders. If it fits and makes you feel fabulous then this piece of clothing is made for you.”
As well as having a passion for the LGBT community, Stay in Your Lane also has an environmental ethos.
The brand is using social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok to promote its vintage, gender neutral and sustainable fashion message.
Becci, 25, says she was inspired by the “huge explosion” in online retailing of upcycled fashion items – the process through which old and unwanted clothing is transformed to create a product of a higher quality.
She said: “It’s time retail changed. Depop and Vinted are providing a real challenge to fast fashion sites. Now that trend is coming to the world of in person shopping in Brighton. It’s time we change.”
Online marketplaces such as Depop and Vinted, which specialise in selling secondhand clothing, both enjoyed a boost in sales during lockdown.
The boom in the sales of second-hand clothing has coincided with a rise in demand for gender-neutral clothing and items that allow people to express their chosen gender identity.
In November 2020, Vogue Magazine said the future of retail is “genderless” and praises celebrities such as pop star Harry Styles for using fashion to “challenge” gender norms.
Last year, Harry and a team from Vogue trekked up to the top of Seven Sisters for a photoshoot.
The former One Direction star donned a range of outfits on the cliff top, wearing items such as a mini sky-blue Gucci bag, a ruffled ball gown and a kilt and blazer combination as he posed for the camera.
Carl Nassib, a defensive lineman with the Las Vegas Raiders, became the first active NFL player in league history to announce that he is gay.”What’s up, people,” Nassib said Monday in a video on Instagram. “I’m Carl Nassib. I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.”Nassib, 28, has played five years with three teams and is entering his second season with the Raiders. He said in a statement accompanying the video that he had agonized over the decision to announce he was gay for 15 years.Nassib added that he was a private person and wasn’t seeking publicity.”I just think that representation and visibility are so important,” he said. “I actually hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary. But until then, I’m going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lauded the announcement.”The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today,” Goodell said. “Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”The defensive end was drafted out of Penn State by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. He played for the Browns from 2016-2017, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018 and 2019 and was signed by the Raiders as an unrestricted free agent on March 23, 2020.Nassib said he was donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth. He wrote in his statement that it saddened him that LGBTQ youth are at an elevated risk for suicide.Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project, said the donation will help scale up crisis services.”The Trevor Project is grateful to Carl Nassib for living his truth and supporting LGBTQ youth,” Paley said in a statement emailed to CNN. “Coming out is an intensely personal decision, and it can be an incredibly scary and difficult one to make. We hope that Carl’s historic representation in the NFL will inspire young LGBTQ athletes across the country to live their truth and pursue their dreams.”At a time when state lawmakers are actively trying to restrict transgender and nonbinary youth’s participation in school sports, this news should serve as a clarion call for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the locker room and on the field.”Nassib’s decision can have profound impact, LGBTQ organization saysJason Collins, who became the first openly gay NBA player when he suited up for the Brooklyn Nets in 2014, was cheering Nassib on social media.”Very proud of Carl Nassib! Incredibly happy for him and can’t wait to watch him play this upcoming season!,” he tweeted.Tennis legend Billie Jean King tweeted her support.”The ability to live an authentic life is so important,” she wrote.GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said Nassib’s announcement was “a strong message.””Carl Nassib’s powerful coming out is a historic reflection of the growing state of LGBTQ visibility and inclusion in the world of professional sports, which has been driven by a long list of brave LGBTQ athletes who came before him,” said Ellis in a statement.”As an accomplished athlete who is now the first out gay active player in the NFL, Carl Nassib’s story will not only have a profound impact on the future of LGBTQ visibility and acceptance in sports, but sends a strong message to so many LGBTQ people, especially youth, that they too can one day grow up to be and succeed as a professional athlete like him,” the statement said.Penn State Head Coach James Franklin said his former player had a huge heart.”I am very proud of Carl for his courage and voice. This announcement doesn’t surprise me because if you know Carl, you know his strength. Carl’s story continues to add chapters which will have an impact well beyond the field of play,” he said in a statement. “His care and love for those around him, particularly those in need, has always been obvious. … Carl’s brave announcement will forge a path for others to be true to their authentic self.”The Raiders also tweeted they were proud of Nassib.Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon added to the chorus of people proud of him, and the former NFL and CFL quarterback added that he played with some guys who were gay but didn’t feel comfortable coming out.”As long as they helped us win and were great teammates- their sexual preference was never a issue,” he wrote on Twitter.”We live in a different time now where diversity is much more accepted. Cheers Carl, and I hope this lets other athletes know, its OK to say who you are.”Nassib says players’ support helped him In his Instagram statement, Nassib thanked family and friends. He also thanked the league, his coaches and other players.”I would not have been able to do this without them,” he wrote. “From the jump, I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance.”Nassib wrote that he was standing on the shoulders of people who paved the way.”I do not know all the history behind our courageous LGBTQ community,” he said, “but I am eager to learn and to help continue the fight for equality and acceptance.”Michael Sam came out before 2014 draftIn 2014, Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be selected in the NFL draft when the St. Louis Rams chose him in the seventh round as the 249th overall pick. The Rams cut Sam just before the season started.Sam signed with the Dallas Cowboys practice squad but never was on the active roster. He was cut after six weeks.In 2015, he appeared in one game with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League before leaving the team.Other NFL players have come out after they retired, including former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jeff Rohrer, who married Joshua Ross in 2018.
Carl Nassib, a defensive lineman with the Las Vegas Raiders, became the first active NFL player in league history to announce that he is gay.
“What’s up, people,” Nassib said Monday in a video on Instagram. “I’m Carl Nassib. I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.”
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Nassib, 28, has played five years with three teams and is entering his second season with the Raiders. He said in a statement accompanying the video that he had agonized over the decision to announce he was gay for 15 years.
Nassib added that he was a private person and wasn’t seeking publicity.
