Tag Archives: gay professional athletes

‘The Uncomfortable Ride to the Top’ An Inspiring TEDxTalk by Out Women’s Footballer, Joanna Lohman

Out women’s footballer and defensive midfielder for the Boston Breakers Joanna Lohman, recently gave a TEDX talk about the challenges and victories she’s faced along the way to a successful career as a professional athlete.

Lohman is engaged Lianne Sanderson (fellow Boston Breaker) and together they are the only out LGBTQ couples in professional sports.

This video is both heartbreaking and inspiring, with Lohman very honest about the realities and difficulties of being a pro athlete. However, despite this she continues to have an undying passion for the sport, which she has played in for over a decade.

Obama Opens Cleveland’s Gay Games with Supportive Video Message

President Barack Obama has helped kick off the international Gay Games in Cleveland with a video message, which was shown at the opening ceremonies. In the video, he welcomed athletes, coaches, families and spectators from around the world to Ohio and the United States.

The president said the United States has come a long way in its commitment to equal rights for LGBT people. He also noted that some athletes come from places where publicly acknowledging their sexual orientation can put them at risk.

He affirmed the United States’ commitment to standing ‘with you and for your human rights’.

Watch Obama’s message:

Gay Games Get Major Backing from United Church of Christ

The the United Church of Christ announced that it will be the first religious denomination to be a major sponsor of the Gay Games when the event comes to Cleveland.

The Gay Games were created in 1982 to promote LGBT inclusion and excellence in sports. Founded by U.S. Olympian Dr. Tom Wadell, and held every four years; the Gay Games now includes 36 competitive sports, a festival village, cultural and social events, interfaith worship, and opening and closing ceremonies.

“Serving as a major sponsor of Gay Games 9 is a perfect fit because of the UCC’s longstanding commitment to social justice issues. We pride ourselves on being a bold voice for progressive Christianity and look forward to offering the UCC’s trademark ‘extravagant welcome’ to the athletes, volunteers and spectators.”

Rev. J. Bennett Guess, UCC’s national officer

As a major sponsor, the UCC will provide significant financial support for Gay Games 9, which is expected to bring more than 30,000 athletes and visitors to Cleveland and to generate more than $50 million for the local economy.

“This partnership allows the UCC to live out our values of diversity, inclusivity, and acceptance of all. We are proud to offer financial support, alongside a range of in-kind, volunteer and support services that are needed by Gay Games 9 organizers. I couldn’t be more proud of the UCC and the city of Cleveland for doing everything possible to ensure that this summer’s games will be a success.”

Ann Poston, the UCC’s director of communications.

The UCC’s sponsorship of Gay Games 9 adds another ‘first’ to the organisation’s long list of precedent-setting accolades. The church was the first mainline denomination to affirm equal marriage rights for same-sex couples, and the first to ordain an openly-gay man. The UCC was also the first denomination to ordain a woman, the first predominately white denomination to ordain an African American, and the first mainline religious group to vote to move toward divestment from fossil fuel companies as a strategy to combat climate change.

“We’re so appreciative to have the backing of the United Church of Christ and other members of the faith community. The UCC’s sponsorship of the 2014 Gay Games on a national level amplifies their strong commitment to inclusion on and off the playing fields. Our partnership serves to illustrate the open and affirming atmosphere participants will experience when visitingCleveland and Akron.”

Tom Nobbe, executive director of Gay Games 9.

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Finding ‘Out’ footballers at the World Cup maybe a challenge, but not in Women’s Football

Finding “out and proud” male footballers can be difficult. In men’s profession it is unheard of, but in female football we are seeing glimpses of out professional player stepping forward and out of the closet.

Here is our list of top ten professional women footballers who are out and proud.

Lianne-Sanderson-011. Lianne Sanderson

Country: England
Position: Striker
Age: 26

Lianne Sanderson, hails from Lewisham in England, and has played for the English national team from 2006 – 2014. Professional she has played two seasons with the Philadelphia Independence, Arsenal Ladies and currently plays for Boston Breakers.

Jessica-Landström-012. Jessica Landström

Country: Sweden
Position: Forward
Age: 29

In 2008 Landström came out in the pages of Swedish magazine QX, where she spoke about being out to family and friends and why she felt it was important to also come out publicly.

Isabell-Herlovsen-013. Isabell Herlovsen

Country: Norway
Position: Forward
Age: 25

Isabell Herlovsen has footballing DNA body, as her father is former football player Kai Erik Herlovsen. The 25-year-old made her debut for the Norwegian national team at just 16. In 2011 she came out in an interview with Norwegian TV2. She said she came out to family and friends as a teenager and felt it was important to be open about it.

Trine-Ronning-014. Trine Ronning

Country: Norway
Position: Defender
Age: 31

The Norwegian defender made her debut for her national team in 1999, and in 2009 she became team vice-captain. In January 2009, she married teammate Kristin Blystad Bjerke shortly after same-sex marriage became legal in Norway.

Nadine-Angerer5. Nadine Angerer

Country: Germany
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 35

Angerer made her international debut in 1997 and gone on to be in Germany’s starting goalkeeper in the 2007 Women’s World Cup and 2008 Olympics. She told the German newspaper Die Zeit 2010 that she is bisexual, saying, “I am very open about this, because I am of the opinion there are nice guys and nice women. Besides, I find it totally silly to have a general definition… I see no problem for me to come out of the closet. This is nothing new for me, so I can deal with the issue in a totally relaxed manner.”

