Xtreme Dream

Hey, you know what’s badass? Being a 64-year-old female lesbian endurance swimmer and making history by becoming the only person in history to make the some 110-miles swim in open water from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage, flippers or wet suit. Diana Nyad accomplished her 35-year dream of completing the unprecedented swim today after 52 hrs, 54 mins and 18.6 sec. This was her fifth and final try at the swim – other attempts had been stopped by jellyfish stings, boat troubles and storms. Today was a truly awe-inspiring feat of human endurance, determination and both physical and mental strength. Think about going that distance. Think about taking that time. Think about all that open water. There are not enough congratulations in the world. But, hey, here’s one from President Barack Obama.

Congratulations to @DianaNyad. Never give up on your dreams.

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) September 2, 2013

My only complaint is in no way a reflection of Diana’s phenomenal accomplishment, which once again was phenomenal. But it’s about the terrible coverage given by the live TV crews covering the finish of her swim. When it became apparent she was going to land on a spot further down the beach, none of the live crews bothered to hoof it the 300 feet to catch her actually emerging from the water. NONE. I had three live local streams up as well as CNN (which was using a local feed as well) on my screen and they all showed either the back of a big throng of people way far down the beach and/or palm trees blowing gently in the wind at the historic moment. Cool, good job, guys. No worries, I’m sure tons of people do this all the time. Oh, wait, nope – she’s the only one. (Another swimmer made the crossing in 1997, but with a shark cage.)

The good news, PBS NewsHour did manage to run down the beach and catch her just post landing greeting her supporters. Thank you, public television. And congratulations, Diana Nyad. Dream your dreams because you’re never too old to be a total fucking badass.



Hey, did I mention she is 64? Yeah. Like I was saying, total badass.



UPDATE: Finally, some great footage from the Florida Keys county tourist development council.

Quarterback Rock Star

Anyone here old enough to remember the movie “Quarterback Princess?” Helen Hunt, high school football and big-league sexism. Having not seen it in 30 years, I’m naturally rather fuzzy on the details. But from what I recall from watching it as a kid was it was pretty damn cool. Yes, yes – I know, they had to tack on the “princess” part. Yet 30 years later, the “quarterback” part is still pretty damn rare. But the good news is even though quarterback princesses continue to be the exception instead of the rule when it comes to people’s perfection of football, there are plenty more Tami Maida’s today who can’t wait to put on the pads and hit someone – hard.

Take, for example, Sami Grisafe. She is the quarterback of the world champion USA All-Star Team for the International Federation of American Football. That’s tackle football, people, women’s tackle football. Team USA beat Team Canada to take home the 2013 Women’s IFAF championships earlier this month. This is the second time the women have competed for the championship, the first time was in 2010 when Team USA won the inaugural event (it’s played every three years).

Before the game,QB Grisafe busted out the National Anthem. And before you roll your eyes, she was good – really good. It helps that she also sings professionally. And did I mention she’s an out lesbian lady? Great arm and a great voice and a great big gay? Better bring a helmet, ladies, there could be some pushing and shoving in line to buy her a drink.



p.s. For more on the USA All-Star Team, visit their documentary site The Tackle Girls.

Naked Lady Monday: Bodies in Motion Edition

Hey, it’s Monday. But not in that, “I hate Mondays” Garfield kind of way. It’s Monday in that, “I love muscley ladies” kind of way. Yes, kittens, that most wonderful time of year when the ESPN Body Issue comes out is upon us again. And once again we can (respectfully) ogle impossibly fit athletes showcase the results of all that hard work, dedication and squats. Now, most of the images from these shoots I quite enjoy because, well, I don’t think I need to explain the appeal of hot naked ladies. But I will say the photos I enjoy the most each year are the ones that showcase these athletes doing what they do best. Granted, I’m sure they’re not accustomed to doing it naked. But, hey, maybe they do. If I had the body of a Greek god, I’d do everything naked, too.