“I just think that representation and visibility are so important,” he said. “I actually hope that one day videos like this and the whole coming out process are just not necessary. But until then, I’m going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell lauded the announcement.
“The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today,” Goodell said. “Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
The defensive end was drafted out of Penn State by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. He played for the Browns from 2016-2017, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018 and 2019 and was signed by the Raiders as an unrestricted free agent on March 23, 2020.
Nassib said he was donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ youth. He wrote in his statement that it saddened him that LGBTQ youth are at an elevated risk for suicide.
Ethan Miller / Getty Images
Carl Nassib #94 of the Las Vegas Raiders flexes during warmups before a game against the Denver Broncos at Allegiant Stadium on Nov. 15, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project, said the donation will help scale up crisis services.
“The Trevor Project is grateful to Carl Nassib for living his truth and supporting LGBTQ youth,” Paley said in a statement emailed to CNN. “Coming out is an intensely personal decision, and it can be an incredibly scary and difficult one to make. We hope that Carl’s historic representation in the NFL will inspire young LGBTQ athletes across the country to live their truth and pursue their dreams.
“At a time when state lawmakers are actively trying to restrict transgender and nonbinary youth’s participation in school sports, this news should serve as a clarion call for greater LGBTQ inclusion in the locker room and on the field.”
Nassib’s decision can have profound impact, LGBTQ organization says
Jason Collins, who became the first openly gay NBA player when he suited up for the Brooklyn Nets in 2014, was cheering Nassib on social media.
“Very proud of Carl Nassib! Incredibly happy for him and can’t wait to watch him play this upcoming season!,” he tweeted.
Tennis legend Billie Jean King tweeted her support.
“The ability to live an authentic life is so important,” she wrote.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said Nassib’s announcement was “a strong message.”
“Carl Nassib’s powerful coming out is a historic reflection of the growing state of LGBTQ visibility and inclusion in the world of professional sports, which has been driven by a long list of brave LGBTQ athletes who came before him,” said Ellis in a statement.
“As an accomplished athlete who is now the first out gay active player in the NFL, Carl Nassib’s story will not only have a profound impact on the future of LGBTQ visibility and acceptance in sports, but sends a strong message to so many LGBTQ people, especially youth, that they too can one day grow up to be and succeed as a professional athlete like him,” the statement said.
Penn State Head Coach James Franklin said his former player had a huge heart.
“I am very proud of Carl for his courage and voice. This announcement doesn’t surprise me because if you know Carl, you know his strength. Carl’s story continues to add chapters which will have an impact well beyond the field of play,” he said in a statement. “His care and love for those around him, particularly those in need, has always been obvious. … Carl’s brave announcement will forge a path for others to be true to their authentic self.”
The Raiders also tweeted they were proud of Nassib.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon added to the chorus of people proud of him, and the former NFL and CFL quarterback added that he played with some guys who were gay but didn’t feel comfortable coming out.
“As long as they helped us win and were great teammates- their sexual preference was never a issue,” he wrote on Twitter.
“We live in a different time now where diversity is much more accepted. Cheers Carl, and I hope this lets other athletes know, its OK to say who you are.”
Nassib says players’ support helped him
In his Instagram statement, Nassib thanked family and friends. He also thanked the league, his coaches and other players.
“I would not have been able to do this without them,” he wrote. “From the jump, I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance.”
Nassib wrote that he was standing on the shoulders of people who paved the way.
“I do not know all the history behind our courageous LGBTQ community,” he said, “but I am eager to learn and to help continue the fight for equality and acceptance.”
Michael Sam came out before 2014 draft
In 2014, Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be selected in the NFL draft when the St. Louis Rams chose him in the seventh round as the 249th overall pick. The Rams cut Sam just before the season started.
Sam signed with the Dallas Cowboys practice squad but never was on the active roster. He was cut after six weeks.
In 2015, he appeared in one game with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League before leaving the team.
Other NFL players have come out after they retired, including former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Jeff Rohrer, who married Joshua Ross in 2018.
SHANGHAI — Lauren Qiang used to live a double life: She pretended to be straight at home but wasn’t worried about her sexual orientation while at work.
But after years of fears about being cut off from her family, the 27-year-old said she finally opened up to her parents after gaining financial independence. And, unlike her previous employer, the inclusive support mechanisms at the tech company she works at also emboldened her to tell colleagues that she is a lesbian.
“It is against company policy to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community at our workplace,” she told Sixth Tone. “So I gradually moved from being invisible to vehemently working with my colleagues to help with some of the company’s LGBTQ+ campaigns.”
Qiang was among the panelists sharing their experiences at the Diversity & Inclusion Consulting job fair held in Shanghai on Saturday. Though she offered an encouraging outlook on diversity and inclusion at her workplace, however, the overall situation remains far from equal.
In a new survey conducted by Beijing LGBT Center and Peking University, only 13.9% of roughly 3,400 respondents said their companies had diversity policies or anti-discrimination guidelines. Around 75% of the surveyed individuals who identify as sexual minorities said they were unsatisfied with their employer’s policies, which they felt didn’t contribute to a diverse workplace.
According to the survey released in May, “concerns regarding the company’s public image” and the “sensitivity of the issue” ranked among the main reasons why many employers fail to openly support sexual minorities.
More than two decades after China decriminalized homosexuality, attitudes toward sexual minorities have been gradually shifting. The gap between people opposing LGBT rights has been comparatively shrinking, and the community is more visible in mainstream media, with calls to support same-sex marriage growing.
But equality still remains a distant dream for many sexual minorities, with many of them not disclosing their sexual orientations out of fears of discrimination. According to joint 2016 research by Beijing LGBT Center, Peking University, and Being LGBTI in China, workplaces were common sources of discrimination — including physical and verbal abuses — after family and schools.