Linda-Bresonik6. Linda Bresonik

Country: Germany
Position: Defensive Midfielder, Wing Back
Age: 30

Linda Bresonik is a German footballer. She plays as a defensive midfielder and sometimes wing back for Paris Saint-Germain and the German national team. In 2010 she was involved with a bizarre Love Triangle with former West German international and Borussia Mönchengladbach coach Holger Fach and German women’s team mate, Inka Grings. Grings and Bresonik had been together for five years, but when they broke up, and then Fach started seeing Grings. Then Bresonik appeared back on the scene, saying: “Inka was my first love and I will fight for her. The pain in my soul overwhelms. Fach came between us: now Inka must decide.” In the end, Grings split up with Fach – and he ended up with Bresonik.

Inka-Grings7. Inka Grings

Country: Germany
Position: Striker
Age: 35

Inka Grings is a German international footballer. She played sixteen years as a striker for FCR 2001 Duisburg, and today she plays for FC Zürich Frauen. She has also played for the German national team, and was involved in a well-publicized love triangle with Linda Bresonik and Holger Fachs. The teammates have since broken up but continue to compete together on the World Cup stage.

Ursula-Holl8. Ursula Holl

Country: Germany
Position: Goalkeeper
Age: 31

Holl is a German footballer. She plays for FCR 2001 Duisburg and the German national team as a goalkeeper. In June 2010 she married her partner – Carina. She told the German newspaper Bild that her family were very happy when they heard the couple would marry and their wedding was a joyous affair. She also said her being out has “not been an issue at all” with fellow players and opponents.

Joanna-Lohman9. Joanna Lohman

Country: USA
Position: Midfielder
Age: 31

Joanna Lohman is an American professional soccer player who plays for Cypriot First Division club Apollon Limassol, on loan from the Boston Breakers of the American National Women’s Soccer League.

Sarah-Walsh10. Sarah Walsh

Country: Australia
Position: Forward
Age: 31

Sarah Walsh is a retired Australian football player who most recently captained Western Sydney Wanderers FC in Australia’s W-League. She is a former member of the Australia women’s national association football team.

Andy Murray Hires Amélie Mauresmo as His New Coach

Yesterday the Andy Murray, appointed two-time Grand Slam women’s champion and out lesbian Amélie Mauresmo as his New Coach.

The move to appoint Mauresmo – the former Women’s World No 1 is seen as a groundbreaking one, and shows that Andy Murray prepared to think outside the box.

Murray is looking for is someone who can add that little extra input which, at the rarefied level he plays at, can be the difference between winning and losing.

‘I’m excited by the possibilities of the new partnership and Amelie is someone I have always looked up to and admired. She’s faced adversity plenty of times in her career, but was an amazing player and won major titles, including Wimbledon. I have a very strong coaching team already in place, but I think Amelie brings with her experience and tactical expertise and will push us all to improve. Everyone I know talks very highly of Amelie, as a person and coach, and I’m convinced that her joining the team will help us push on – I want to win more grand slams.’

Andy Murray

As Murray has said the presence of a woman can tame the egos that sometimes prevail when you have an all-male team, and that Mauresmo is someone he can respect as she is a proven winner like he is, rather than purely a professional coach who can work as a technician on his game, which is unlikely to radically change anyway at this point of his career.

Andy Murray is not the first male for Mauresmo to coach, she also has experience of coaching Frenchman Michael Llodra in 2010 when he won the Eastbourne ATP event. She was also in the team of Marion Bartoli when she won Wimbledon last year, so she is well qualified on all sides to understand the pressures.

Amélie Mauresmo was an all court player who won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and she is relishing the challenge of taking on such a fascinating individual who always has the capacity to surprise.

‘I’m really excited to be able to work with Andy. He’s an amazingly talented tennis player and I feel I have plenty to offer both him and the team around him. I’m looking forward to getting down to work and helping him win more Grand Slams… Andy contacted me a few weeks ago and we started to talk about this possibility to work, to be working together. It’s not really something that I was thinking doing when I stopped being a tennis player. Then we talked again a little bit more about how to do the things maybe about his game, about different things. We came up with the will from both sides to, yeah, to give it a shot.

Amélie Mauresmo

‘We all know his mother was a big part of his tennis career. I think he’s maybe looking for something different, about emotions and sensitive things. It’s not really interesting for me, this part of the story, to be honest. All I’m interested in is to be able to help him in his goals. That’s about it. The rest is the story for you to write, I guess. But, yeah, for me it’s a challenge. I want to take it.’

It is not unprecedented in tennis for a woman to coach a man. Jimmy Connors was coached by his mother, Gloria. Djokovic’s first coach was a woman, Jelena Gencic. Billie Jean King once coached Tim Mayotte. Andrei Chesnokov, who reached the top 10 in 1991, was coached for his entire career by Tatiana Naumko. While none of the top 30 female players are coached primarily by a woman, 49th-ranked Denis Istomin is coached by his mother, and 54th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin is coached by his wife. But there are not many examples in other major sports of women coaching men. A few women have been assistant coaches in Division I men’s college basketball. Nancy Lieberman coached in the N.B.A. Development League. Helena Costa was recently hired by Clermont Foot 63, a second-division soccer club in France, becoming the first female manager in one of the top two divisions of Europe’s five major soccer leagues.

Murray has already drawn praise from many figures in the women’s game such as Chris Evert for contemplating having a woman in charge, and now he has followed through on that.

 

The Out Field – A Collection of Gay Pro Athletes Talk About Pro Sports

The Out Field – Watch this powerful video by gay pro athletes in America. Michael Sam, Brittany Griner, Joanna Lohman and Lianne Sanderson talk exclusively to People magazine about being out and gay in pro-sports.  They all touch on coming out to their teammates and their families.

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