Sydney Leroux, US Women’s National Team Soccer Player
I want to talk about how impressive her bicycle kick form is, but I can’t because ABS.

Courtney Force, NHRA Funny Car Driver
These cars can go more than 330 mph and use parachutes to slow themselves down. I don’t have a joke, that’s just damn impressive.

Elena Hight, Snowboarder
Explaining the frostbite on her delicate regions to the doctor should be fun.

Daila Ojeda, Rock Climber
Granted, I think I’d rather snowboard naked than rock climb naked.

Marlen Esparza, Boxer
Boxing naked seems terrible, too, but they can’t hit below the belt anyway. So maybe just more distracting than different.

Carly Booth, Professional Golfer
Her tattoo is the Shakespeare quote, “It is not the stars to hold our destiny, But it is ourselves.” I didn’t want you to have to strain your eyes.

Miesha Tate, UFC Bantamweight Contender
I don’t know if jumping is a big part of boxing, but I will accept it as a training exercise.

Swin Cash, WNBA Player
OK, fine, so this pose is a little cheesecake. But, um, there is a basketball.

Tarah Gieger, Motocross Racer
I want to talk about how badass she looks on that bike, but I can’t because THIGHS.

Level playing field

High five, Jason Collins. You’re awesome, you’re inspiring, you’re essential to our continued struggle for full equality. You are not, however, the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. This takes nothing away from your accomplishment and your courage in coming forward and coming out. But there are openly gay active female players on several American sports teams and sports who have blazed a trail and deserve recognition.

When news broke yesterday the headlines I saw were all a variation on “Jason Collins first openly gay active player” and “Jason Collins first active gay player in major sports.” As the day wore on, several modified that headline with an important word: “Male.” Collins, a 34-year-old who was center for the Washington Wizards, is indeed the first active American gay male player in one of the four major American sports teams – basketball, baseball, hockey and football. But active American gay female players exist in basketball and softball – not to mention soccer, tennis, golf and more.

Your Brittney Griner and Sheryl Swoopes (basketball), your Vicky Galindo and your Lauren Lappin (softball), your Megan Rapinoe and your Natasha Kai (soccer), your Martina Navratilova (tennis), your Patty Sheehan (golf). I could go on.

When Griner came out earlier this month as the first professional WNBA player to come out at the start of her career, it was greeted with headlines like, “Female Star Comes Out as Gay, and Sports World Shrugs” and “Brittney Griner coming out is no big deal, and that's a big deal.”

Yet Collins coming out was in continuous discussion on ESPN and across the frontpages of sports sections everywhere. So in case you were wondering, that double standard is alive and very well.

Granted, I understand that there are inherent and significant cultural differences between the perception of gay male athletes and gay female athletes. One could joke that for female athletes being lesbian or bisexual is almost the default assumption. That’s a stretch, of course, but the ugly stereotype is that girl jocks are considered “too manly to be straight” and guy jocks are considered “too manly to be gay.” The cult of machismo continues to smell worse than a locker room on a hot day.

Look, I am not being ungrateful about Collins coming out. Quite the opposite. He could well be the game-changer to open the closet door wider for more to follow. I am thrilled for the positive support coming from everyone from Michelle Obama to Bill Clinton to Kobe Bryant to Steve Nash more. And I am disgusted by the Chris Broussards of the world who fall back on the old bigotry of the past. I would just like it acknowledged that female professional athletes are also part of this conversation, have been blazing a trail and matter when it comes to creating an accepting sports culture for all who want to play. Hive fives all around.