China’s Employment Promotion Law prohibits discrimination based on gender, religion, and ethnicity. However, it doesn’t include discrimination against sexual minorities.
Felico Soo, a clinical psychologist at SinoUnited Health in Shanghai, said that the fear of revealing sexual orientations usually takes an immense toll on an individual’s mental health, affecting both their personal and professional life. Speaking at Saturday’s job fair, she said it was imperative for companies to implement a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination, while introducing support mechanisms for LGBT employees.
In the absence of such workplace mechanisms, Soo said people can reach out to those with whom they are more comfortable talking.
“Finding someone you feel safe with would benefit your mental health,” she told Sixth Tone at the job fair. “I think this could be a window for opening up, particularly for mental health.”
Qiang said it took her several years to finally embrace her identity. She added that an accepting workplace environment has helped her productivity, which a majority of respondents in last month’s survey also mentioned.
“The friendly environment toward LGBTQ+ people at work really helped me in a lot of ways,” she said. “My mom would worry about my life as a lesbian, but if the company has my back, I can tell her that my sexual orientation won’t hinder my career prospects or livelihood, though it isn’t widely accepted by social norms.”
While the LGBTQ+ community has seen significant advancements in legal rights, political representation and social acceptance over recent years, mental and physical health disparities still exist for queer Americans – and are even worse among younger generations, says a new study from Michigan State University.
In the first-ever population-based national study comparing mental and physical health of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) Americans to their straight counterparts, MSU sociologist Hui Liu and research partner Rin Reczek, professor of sociology from Ohio State University, found that when compared to their straight counterparts, LGB Millennials have worse health disadvantages than their older peers, though disparities persist throughout older generations as well.
Because younger LGB generations have grown up in a more progressive era, we expected that they may experience lower levels of lifetime discrimination and thus have lower levels of health disadvantage than older LGB generations. However, our results showed the opposite to be true.”
Hui Liu, MSU Sociologist
The study, funded by the National Institute of Health and published in the journal Demography, examined five key indicators of physical and mental health – psychological distress, depression, anxiety, self-rated physical health and activity limitation – of nearly 180,000 study participants across Millennial, Generation X, Baby Boomer and pre-Boomer generational cohorts.
Surprisingly, Liu and Reczek found that health disadvantages for LGB individuals increased among more recent generational cohorts, with LGB Millennials suffering more health disadvantages than LGB Gen-Xers or Baby Boomers. Moreover, bisexual respondents experienced even worse health disparity trends across generations than their gay and lesbian peers.
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For example, the study found that gay and lesbian Baby Boomers are 150% more likely to experience both anxiety and depression compared to straight peers; bisexual
Boomers are also about 150% more likely to experience anxiety than their straight peers but over twice as likely to experience depression.
Comparatively, for gay and lesbian Millennials, the likelihood of feeling anxious and depressed is almost 200% and 250% higher than that of their straight peers, respectively, and bisexual Millennials have an almost 300 and 380% increased likelihood than their straight peers.
“Older LGB people have experienced significant interpersonal and institutional discrimination throughout their lives, so they may perceive the current era to be relatively better than the past, and therefore may experience improved well-being as a result of this perception,” Liu said.
She also suggests that the findings could be explained by the fact that older LGB people have had more time to develop better coping skills than their younger peers, and that more Millennials identify as LGB than older generations.
Liu is hopeful that this study will demonstrate that advancements in civil rights and social acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community have not yet translated into health equity.
“These health disparities may be a result of more insidious and deeply embedded factors in U.S. society that are not eradicated simply with changes in marriage or discrimination laws,” Liu said.
“Instead, more drastic societal changes at both the interpersonal and institutional levels must take place. Public policies and programs should be designed and implemented to eliminate health and other major disadvantages among LGBTQ+ Americans.”
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – South Carolina lawmakers are considering a new bill that would allow mental health professionals to deny care based on their beliefs.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Josh Kimbrell of Spartanburg, would be an update to an existing law that allows doctors and health care providers to refuse non-emergency procedures based on their religious, moral, ethical, or philosophical beliefs.
It would extend those protections to therapists, psychologists, and licensed counselors.
The bill is considered a response to an ordinance the city of Columbia passed, which bans conversion therapy for minors.
Opponents of the bill believe it will allow professionals to discriminate against people, especially those in the LGBTQ community. They also believe it will make access to mental health care, more difficult.
Melissa Moore, the Lowcountry manager for the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network, says the bill is harmful, as well as broad, and far sweeping.
“It would allow anyone at any level at any time in health care to deny care to a person, so you can imagine what that might look like. For example, a person who needs COVID-related care can be denied that care because they are gay,” Moore said. “We hope our legislators will vote no on this bill and that it will allow people to pay more attention to what’s happening in the legislature, and we need to push our elected officials to do things that help our constituents instead of harming them.”
On Monday, the Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee held a hearing on the bill.
Kimbrell started the hearing with an explanation of what the bill will do. He says the bill is not an attack on anybody.
“If someone wants to come out and have a medical practice or mental health practice that affirms LGBTQ youth that is absolutely allowed and legal. No one is after that, I’m not after that,” Kimbrell said. “What has happened is we have seen efforts by cities to ban anybody who disagrees with that particular viewpoint and that’s, in my view, a violation of the first amendment.”
Supporters who spoke during the hearing say the bill protects free speech and gives parents the right to choose the care for their child.
Lawmakers are hoping to hold another subcommittee hearing later this summer.
HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
Nassib, 28, made the announcement in an Instagram post.
“What’s up people?” Nassib posted. “I’m at my house here in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay. I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest. I really have the best life, I’ve got the best family, friends and job a guy could ask for.
“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one day, videos like this and the whole coming-out process are just not necessary. But until then, I’m going to do my best and do my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate and I’m going to start by donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project.”
