HomoQuotable - Cyd Zeigler

"Asking the United States and other nations to boycott the Olympics simply punishes 19-year-old athletes, not Vladamir Putin. Buying Ketel One instead of Stolichnaya might take a swipe at a business owner in Moscow or a factory worker in St. Petersburg, but it's just a pesky mosquito to the Russian government. And caviar? Who eats it anyway? To make a real statement, to send a message to the Russians that these laws cannot stand, the IOC has to go a step further. Instead of the rest of the world refusing to go to Sochi, there's one step that the IOC can take that will land a wake-up slap on the face of the Kremlin: Ban Russia from competing in their own Winter Olympic Games." - Outsports founder Cyd Zeigler, writing for the Huffington Post.

Mainstream Outlet Buys Gay Sports Site

The long-running Outsports has a big announcement.

Outsports has been purchased by Vox Media, which publishes SBNation.com and its 320 fan-focused and team oriented sports blogs along with tech/culture site The Verge and gaming site Polygon. Outsports will now be a part of SB Nation. Cyd and Jim are still running the site and we have editorial control. Vox gives us the technical resources and reach that we were sorely missing being independently owned. We think this might be the first time a mainstream media company has purchased a gay-oriented website.

Outsports has already launched its new look and logo.

ESPN Airs Gay Kiss After Pro Bowling Champion Wins Final Match

On Sunday ESPN aired the Pro Bowling Association finals in the World Series Of Bowling where the sports network may have made some history. Jim Buzinski writes at OutSports:

In what might be a first, ESPN this weekend showed an openly gay male pro athlete kissing his husband and they did not shy away from describing the relationship. The event was the 2012 PBA Chameleon Championship in Las Vegas, held in November, but shown on TV this Sunday.

Scott Norton won the event over Jason Belmonte and afterward broke down and cried in memory of a friend who had died. He was then shown kissing his husband, Craig Woodward, as they exchanged affectionate words (video below). During the telecast, ESPN’s announcers referred to Woodward as Norton’s husband or spouse.

(Via Zack Ford @ Think Progress)

German Anti-Homophobia In Sports Poster

Via Outsports.

Olympics Hopeful Comes Out

Olympics hopeful Josh Dixon wants to be the first out American gymnast in the history of the games. Outsports reports:

The Stanford grad took a big step toward that goal at the U.S. Men’s Qualifier on Saturday in Colorado Springs, finishing second overall out of the 72 competitors. He also tied for wins in two events: floor exercise and high bar. It was a game-changing come-back performance for Dixon, who tore his Achilles tendon last spring. Now Dixon is talking about his personal life and sexual orientation publicly for the first time. Like charging at the vault, he’s coming at it at full speed.

Read the full article.

We Were Long Overdue.....

...for another gay blog impostor. Anybody remember the gay firefighter dad of two adopted sons who turned out to be a Canadian grandmother?

UPDATE: Michael Triplett at Mediaite recaps the story nicely.

Friendly Voices - Hudson Taylor

Nationally ranked college wrestler Hudson Taylor is a passionate advocate for LGBT rights, to the point where he even competed with the HRC logo on his headgear. Via Outsports:

When Hudson Taylor proposed to Lia Alexandra Mandaglio, it was fitting that it was the same night they saw the movie "Milk." The story about a pioneering gay rights advocate meant a lot to the couple. Back at Mandaglio's condominium in Washington DC, Taylor, a University of Maryland wrestler, presented her with a signed edition of Martin Luther King's book "Why We Can't Wait." She didn't wait, and said yes. They will be married on Sept. 24, 2011. Taylor proposed to Lia Alexandra Mandaglio the same night they saw "Milk." "The proposal is a big event not to be taken lightly," Taylor said. "We're both very progressive and very outspoken in LGBT and feminist issues." The book "symbolized how we felt and how we would act," and was "very fitting for the engagement." Being outspoken and passionate is nothing new for Taylor, 36-2 this season and ranked No. 3 in the country in the 197-pound NCAA wrestling weight class. In addition to being a champion wrestler, he is an academic All American with his eye on law school and a possible future political career.

Read the entire interview, he's awesome.