NOTE: Nothing in this post is a denigration of Collins' accomplishment and importance, nor an expression of anything but happiness at his coming out yesterday. I could not be happier about it. What it is is a multifaceted expression of emotions based on the media coverage of his coming out. We, as humans, are capable of feeling multiple things all at once. Like in the late evening on Nov. 4, 2008 when my heart was filled with pride and joy at our nation electing its first African-American president in its history. But on that same night, at the same time, my heart was also filled with sorrow that my fellow California voters deemed my love unworthy of being officially recognized by the state by passing Proposition 8. One does not take away from the other. Saying I am proud of Jason Collins and I wish gay female athletes were given more respect in the media are not mutually exclusive ideas. We can do both.

My Weekend Crush

In a week of tragedy, chaos and insanity (seriously, let’s not have another week like that in a long time), let’s end on a high note. We had a nice respite thanks to our friends in New Zealand mid-week. And now we’ll finish off with who will surely be your newest crush: Brittney Griner. Granted, she’s not new to many people – what with her being a record-setting career at Baylor University, her NCAA Champion in 2012 and her status as the No. 1 pick in the WNBA this year. Brittney is the second most leading all-time scorer in women’s college basketball, with 3,283 points, and the best shot blocker in college basketball ever, both for men and women, with 748 blocks. She can also dunk. And, oh yeah, she is gay.

After being selected as the top WNBA draft pick by the Phoenix Mercury on Monday, Brittney sat down with some of her fellow top draftees and spoke to ESPN Wednesday night. And in that interview, she casually, confidently came out publicaly. And you have to believe if she hadn’t attended a staunchly Christian university like Baylor, she would have come out a lot sooner, too. Now, there are and have been other out players in the WNBA, including Seimone Augustus, Sheryl Swoopes and Chamique Holdsclaw. But Brittney is the very first to come out at the very start of her professional career. Before the big money endorsements and jersey sales roll in. And this, this matters. It matters because as much progress as we’ve made toward equality, both in the court of public opinion and real courts, sports remains a sad stronghold of homophobia where few venture out of the locker room closet. The amount of internal (and external, ugh Chris Cullivers of the world) resistance to out gay athletes is still palpable. So coming out in professional sport, it makes a difference. Of course each person who comes out, athlete or not, makes a difference. But there can be only one crush each weekend. And this week it goes to the lady who just dunked her way out of the closet. All that, and she is a snazzy dresser. Love the bowtie. Happy weekend, all.

A tall glass of Pinoe

Sports and gay ladies go together like the peanut butter and jelly of lesbianism. Sure, not all lesbians and bisexual women play softball – or any sport for that matter. I include myself in the decidedly “non-sporty” category. It’s all I can do to walk and breathe at the same time some days. But if you don’t know at least one sporty dyke then you should go hang out by a grassy sports field any given Sunday. They are there. Trust me. So the fact that we still have little more than a handful of high-profile out ladies in professional sports is, to put it mildly, perplexing. Sure, there is Martina. And Billy Jean. Also France’s Amélie Mauresmo, Norway’s Gro Hammerseng, Australia’s Natalie Cook, Sweden’s Jessica Landström. And others, of course. But we always want more because we know they’re out there – playing their big gay hearts out.

So that’s why a Megan Rapinoe is so special. Well, really, she’s special for a lot of reasons – the hair, the personality, the ass-kicking soccer skills. But she’s also an athlete who came out at the height of her success, right before she stepped on the grandest stage of all – the Olympics. Not late in her career, not after her career was over. So then we could celebrate with her as an out and proud gay athlete as they put that gold medal around her neck. It was as close to winning a gold medal as I’ll ever come, that’s for sure.

Megan credits coming out with helping her play her best at the Olympics. She said of coming out: “I think it was the best decision I ever made. To be able to go into such an important event like that being a wide open book and just saying this is who I am, I’m damn proud of it and hopefully you are too.”

So over the weekend Megan was deservedly awarded the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center's Board of Directors Award.

And if that doesn’t convince you to become a Pinoe superfan, maybe Tom Hanks screaming “Megan Rapinoe! Megan Rapinoe!” will. And, of course, if all else fails there’s always The Hair.

Thanks, Megan. And, as always, love The Hair.