The Trevor Project provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to the LGBTQ+ community. It commended Nassib’s announcement, saying in a statement that his donation will help it “scale our life-saving crisis services to reach the more than 1.8 million LGBTQ youth who seriously consider suicide each year in the U.S.”
Said Nassib: “They’re an incredible organization, they’re the No. 1 suicide-prevention service for LGBTQ youth in America. And they’re truly doing incredible things. And I’m very excited to be a part of it, help in any way that I can and I’m really pumped to see what the future holds.”
In a statement, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league “is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today.”
“Representation matters,” Goodell said. “We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith added, “Our union supports Carl and his work with the Trevor Project is proof that he — like our membership — is about making his community and this world a better place not for themselves, but for others.”
After Nassib’s announcement, Raiders owner Mark Davis told ESPN: “It’s 2021. All the more power to Carl. It doesn’t change my opinion of him as a person or as a Raider.” Coach Jon Gruden added via text message to ESPN: “I learned a long time ago what makes a man different is what makes him great.”
The team also responded to Nassib’s post on Instagram with three black hearts, as well as with a tweet:
James Franklin, Nassib’s former coach at Penn State, said, “Carl’s brave announcement will forge a path for others to be true to their authentic self. I was proud of Carl when he led the nation in sacks, but I’m even more proud of him now.”
GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, called Nassib’s announcement “a historic reflection of the growing state of LGBTQ visibility and inclusion in the world of professional sports.”
“… Carl Nassib’s story will not only have a profound impact on the future of LGBTQ visibility and acceptance in sports, but sends a strong message to so many LGBTQ people, especially youth, that they too can one day grow up to be and succeed as a professional athlete like him,” GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement.
Nassib joined the Raiders in 2020 on a three-year, $25 million free-agent deal, with $16.75 million guaranteed. He had 2.5 sacks and an interception in 14 games, with five starts, for Las Vegas last season.
A third-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in 2016 out of Penn State, Nassib also played two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before joining the Raiders. He came to national attention as a star of the Browns’ “Hard Knocks” appearance in 2018, giving financial advice to teammates as well as offering his take on the existence of aliens.
Michael Sam, the former Missouri linebacker, became the first openly gay player to be drafted in NFL history in 2014, when the Rams took him 249th overall. He was cut by the team at the end of training camp that year and never played a regular-season game in the NFL.
The University of Maine football team added running back John Gay, a transfer from Lafayette, where he appeared in 14 games in two seasons.
Gay has three years of eligibility remaining and will be eligible for the upcoming season.
Gay was named to the All-Patriot League second team as a kick return specialist after returning five kicks for 108 yards. He also had seven carries for 19 yards.
BASEBALL
EDGE WOOD BAT LEAGUE: Eli Cowperthwaite of Falmouth outdueled Westbrook’s Quincy Seavey for a 2-0 win Monday in an Edge Wood Bat Summer League game in Falmouth. Cowperthwaite, who had 11 strikeouts, took a no-hitter into the sixth before Bryce Hodgkins hit a double. He was relieved by Dom Tracy, who pitched the seventh for the save. The duo combined on a two-hitter.
Seavey struck out eight and allowed one hit, an RBI single by Eban Daniels that scored Cowperthwaite in the second. Falmouth scored its other run on an error also in the second.
OLYMPICS
MEN’S BASKETBALL: USA Basketball’s Olympic men’s roster is getting closer to filled, with now as many as eight spots on the 12-person team claimed.
Brooklyn’s James Harden has told the national team that he is committed to playing U.S. men’s national team next month at the Tokyo Games, said a person familiar with the decision. Miami’s Bam Adebayo has also informed USA Basketball of his intention to play for the team at the Tokyo Games.
Adebayo’s decision was first reported by ESPN, and he confirmed it Monday to The Associated Press. Harden’s decision was first reported by The Athletic, then confirmed to AP on condition of anonymity because neither the Nets star nor USA Basketball has publicly announced the move.
The eight commitments, for now, all either confirmed by people with knowledge or by the player publicly: Adebayo, Harden, Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, Golden State’s Draymond Green, Washington’s Bradley Beal, Boston’s Jayson Tatum, Phoenix’s Devin Booker and Portland’s Damian Lillard.
One of the final spots, though, won’t be going to Golden State’s Stephen Curry. The person with knowledge of the situation said Curry has declined an invitation to be part of the team, citing offseason commitments.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi will try and become the first five-time Olympic gold medalists in basketball as they lead the U.S women’s team at the Tokyo Games.
The duo was selected for their fifth Olympics, joining Teresa Edwards as the only basketball players in U.S. history to play in five. Edwards won four gold medals and a bronze in her illustrious Olympic career.
The 40-year-old Bird and 39-year-old Taurasi will lead a veteran group in Japan, including 6-foot-6 Sylvia Fowles, who will be playing in her fourth Olympics. Tina Charles will be in her third while 6-8 Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart are back for a second time.
There will also be six newcomers to the Olympic stage led by reigning WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. The Las Vegas Aces star helped the U.S. win the World Championship in 2018 in Spain. Others making their Olympic debuts are Skylar Diggins-Smith, Chelsea Gray, Ariel Atkins, Jewell Loyd and Napheesa Collier.
SOCCER
EURO 2020: A chaotic 15-minute span for Christoph Baumgartner gave Austria the win they wanted and the advancement they craved.
The midfielder was involved in a clash of heads early in the first half, then scored the only goal in Austria’s 1-0 victory over Ukraine at the European Championship.
• Belgium, the world’s top-ranked team beat Finland 2-0 on Monday to finish in first place in Group B and join Italy and the Netherlands in qualifying with maximum points.
Belgium will play one of the four third-place finishers in the round of 16 in Sevilla on Sunday.
• Andreas Christensen and Joakim Maehle scored late goals to give Denmark a 4-1 victory over Russia on Monday and a spot in the round of 16.
• A coronavirus infection created disruption for two teams at the European Championship on Monday after a positive test for Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour also led to two England players having to self-isolate.
Midfielder Mason Mount and left back Ben Chilwell were deemed by English health authorities to have had “interaction” with Gilmour during England’s 0-0 draw with Scotland at Wembley Stadium on Friday. The three players are teammates at Chelsea.
The announcement came ahead of the final Group D games, with England hosting the Czech Republic, and Scotland playing Croatia with qualification for the round of 16 still up for grabs.
• Memphis Depay scored one, he set up Georginio Wijnaldum for the next two, and the Netherlands made it three out of three.
The Dutch team completed the group stage at the European Championship with a 3-0 victory over North Macedonia, the second team at the tournament after Italy to win all three of its opening matches.
COPA AMERICA: There were 140 known COVID-19 cases at the Copa America in Brazil on Monday, up from 66 positive tests on Thursday.
CONMEBOL said in a statement that of the 15,235 tests, the number of people infected was 0.9% of the total.
MLS: Major League Soccer is launching a lower-tier professional league aimed at developing young players from its academy system.
The new league, which will rank below the second-division USL Championship, will begin play next year and will include teams affiliated with current MLS clubs as well as independent teams.
CYCLING
TOUR de FRANCE: Veteran sprinter Mark Cavendish will make a return to the Tour de France after a three-year absence from cycling’s biggest event.
Cavendish was not expected to be among the eight riders selected by Deceuninck-Quick-Step but was a last-minute inclusion following Sam Bennett’s withdrawal.
The three-week race starts on Saturday in Brittany from the port city of Brest.
The 36-year-old Cavendish has won 30 Tour de France stages, putting him second on the all-time list behind Belgian great Eddy Merckx. However, he last won a stage in 2016.
TENNIS
BAD HOMBURG OPEN: Top-seeded Petra Kvitova had to dig deep to reach the second round in Bad Homburg, Germany in beating Polish qualifier Katarzyna Piter 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Monday. Kvitova lost serve three times but hit 10 aces while prevailing against 135th-ranked Piter in just under two hours at the Wimbledon warmup.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova, who’s ranked 12th, will next play American Ann Li, who eased past Germany’s Anna Zaja 6-0, 6-4.
Another American, Jessica Pegula, also had little difficulty as she got past French player Amandine Hesse 6-2, 6-1. The third-seeded Pegula next faces Czech player Katerina Siniakova. Also, there were wins for Alizé Cornet, Laura Siegemund, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Anna Blinkova.
Simona Halep pulled out of the grass-court tournament shortly before it started in the town near Frankfurt.
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Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib came out as gay on Monday, becoming the first active NFL player to do so.
For some, this will be met with a shrug. After all, nearly every American at least knows some coworker, friend, neighbor or family member who is openly gay. If somehow they do not, then they know one of the above who just hasn’t acknowledged it to them. It will happen soon.
Either way, the ultimate goal here is to have announcements like these to not matter because they are so commonplace and accepted. It seems unlikely there were many people, after all, sitting around Monday wondering about Carl Nassib’s dating life.
This, however, does matter now. It matters a lot because there are still too many people who don’t feel professionally or personally secure enough to make the statement that Nassib did. Not just in the NFL, but in every walk of life. Some of those are teenagers who, as Nassib, 28, noted in his social media posts, are five times more likely to commit suicide as they struggle with the issue.
If the fact an active NFL player can come out — at last — helps just one of those kids, or the many more who struggle in other ways to live their truth, then Carl Nassib’s impact on the world is far greater than chasing quarterbacks around the AFC West.
Carl Nassib becoming the NFL’s first openly gay active player is big. Hopefully soon, such revelations will also be common. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest,” Nassib, a five-year veteran who has played for Cleveland, Tampa Bay and Vegas, posted on Instagram. “I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for.
“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention,” the Penn State product continued. “I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then I will do my best to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate.”
With that he announced a $100,000 donation to the Trevor Project, which “provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning young adults.”
For years the NFL has been one of the last bastions of American society without an openly gay athlete. There have been a number who came out after their playing days, but the football world has proven to be a particularly difficult world to crack.
This is the first fissure in changing that. The future is inevitable. There will be more. A lot of them. And even with the hesitancy of players to come out, the NFL will probably (hopefully) be far more welcoming than some expect.
It’s a very young league. The average age of a player last year was 26. This is generational, and younger generations are, mercifully, more and more relaxed on this issue.
“I am incredibly thankful for the NFL, my coaches and fellow players for their support,” Nassib wrote. “I would not have been able to do this without them. From the jump, I was treated with the utmost respect and acceptance.”
For Nassib, the opportunity to concentrate on playing the game while not worrying about being honest about himself should be helpful. While closed-minded critics will say this is too much information, NFL players, like all types of professions, routinely post about their life on social media.
Engagement photos. Father’s Day photos. Vacation photos. They make statements about their private lives all the time and never have to think twice about it. Neither should Nassib or anyone else like him.
Nassib is a good player, a part-time starter in the middle of a three-year contract with the Raiders. He’s recorded 20.5 sacks in his career. Unlike rookie hopeful Michael Sam in 2014, he’s going to be on the roster this season, playing in games. For once, there will be representation of an openly gay player in America’s most popular sport.
It matters. It might matter a lot.
“It brings me incredible sadness to think that our LGBTQ youth are at such an elevated risk for suicide,” Nassib wrote. “I feel an immense responsibility to help any way I can — and you can too.”
That should be a universally accepted goal, although reality says there will still be those who think and say otherwise. Time has passed for that segment of society.
Progress has been slow and there is still a long way to go. The NFL has an openly gay player though, a guy who is willing to make himself known if only to come to the aid of someone, somewhere who isn’t so certain.
