Kev Maxen be first male ach a US men’s pro sports league to publicly e out as gay | CNN

Contents:

• WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE
• 5 TIM OPENLY GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM SLAYED, AND OUT OF HIS SPEEDOS
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY
• DONATN GOAL FOR GAY GAM 11
• THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 39 GAY OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS. HERE’S THE LIST
• DIVERSY AMONG ATHLET CLUDG GAY PETORS WELE - YANG YANG

WELE TO THE ‘GAY GAM,’ AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE OLYMPICS, WHERE ACTIVISM IS ENURAGED AND EVERYONE’S AN ATHLETE

After g out as gay an Instagram post 2020, Bank hop to show younger athlet “that they n be whomever they are, or want to be, whout discrimatn. Aymoz is openly gay, g out the documentary “We Need to Talk” 2021. Jason Brown (@jasonbskat) is an openly gay figure skater reprentg Team USA.

Guillme Cizeron (@GuillmeCIZ) is an openly gay figure skater petg for Team France. Lewis Gibson (@Lewisgibson4) is an openly gay figure skater reprentg Team Great Bra.

Pl Poirier (@PlDPoirier) is an openly gay figure skater on Team Canada. Radford ma history as the first petive figure skater to e out as gay while still petg for champnship tl 2014, pavg the way for future LGBTQ+ athlet to e out. Andrew Blaser (@andrewblaser) is an openly gay skeleton slir for Team USA.

5 TIM OPENLY GAY DIVER MATTHEW MCHAM SLAYED, AND OUT OF HIS SPEEDOS

G Kenworthy (@gkenworthy) is an openly gay etyle skier and a dual cizen of Great Bra and the Uned Stat. His gay and lbian iends San Francis, though, had never experienced an event as thrillg or movg as the openg ceremony. And so Wadll created the Gay Gam – then lled the Gay Olympics, until the Internatnal Olympic Commtee sued over the name.

“The formula for succs was visibily and inty, ” Wadll said an terview followg the first Gay Gam 1982.

That’s what the first Gay Gam were all about. Wadll died 1987, but the Gay Gam ntue to this day, growg to an ternatnal phenomenon sce their first eratn.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

They draw over 10, 000 athlet and sometim seven or eight tim as many spectators, said Shiv Pl, vice print of external relatns for the Feratn of Gay Gam. You don’t have to be a profsnal athlete – even a proficient one – to pete the Gay Gam.

You don’t even have to be gay. And unlike at the Olympics, activism is enuraged at the Gay Gam, as has been sce the begng when the HIV/AIDS crisis was ravagg LGBTQ muni. Above all, though, the Gay Gam are an event for queer and trans people to gather safely, play sports they love and be themselv whout fear of tolerance.

The first Gay Gam were held San Francis 1982, where transmissn of HIV had peaked among the cy’s btlg gay muny. The Gay Gam uld be an act of prott then, too, Wadll cid, an event durg which LGBTQ people uld play the same sports they watched durg the Olympics and achieve the same kd of glory he had at the 1968 Olympics. HIV/AIDS awarens has been baked to the Gay Gam sce s ceptn: In addn to banng discrimatn based on genr, sexualy, race and other tras, the Gay Gam wouldn’t allow any participant to be turned away based on their HIV stat.

DONATN GOAL FOR GAY GAM 11

The Gay Gam also succsfully lobbied the US ernment to briefly waive a prev ban on HIV-posive people enterg the untry so they uld pete the 1994 Gay Gam New York and the 1996 Olympics Atlanta, chang ma wh the help of the US Olympic Commtee. Anyone n participate the Gay Gam – really, jt about anyone. Though Wadll emphasized that sports weren’t the central foc of the Gay Gam, the event has hosted athlet wh real prows.

Swimmer Jim Ballard set a world rerd the 100-meter backstroke 2002 at the Sydney Gay Gam. Powerlifter Chris Man began his reer at the Gay Gam and went on to w another 30 medals at var world champnships. And unlike the “regular Olympics, ” at the Gay Gam, a same-sex figurg skatg pair n don matchg nim jumpsus a performance set to “Hopelsly Devoted to You.

The upg Gay Gam will take place next year Hong Kong, where same-sex marriage is not legally regnized. The openg ceremony of the first Gay Gam was the stuff of Wadll’s dreams. Wadll died of AIDS 1987, one year after the send Gay Gam, but the Gam and his dream for their impact have only grown sce.

THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST 39 GAY OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATERS. HERE’S THE LIST

Participatn the Gay Gam steadily grew every year was held, and 1994, at the New York Gay Gam, the number of participants exceed the number of athlet at the 1994 Wter Olympics. The 11th Gay Gam, to be held next year Hong Kong, will likely see at least 10, 000 participants. The openg ceremony of the Gay Gam is still emotnal all the years later, Pl said, pecially when participants om untri where homosexualy is not accepted march the Para of Natns.

DIVERSY AMONG ATHLET CLUDG GAY PETORS WELE - YANG YANG

If you go back to ancient tim, the Olympics have a few centuri on the Gay Gam. But if the last few s of eedom and fun at the Gam are any ditn, the Gay Gam will have a long, storied n. A total of 186 publicly out gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr, queer and nonbary athlet participated the Tokyo Gam, acrdg to Not only was that the most at any Olympics ever, but was also more than triple the number of LGBTQ athlet at the 2016 R Gam.

Andrew Blaser will bee the first openly gay man to pete skeleton at the Olympics.