Five Sports Stars Prove that Standing Up for your Gay* Friends is Incredibly Attractive

Far be it from us to objectify anyone: man, woman, gay, straight, or other in any of those categories, but this feature on Out.com really leaves no wiggle room on the matter: athletes who stand up for their gay friends are hot.

People who speak up for their gay friends are attractive.

Pictured: Ben Cohen, Hudson Taylor, Michael Irvin, Mike Chabala, and Nick Youngquest. Click through to read more about what these rad athletes are doing for their gay friends!

The world of sports has unfortunately been notoriously rough territory for LGBT folks — whether it’s Kobe Bryant slinging anti-gay slurs during a Laker’s game or the seemingly never-ending inappropriate public referendum on South African runner Caster Semenya‘s gender, major players both inside and outside the game have a tendency to make big-league competition an uncomfortable space for anyone perceived as outside the “norm” of heterosexuality. Women athletes take a lot of heat in the form of “accusation,” constantly having their sexuality questioned for enjoying traditionally “manly” pursuits in sports, especially if they’re any good. For men, you’ll more often see players throw around derogatory terms for a ref after a bad call or using homophobic language to goad opponents, furthering the linguistic barb that “gay = bad” more than actually trying to out peers.

In any case, the five men profiled by Out Magazine are taking a stand not only for their gay teammates, but to encourage a huge shift in the world of sports to make it a safe and accepting environment for LGBT players and fans. In a universe where those who stand up for gay friends are likely to be labeled gay themselves, which is still a major career liability, these guys are truly going above and beyond to show what friendship means. And Out is buying them sexy outfits and taking nice pictures of’em for their troubles. Right on.

While these guys are high-profile athletes in super dudely realms like wrestling and rugby, it doesn’t take a spot in the limelight to make a difference — even making it clear that your gay friends are welcome on the JV team or after-work kickball league can mean the world. When a straight friend stands up to say it’s stupid to make a fuss over sharing locker-rooms or calls out another player for using anti-gay language, other people listen: you don’t have a stake besides caring about your friends, and that makes your voice incredibly powerful.

And (sorry, we have to say it) what’s more attractive than power, especially when it’s used to be a great friend? We don’t have stats on this, but we would put money on potential dates of whatever gender taking notice of your efforts in the best way.

For goodness sake, look at those five dudes! Think they’re hurting for Saturday night plans??

Have you ever encountered a hostile environment for LGBT friends on the field? Did you do anything about it? Think we’re seeing things get better or worse in the world of professional sports? Have at it in the comments!

The New York Times’ “Ex-Gay” Profile

This article is a little old, and a little long, but I think it’s still post-worthy.  Last Thursday’s New York Times featured a feature by Benoit Denizet-Lewis titled “My Ex-Gay Friend,” profiling Michael Glatze.

Glatze used to be a gay rights activist, working at a San Francisco magazine for gay men and committed to supporting gay youth. He was also in a serious (and gay) relationship.  Denizet-Lewis describes Michael 1.0:

Michael had seemingly read every gay book ever written. While I was busy trying to secure a boyfriend, he was busy contemplating queer theory, marching in gay rights rallies and urging young people to celebrate (not just accept) their same-sex attractions. Michael was devoted to helping gay youth, and he was particularly affected by the letters the magazine received regularly from teenagers who were rejected by their religious families. “Christian fundamentalists should burn in hell!” he told me once, slamming his fist on his desk. I had never met anyone so sure of himself.

But Glatze identifies as straight now, and is affiliated with the Christian right. Glatze says, of his satisfaction with “ex-gay” life:

God loves you more than any dude will ever love you… Don’t put your faith in some man, some flesh. That’s what we do when we’re stuck in the gay identity, when we’re stuck in that cave. We go from guy to guy, looking for someone to love us and make us feel O.K., but God is so much better than all the other masters out there.

Like several other Glatze quotes in the article, it doesn’t sound like he’s criticizing homosexuality–it sounds like he’s just criticizing humans, for not being God. Glatze only explicitly criticizes homosexuality when he says, “God creates us heterosexual. We may get other ideas in our head about what we are, and I certainly did, but that doesn’t mean they’re the truth.”

I recommend reading the whole article, but for blog purposes I thought the most discussion-worthy passage came from Denizet-Lewis’s encounter with Ben, Gatze’s ex-partner.

“A radical queer activist and a fundamentalist Christian aren’t always as different as they might seem,” [Ben] said, adding that they’re ideologues who can railroad over nuance and claim a monopoly on the truth.

Do you guys see similarities between the gay activist and the Christian fundamentalist position—Michael 1.0 and Michael 2.0? Also, maybe more saliently: The article alternately portrays Michael as someone who was never really gay, as someone who is still gay, and as someone who is genuinely transformed. What does “ex-gay” mean to you?