It’s a big thing. It’s a good thing. And hopefully one day soon, as Carl Nassib notes, it will just be a common thing.
Scroll down for more Pride Month events and resources.
This weekend, Pride Month will near its conclusion with the commemoration of the Stonewall Riots and the impact they made in the fight for equal rights and treatment for the LGBTQ+ community around the world.
On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Riots — or Stonewall Uprising — demonstrations began in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in Manhattan in New York City in response to police harassment and social discrimination of the gay community. The tipping point of the ongoing issues occurred when the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay club, and aggressively handled the patrons and employees. A series of riots and protests broke out in the streets and the event became a catalyst for the gay liberation movement.
“That moment that first brick that was thrown by Stormé (DeLarverie) — and Marsha P. Johnson and all the other trans, lesbian and queer pioneers on the forefront — showed the rest of the country, ‘We don’t have to take it anymore,’” said Sam Ortiz, co-organizer of Shreveport Q-Prom. “We can stand up and say, ‘We’re here. Whether you like it or not, we’re here…’ Pride is a celebration of that. It’s a celebration of how far we’ve come but also a reminder of how far we have to go before we’re at a place where everybody feels they can like their authentic lives all the time because the fact of the matter is that we can’t.”
June became a designated time to honor the activists and events of the Stonewall Uprising. Pride Month has evolved into a season of worldwide celebration and support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Yet “pride” is not limited to one month. It is a year-round undertaking of activism, advocacy, education, and empowerment led by today’s community and allies.
“Pride Month is about fighting back against oppression and owning who you are incredibly proudly and loudly, and showing people there is a way to live here and live here happily,” said Steven Knight, Shreveport Q-Prom co-organizer. “Pride Month means something entirely different for everyone.”
Connecting and celebrating community
The local LGBTQ+ community has continued to celebrate Pride Month with a series of events across the area. Pride events have included an all-ages block party, a disco, drag shows, open forums, with many more activities to come.
On Saturday, the celebration will continue with an all-ages game tournament in the park presented by Shreveport Q-Prom, called Field Gay.
In 2019, Shreveport Q-Prom debuted as a glam-meets-grunge prom-inspired party. Its founding was motivated by organizers who saw a need for more safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. Nightlife venues have served as places the LGBTQ+ community could flourish, Knight said, but more options are needed to connect people across demographics. Shreveport Q-Prom was open to guests under 21 years old, as well as allies.
“There was a need for people to feel like they also belong,” said Sam Ortiz. “We’d all felt like we hadn’t belonged at some point in time and we wanted to fill that need for others.”
Shreveport Q-Prom team has continued to present events — in person and virtually — that create safe spaces and make resources accessible for the LGBTQ+ community. The event has evolved into an organization that supports established LGBTQ+-friendly organizations, businesses, and events and aims to create additional platforms that allow people to be themselves every day.
“Our goal was to provide safe spaces for people of all ages to come and feel comfortable, maybe make some new friends, and feel like you’re not alone for whatever reason,” said co-organizer Nicole Ortiz. “That there are people who care about you and resources we can connect you to if you need them.”
There was a particular need for places where people of all ages and with different interests could connect. The intended demographic for the inaugural Shreveport Q-Prom were ages 18 to 30 years old. But the scope broadened as individuals of wider age groups expressed a desire to attend and the need to feel comfortable and a part of a community.
“We recognize this area lacks a lot of opportunities for people to connect outside of bars and clubs as a means of making connections and forming friendships and seeking mentorships particularly in the queer community,” Knight said. “We wanted to focus on the viability of north Louisiana being somewhere queer people could live and exist and not hide their identity behind the wall of the nightlife of bars and clubs.”
A Shreveport Q-Prom soiree will be hosted later in the year, but on the last weekend of Pride Month, the team will present an inaugural all-ages, communitywide events open to the LGBTQ+ community and allies.
“It’s a new day and we should be able to exist loudly out in public and then connect with allies as well to establish that Shreveport-Bossier and northwest Louisiana is a safe region of this country to be in as a queer person,” Knight said. “We are here to inspire people to also go out there and create their own platforms.”
A quick guide to Field Gay
Field Gay, presented by Shreveport Q-Prom, will combine classic field day games one may have played as a youth with new and unique games that can be played by all.
“We’re looking to reclaim experiences that are long gone or forgotten, or we missed out on the opportunity to experience in a way we really wanted to when we were younger,” Knight said. “Field Day is such a great call back to when you were younger. Now that we’re all adults and differently abled or have less athletic abilities… we’re like, ‘Why not have a field day that makes everybody feel good?’”
Field Gay will be from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. June 26 at A.C. Steere Park, located at 4009 Youree Dr. in Shreveport. Field Gay is free to participate and attend, though donations are welcome.
The event is a fundraiser for Shreveport Q-Prom’s main event, scheduled for late-2021. Details to be announced.
Shreveport Q-Prom will raise funds through direct donations, raffle tickets, and designated merchandise sales for The Philadelphia Center, an HIV/AIDS resource center serving northwest Louisiana. Holy Cross Episcopal Church has pledged to match the amount Shreveport Q-Prom raises at Field Gay with a direct donation to The Philadelphia Center up to $5,000.
“We’re excited to support their mission and the things that they’re doing in the city because they’re an important organization,” Sam Ortiz said.
Registration is required and may be complete in advance on the website, shreveportqprom.com. Participants may sign up as a team (five-eight players) or request to be placed on a team by the event organizers.
Teams and individuals may sign up to play until noon on Thursday, June 24. Team registration on the day of the event will be limited and first-come, first-served. On-site registration and sign-in will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. June 26 at the park.
Participation is not required to attend. Spectators are encouraged to come and cheer on their favorite team.
Field Gay will kick off with an Olympic-style opening ceremony at 10:45 a.m. Games will begin at 11 a.m. with the final event expected to end around 3 p.m.
The series of games are aimed to bring out the competitive and fun nature in the players and spectators. The rounds will include classic field day games, such as tug of war and a three-legged race.
“Kind of like the prom, it’s a throwback to what people may have missed out on or want to experience again with their new colleagues, friends, and community,” said co-organizer Chris Lyon.
There will be nontraditional, zany challenges and surprises throughout the day, such as the ping pong shake in which players attempt to shake ping pong balls out of a tissue box strapped to them. And the pizza box relay will test players’ balance and speed as they attempt to carry towers of pizza boxes across the field without dropping them.
The activities are designed for those with and without athletic skills. Also, players with disabilities or physical limitations are welcome.
“It’s going to be a wild experience,” Lyon said. “It’s about coordination and communication more than it’s about physical ability to throw a ball very far.”
Points will be tallied with three teams moving into the semifinals and one wildcard team. The four teams will play a round of kickball with the final two teams going head-to-head in a game of capture the flag.
Rewards and a grand prize trophy are up for grabs as teams compete and move on to the next rounds, closer to becoming the Field Gay Champions.
Merchandise and food vendors will be on-site. For a full list of vendors, follow the Facebook event page and visit the website.
Volunteers are welcome. Duties may include game referee or water distribution.
Sign up to play, be a vendor, volunteer, donate, and view the games and rules at shreveportqprom.com. Sponsorship opportunities are available for Field Gay and Shreveport Q-Prom. Follow Shreveport Q-Prom at facebook.com/shreveportqprom/.
For a list of more Pride Month events and resources, visit shreveporttimes.com.
More Pride Month events and resources:
Pride Weekend @ The Lot. June 25 from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and June 26 from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. The two-day event will include live music, food, art and merchandise vendors, face painting, a bounce house for kids, and more. On Friday, June Cleavage will host a drag show beginning at 8 p.m. Saturday’s entertainment lineup includes Jason Sepulvado, Molly Hiers and Friends Comedy Show, DJ Cory Crew, and The Hollow Decks. Admission is free and open to all ages. For more info, visit facebook.com/events/226670272600937/ or facebook.com/thelotdowntownshv.
Pride Fest. June 25 at 11 p.m. at Bear’s, 1401 Fairfield Ave., in Shreveport. The 21 an up event will include an “historic drag event” hosted by ZaZa Gigiante and featuring Lemon Pop, Jade Summers, Prada Cayne Mylan, and Gemini Alexander Brooks. Admission is $8. For more info, visit facebook.com/events/148076880713303/.
Pride Mass and Reception. June 26 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 875 Cotton St., downtown Shreveport. The second annual Pride Mass with a reception to follow in the Rose Garden. For more info, visit facebook.com/events/1194858840944889 or facebook.com/holycrossdowntown
Field Gay After Party and Drag Show. June 26 at 10:30 p.m. at The Korner Lounge, 800 Louisiana Ave., in downtown Shreveport. The Korner Girls Revue will host the evening of entertainment. An all-ages candlelight vigil will be held at 10 p.m. outside of the venue to honor the anniversary of Stonewall and the tragedy at the Upstairs Lounge in New Orleans. Presented by Shreveport Q-Prom. Admission is $8. The venue is ages 21 and up. For more info, visit facebook.com/events/196262085736611/ or facebook.com/KornerLounge.
A Pride Drag Show. June 26. Doors open at 8 p.m. Showtime at 11 p.m. Central Station, 1025 Marshall St., in downtown Shreveport. Jade Summers hosts a drag show featuring Mya Andrews, ZaZa Gigante, Violet Ray, and Prada Mylan. Presented by Central Station. Admission is $8. Ages 21 and up. For more info, visit facebook.com/CentralStationShreveport.
Telling Stories: Celebrating Pride Month with Queer Oral Histories from the Ark-La-Tex. June 28 at 6 p.m. Hosted by Dr. Jaime Cantrell, Assistant Professor of English and Director of the Program in Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Texas A&M University Texarkana, with panelists Shadi Darzeiden, Mary Domars, J.D. Stevens-Jones, Page Lafitte, and Jason Woods. A virtual event presented by Shreve Memorial Library. Admission is free. Register at bit.ly/2RY3wQE. For more info, visit facebook.com/events/2181792318785911/ or facebook.com/shrevememorial
PRIDE: A Movie, a Meal, a Message. June 29 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at LSUS University Center, 1 University Pl., Shreveport. Presented by the LSUS Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement. A screening of “Small Town Rage: Fighting Back in the Deep South,” an indie documentary by David Hylan and Raydra Hall. The evening will include a meal and a discussion on the importance of the work of ACT-UP Shreveport and the local LGBTQ+ community. The event is open to students and the public. Admission is free, but RSVP is required by emailing kenna.franklin@lsus.edu or calling 318-797-5084. For more info, visit facebook.com/events/539462760749942/
The Philadelphia Center. An HIV/Aids resource center providing services in northwest Louisiana. For more info, visit philadelphiacenter.org.
People Acting for Change and Equality (P.A.C.E.). A nonpartisan organization that works to advance equality for LGBT community in Northwest Louisiana. For more info, visit pacelouisiana.org.
BUDAPEST: Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has claimed that plans to light the Allianz Arena in rainbow colours in solidarity with the LGBT community for Wednesday’s Euro 2020 game between Hungary and Germany are “harmful and dangerous”.
Local authorities in Munich asked Uefa for permission to light the stadium in “a visible sign of solidarity with the LGBTI community in Hungary”.
Viktor Orban’s right-wing Hungarian government last week passed a law banning the “promotion” of homosexuality to minors.
“It is extremely harmful and dangerous to mix sports and politics,” Szijjarto told MTI news agency yesterday.
“Historical experience shows that this is bad, and if anyone, the Germans certainly know this well.
