First Lady Michelle Obama tweets support to out football player Michael Sam
Chobani Yogurt rocks a rainbow tweet for equal rights
From my personal favorite brand of yogurt, Chobani, rocked this rainbow tweet out on Friday in support of ALL athletes at the Sochi Olympics.
Chobani released a statement earlier this week denouncing the anti-gay law approved by the Russian legislature in recent months. The new law, which prohibits the promotion of “gay propaganda” to minors, has overshadowed the run-up to the Sochi Games.
“We oppose Russia’s anti-LGBT law,” CNBC quoted the CEO of Chobani, a U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) sponsor.
In related news, apparently 5,000 cups of Chobani yogurt are being kept from delivery to Sochi Olympians due to Russian officials “who claim the United States failed to provide the very specific health- and safety-related paperwork necessary to allow the food to reach their athletes.”
Hmm….
Prince Harry defends young gay soldier in new book “Out in the Army”
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| Prince Harry of England |
In Britain, Trooper James Wharton has written about his experiences alongside Prince Harry in his new book Out in the Army. In 2009, Wharton became the first homosexual soldier to appear on the front of the Armed Forces magazine.
Included in the book, Wharton describes an incident where Harry stood up to other members of the infantry for anti-gay behavior. From the Telegraph:
Trooper Wharton went to find the Prince and tearfully told him “I think I’m going to be murdered by the infantry,” the Mail on Sunday reported.
As he explained what had happened Harry had a “complete look of bewilderment” on his face and responded: “Right I’m going to sort this out once and for all.”
Moments later Trooper Wharton poked his head out of the tank to “see him having a go”.
“I could see he wasn’t holding back,” added Trooper Wharton, who was 21 at the time and has since left the forces.
Harry, a Troop Commander in the Blues and Royals, informed a senior officer of what was happening before assuring the soldier that it was “sorted”.
Trooper Wharton, who was on training in Canada with the Prince at the time of the 2008 incident, said: “I will always be grateful to Harry and I will never forget what happened. Until he went over and dealt with everything I was on track for a battering.”
Chris Kluwe chats Keith Olbermann on NFL homophobia
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| NFL punter Chris Kluwe |
Chris Kluwe (former Minnesota Vikings punter and LGBT ally) joined Keith Olbermann last night to talk about his claims that he was released from the Vikings due to his support of LGBT rights.
During the interview, Kluwe told Olbermann that the NFL doesn’t want players speaking out on anything:
“If head coaches had their way, it would be, players wake up, they think about football, they go practice, they go to sleep, and they dream about football. And that would be all that there is.”
Kluwe also alluded that he and Tim Tebow, of all people, are in a similar situation:
“As much as we are polar opposites on the things we stand for, Tebow is the exact same way. There are backup quarterbacks in the NFL right now that Tebow is certainly better than — he could fill a role with a team. But because he brings this other stuff with him, just like I bring my other stuff with me, teams look at it like, ‘Well, we don’t want it. We don’t want players speaking out. We don’t want players doing anything other than football.'”
Watch the interview below:
Tweet of the day: Chelsea Clinton supports Chris Kluwe
We should never punt when it comes to equality, @ChrisWarcraft is a great example
— Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) January 4, 2014
NFL’s Chris Kluwe: “I Was An NFL Player Until I Was Fired By Two Cowards And A Bigot”
NFL punter (formerly of the Minnesota Vikings) and LGBT ally Chris Kluwe has written a detailed and compelling history of his commitment to LGBT equality AND how that intersected his football career leading to his ultimate release from the Vikings.
He begins like this:
Hello. My name is Chris Kluwe, and for eight years I was the punter for the Minnesota Vikings. In May 2013, the Vikings released me from the team. At the time, quite a few people asked me if I thought it was because of my recent activism for same-sex marriage rights, and I was very careful in how I answered the question. My answer, verbatim, was always, “I honestly don’t know, because I’m not in those meetings with the coaches and administrative people.”This is a true answer. I honestly don’t know if my activism was the reason I got fired.However, I’m pretty confident it was.
As he writes of the events that he says led to his firing, Kluwe describes an incident where he alleges special teams coach Mike Priefer used violent language in a team meeting:
“As [my teammates and I] sat down in our chairs, Mike Priefer, in one of the meanest voices I can ever recall hearing, said: ‘We should round up all the gays, send them to an island, and then nuke it until it glows.’ The room grew intensely quiet, and none of the players said a word for the rest of the meeting.”
I highly recommend you read the entire essay as Kluwe courageously shares what he says was the unraveling of his last season with the Vikings. The title says it all.
Chris closes with this:
Never be afraid to do what’s right. If no one ever says anything, nothing ever changes. —Chris Kluwe, former NFL player
Read Chris Kluwe’s essay on Deadspin.
Behind the scens of Ben Cohen’s Attitude Magazine photo shoot
New Year’s Resolutions… hmmm…
One resolution we can all agree on is to follow the example and work done by Ben Cohen and his StandUp Foundation which works to end bullying in schools and sports. Great work by a great athlete and role model.
Here’s a behind-the-scenes video from the Ben Cohen cover shoot for Attitude Magazine’s “Awards Issue” (issue 237) earlier this year.
A dapper Ben Cohen sends his New Year wishes
Happy New Year everyone. Thank you so much for your support for me and @StandUpFdn Can’t wait for next year. Ben.
— Ben Cohen (@RugbyBenCohen) December 31, 2013
Joe Rogan: Marriage equality foes are “weak ass b*tches”
Former Fear Factor host and Newsradio alum Joe Rogan offers up a fantastic rant against homophobes opposed to same-sex marriage, dismissing them simply as “weak-ass bitches.”
On his Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Rogan recalls when a friend’s dad got into a tizzy over the incredulous news that “they’re letting fags get married”:
“He was mad. He was throwing the newspaper down. I was 11 and I was like, what a silly man you are. You’re a grown man and this is something that bothers you and concerns you? I remember thinking as an 11-year-old boy, ‘Man, there are some weak-ass bitches out there posing as men.’ Like, you dummy. Why do you care? What, are you a tough guy because you care that two guys want to kiss each other? It’s so stupid. It’s such a dumb thing to get behind.”
(via Queerty)
Omaha: Straight man beaten standing up for his gay friends
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| Ryan Langenegger left bloody after standing up for his gay friends |
Ryan Langenegger, a straight man in Omaha, was punched, beaten and left with a bloody gash and chipped teeth for standing up for his gay friends.
KMTV has the story:
Out with two of his gay friends in the Old Market Saturday night, they decided to grab a bite at PepperJax Bar and Grill.
Inside a group of three guys started to verbally harass his friends. Ryan said, to avoid confrontation they left PepperJax.
The three men followed them outside.
“My friend then said, yes, I know I’m a boy in a dress. After that he said, “yes I know”, some “colorful words” and disgusting. I said hey guys, we’re not looking for any trouble, just trying to get home. Just trying to get home”, said Langenegger.
Ryan stepped forward and tried to stop the incident. Instead he took a hard blow to the face.
“It’s sad, it’s really sad, disgusting. It just makes no sense this day and age and in Omaha, for all of this stuff to still be happening and out in the streets.”
A police report was filed but the attackers were long gone by the time police arrived at the scene of the attack. However, surveillance video and credit card records may end up identifying them.
Check out the news report at KMTV.