Outsports Radio

The first white athlete to join Colin Kaepernick in his protest of the National Anthem was gay. Megan Rapinoe said her stance  in support of Kaepernick was influenced by her being gay and feeling she never had the same rights as other Americans. "Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties," she says. We discuss the controversy. Also, the NFL season kicks off and we offer our thoughts on what to expect in what seems to be a year of transition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When openly gay professional soccer player Robbie Rogers said last week that he was the target of on-field gay slurs, people were outraged. In his three years since coming out publicly, it was the first slurs he had heard directed at him. When it was revealed the person using the slurs was Richard Chaplow, the United Soccer League suspended him two games. Except, Chaplow claims he never used slurs because he has LGBT family members; And his team is saying Rogers simply "misheard" Chaplow. What gives? Plus, America's most popular sport is back. Football season kicks off with college football games, and the NFL season is around the corner. Where are we now with acceptance of gay men in football? Is the sport inherently homophobic, inherently pro-gay or somewhere in between? We talk about several developments over the last couple of months that give us insight into the sport. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics has a record 49 out gay, lesbian and bisexual athletes. Team LGB is winning medals and coverage of LGBT issues is as high as any Olympics. There have been commericials featuring transgender and gay athletes, marriage proposals on and off the field and a larger awareness that sports is no longer off limits based on one's sexual orientation or gender identity. As the Olympics wind down, we take a look at the gayest Games in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Olympics are upon us, and everybody is talking about the gays. At least, that's what it feels like to us here at Outsports as our traffic has gone through the proverbial roof for the last week. It's no surprise. With almost 50 publicly out LGBTI athletes, and other out coaches and mentors, at the Olympics in Rio, there's more to celebrate on a day-to-day basis than ever before. There are so many athletes and so many events, we're having trouble keeping up. It isn't all good news, or even news about the results. We've been disappointed with NBC's coverage that has, by the estimation of many, laregly ignored the LGBTI storylines at the Games. Now comes a report from The Daily Beast of a straight writer posing as a gay man to trick gay athletes into outing themselves to him.  We're hoping for much better in Week 2. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When WNBA star Elena Delle Donne came out publicly in a magazine interview as being in a same-sex relationship, she became the 44th openly gay, lesbian, bisexual and intersex athlete who will compete in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. Among these athletes are a record 11 men. We examine the impact of Delle Donne coming out, the overall state of LGBTI athletes at the Olympics and why no gay American male athletes are out. We also examine the medal prospects for Team LGBTI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio are a month away in Rio and they seem to be generating less buzz than normal. There have been so many problems that they might as well be called the Bummer Olympics. Is this a thing or will we all get excited as the Games draw closer and we focus on the out LGBT athletes who are participating? We look at the Games a month out. We also discuss the appropriate use of first names for transgender people in light of Sports Illustrated's cover story on Caitlyn Jenner. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There were so many LGBT sports headlines for Pride month this year. Many Major League Baseball teams held Pride nights in honor of the LGBT community. The NBA created a line of Pride-inspired shirts and then marched in the New York City Pride parade with the WNBA. And then there was the reaction by the sports world to the terrorist attack on the LGBT community in Orlando.  We talk about the moves that resonated most with us and look ahead to the headlines we're expecting in the second half of the year.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Many people, teams and leagues across the sports world have reacted to the murder of 49 people who were killed in Orlando for being in a gay bar. From tweets by Seahawks punter Jon Runyon and former NBA star Shaquille O'Neal to moments of silence at Major League Baseball games, the tragedy has been felt in the sports world this week. While many of the reactions have featured rainbow flags and messages about pride, precious few people in sports have directly addressed the fact that the shooter was motivated by homophobia, that the LGBT community specifically was targeted, and that most of the victims are dead because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We talk about whether the sports world's embrace of rainbow colors is enough to acknowledge the LGBT community as the target of this hateful attack, or if more can be done. We also discuss the Orlando attack as an impetus for LGBT people to come out both privately and publicly. While the shooter sought to create terror, it seems he has emboldened m