“We in Hungary have passed a law to protect Hungarian children, and they are now fighting against it in western Europe.
“The (lighting) clearly shows the intention to bring politics into the world of sport, because everyone knows what it is about.”
On Sunday, Uefa said it was opening an investigation into an allegedly homophobic banner and monkey noises at Hungary’s first two Euro 2020 matches in Budapest.
Hungary need to win on Wednesday to have a chance of reaching the last 16, while Germany know victory would secure a spot in the knockout phase.
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib on Monday became the first active NFL player to come out as gay.
Nassib, who is entering his sixth NFL season and second with the Raiders, announced the news on Instagram, saying he wasn’t doing it for the attention but because he felt representation and visibility were important.
“I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in his video message from his home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now, but I finally feel comfortable enough to get it off my chest.
“I really have the best life. I got the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for. I’m a pretty private person, so I hope you guys know that I’m really not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important.”
Nassib added in a written message that followed the video that he “agonized over this moment for the last 15 years” and only recently decided to go public with his sexuality after receiving the support of family and friends.
“I am also incredibly thankful for the NFL, my coaches, and fellow players for their support,” Nassib wrote. “I would not have been able to do this without them. From the jump I was greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance.”
Nassib, whose announcement came during Pride Month, added that he was donating $100,000 to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit that seeks to prevent suicides among LGBTQ youth.
“The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. “Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
Nassib’s announcement also was greeted by Brian Burke, president of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. Burke has been a major proponent of LGBTQ rights for more than a decade since his late son Brendan came out as gay.
“Proud to support Carl and his decision to come out as the first active gay player in the NFL,” Burke said. “I hope other sports executives will join me in publicly expressing their support as well.”
The Raiders showed their support, writing, “Proud of you, Carl,” on their repost of Nassib’s message on Twitter and adding a black heart emoji.
Former All-Pro linebacker Shawne Merriman commended Nassib and suggested teammates and opponents won’t have a problem with his announcement.
“Congrats to Carl Nassib on coming out that’s a big step, I think that most players are concerned if you can play or not,” Merriman tweeted.
Added fellow Nittany Lions alum and Giants running back Saquon Barkley, “Much respect brudda.”
Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, a leading LGBTQ advocacy organization, called Nassib’s “powerful coming out is a historic reflection of the growing state of LGBTQ visibility and inclusion in the world of professional sports, which has been driven by a long list of brave LGBTQ athletes who came before him.”
Ellis said Nassib’s story “will not only have a profound impact on the future of LGBTQ visibility and acceptance in sports, but sends a strong message to so many LGBTQ people, especially youth, that they too can one day grow up to be and succeed as a professional athlete like him.”
More than a dozen NFL players have come out as gay after their careers were over.
Former University of Missouri defensive star Michael Sam was the first openly gay football player ever selected in the NFL draft, going in the seventh round to the then-St. Louis Rams in 2014. But he never made the final roster and retired in 2015 having never played in an NFL regular-season game.
Nassib is a sixth-year pro who was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 2016 in the third round (65th overall) out of Penn State. He played two seasons for the Browns and two for Tampa Bay before joining the Raiders in 2020. He has 20 1/2 sacks in 73 career games.
“Today, I have two goals: returning to the NFL, and living my life openly,” he wrote at the time. “I want to live my dream of playing the game I’ve worked my whole life to play, and being open about the person I’ve always been.”
Since then, he has urged the NFL to become more diverse and inclusive of out, LGBTQ+ players. “I am proud to be an out bisexual Black man, and it’s time the NFL was proud to have me and others like me as an active part of their family,” he wrote in an essay he penned for Out last year after participating in the NFL’s Coming Out Day PSA. “I appeared in this month’s PSA alongside my brothers to make sure that our message is clear. Football is for everyone and since I came out in August of 2019, I have dedicated myself to ensuring that is the case.”
The Las Vegas Raiders‘ Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player to come out as gay. The defensive end made the announcement in an Instagram post on Monday, adding he’s agonized over this moment for the last 15 years.
“I just wanted to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while now but finally feel comfortable getting it off my chest. I really have the best life, the best family, friends and job a guy can ask for.
“I’m a pretty private person so I hope you guys know that I’m not doing this for attention. I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that one day, videos like this and the whole coming out process are not necessary, but until then I will do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting and compassionate.”
He added he will start to do his part by donating $100,000 to The Trevor Project, an organization focused on crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth under the age of 25. The NFL announced Tuesday it would match Nassib’s donation.
In a written statement, Nassib added that he was “greeted with the utmost respect and acceptance” from the NFL, his coaches and fellow players and was thankful for their support. “I would not have been able to do this without them,” he wrote.
“The NFL family is proud of Carl for courageously sharing his truth today,” league commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement Monday. “Representation matters. We share his hope that someday soon statements like his will no longer be newsworthy as we march toward full equality for the LGBTQ+ community. We wish Carl the best of luck this coming season.”
Nassib, 28, is entering his second year with the Raiders and his sixth in the league. He has 20.5 career sacks and 143 combined tackles, 97 of which are solo. Nassib, who attended Penn State, was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Cleveland Browns.
“I am a lanky walk-on who is living his dream,” Nassib wrote. “I only have a small window to achieve greatness in my sport and I owe it to my team, coaches, and Raiders fans to be completely locked in and at my best for the upcoming season,”
Former defensive end and current free agent Ryan Russell congratulated Nassib after his announcement, saying “Ball out this season brother!” Russell came out as bisexual in 2019 and intended to stay active in the league but has not been on a roster since then.
Penn State coach James Franklin said Nassib inspired him and his wife, Fumi, to donate $10,000 to The Trevor Project.
“Carl’s brave announcement will forge a path for others to be true to their authentic self,” Franklin said.
June is known as Pride Month and it honors the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which is considered a catalyst for the gay rights movement in the United States.
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