June is Pride Month, when LGBT equality is celebrated in cities around the world and out people in all walks of life share their joy in being their authentic selves. This is true in sports, where great strides have been made in the last decade. But in one area, the closet door remains firmly shut — top level men's sports. It's 2016 and there are no openly gay players in the NFL, NBA, NHL or MLB. The real action is happening in college and high schools, since the pros are a lost cause. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the San Diego Padres mishandled the National Anthem of the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus last Saturday night, the team sparked a backlash from the LGBT community targeting them and Major League Baseball. Cries of "homophobia" rang from coast to coast. Two days later it was clear homophobia had absolutely nothing to do with the incident that was the boneheaded mistake of a DJ and some mishandling by people with the team. We talk about whether it's appropriate or effective to claim homophobia without all the information, and if it damages the community when the claims of discrimination are untrue. Plus, we give more details about our forthcoming Outsports Reunion in Chicago for Pride, which will bring together LGBT people in sports including athletes, coaches, referees, executives and members of the media. Plus, there will be various opportunities for anyone in the public or the Outsports community to join us! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I have mixed feelings," Chris Mosier, a transgender athlete said after clinching a spot on the U.S. National Team in the duathlon. "It feels great to have made the US National Team while in North Carolina - I earned a spot to represent Team USA in a state with policies that intentionally target transgender people for differential treatment and exposes us to potential violence and harassment." We discuss Mosier's win and what it means. We also talk about the one place where gay jokes are acceptable -- in a locker room where an athlete has come out. That's what pro baseball pitcher Sean Conroy learned. Being teased by his teammates showed he was just one of the guys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The homophobic and anti-gay tweets of a couple prominent professional athletes surfaced this week. The catch? The tweets were from several years ago. So when Eagles draftee Wendell Smallwood had to face sudden questions about tweets from his high school days he deleted his account and dismissed the tweets as thoughts from his youth. Trail Blazers player Al-Farouq Aminu has seemingly gotten away with his tweets of six years ago by simply deleting them without comment.  What is the statute of limitations on anti-gay comments and tweets? The battle over North Carolina continues, as the state's governor seems unwilling to shift to pressure about his anti-LGBT law that has caused concerts to be canceled and many sports figures have spoken out. Now college baseball is taking center stage with various postseason tournaments scheduled in the Tar Heel state in the next few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former baseball pitcher Curt Schilling reposted a nasty meme against transgender people in reaction to the new anti-LGBT law in North Carolina. ESPN fired him two days later. Schilling was unapologetic. Meanwhile, Andrew Shaw of the Chicago Blackhawks yelled "fucking faggot" when he was sent to the penalty box late in a playoff game against the St. Louis Blues. He first said he didn't remember what he said, then apologized the next day. He was suspended by the NHL for one game. We will have trans writer Dawn Ennis on to discuss Schilling's remarks. We look at what was a dramatic week for LGBT issues in sports.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

While North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory thought a toothless executive order would "fix" the controversy around North Carolina's anti-LGBT law HB2, all it did was infuriate LGBT people and their supporters. Now the calls on the NBA and others to move events out of the state are broadening, and people in sports are being asked to speak up.  One of the people who decided to weigh in was golfer Webb Simpson, who offered a pretty uninformed perspective on transgender people using bathrooms and locker rooms. Also, we announced our latest Outsports Reunion, and the first one in a dozen years. This one will focus on bringing LGBT people currently or recently in the sports world together to connect. We will also have various opportunities for Outsports readers and others to be part of the fun. We give a preview of the event in Chicago this June 23-26. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When North Carolina passed a bill that denied LGBT people protections, it caused a dilemma for the NBA -- should the league move the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte? Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors was wishy-washy on the issue, basically saying nothing. Thankfully, former player and now analyst Charles Barkley is more forceful: "I think the NBA should move the All-Star game from there next year. As a black person I'm against any form of discrimination, against whites, Hispanics, gays, lesbians, however you want to phrase it. It's my job, with the position of power that I'm in and being able to be on television, I'm supposed to stand up for the people who can't stand up for themselves." We examine the continuing controversy, plus look at whether baseball players should wear dresses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When the Governor of North Carolina signed HB2 last week, he not only legalized discrimination against LGBT in the state, but he prevented any city or county from protecting LGBT people locallly. This was in response to efforts in the city of Charlotte to create protections for gays, lesbians and transgender people. Now there is a media-relations firestorm surrounding the state, and the sports world is thrust into the middle of it. While the NCAA and pro sports leagues have talked tough about these kinds of laws, they have never taken action on them, even when presented the opportunity in Houston.  Are they all talk and no action in North Carolina? We discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"As a 29-year-old gay man, I spent the better part of two decades agonizing over that question [Do you like men?] and finally, when I was 20, came to accept that the answer was 'Yes.' It took another two years before I could tell my family, another year after that before I mustered up the courage to tell my closest friends and, well, six years after that to finally write about it in the Chicago Tribune." With these words, Chris Hine, the Chicago Blackhawks beat writer for the Chicago Tribune came out publicly. On our podcast, we discuss the trigger for his going public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Former Minor League baseball player Tyler Dunnington opened up to Outsports about the last couple years of his life, which have included leaving baseball and coming out as a gay man. Those couple years also included hearing some pretty bad anti-gay comments from teammates in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and a coach in college. The story renewed a national conversation about appropriate language for the locker room. It also created a firestorm in St. Louis, pitting anti-gay people tired of hearing about homophobia against those who don't want discrimination of any kind in sports. In the middle have been the Cardinals, who say they are taking the report seriously. They've talked with Billy Bean of MLB on determining a best path forward. We are joined by St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Benjamin Hochman, who wrote at length about the conversations that have erupted in the city's sports circles and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

PJ Painter grew up on a ranch in South Dakota. The nearest town had a population of 400 people and was a 25-mile drive on mostly gravel roads. He competed in rodeo because that is what young men in that area did. He was raised to think being gay was detestable and an abomination but when he came out, he got nothing but support. When he told his story on Outsports, Painter never expected the response -- 14,000 Facebook shares and more than 1,000 messages. We talk to him about growing up gay in red state America and what he hopes to achieve by telling his story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When professional wrestler Matt 'The Money' Cage came out publicly almost a year ago in June of 2015, he thought he might be a little blip in the national conversation about gay athletes in sports. Instead, he became a beacon for so many LGBT people - in sports and outside of sports - struggling with their sexual orientation. We talk to Matt about his coming out experience, but more importantly his being out experience. Has it affected his professional relationships in any way? Have other wrestlers gravitated to or distanced themselves from him? And have any other gay pro wrestlers contacted him for advice? Plus we talk about the effects of people's constant drumbeat about sports and the black community being deeply homophobic. Is that true? And did the rhetoric of homophobia from LGBT people delay his coming out? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices