POPSspot

Oakland Votes Unanimously to Pass Resolution in Support of LGBT Athletes

POPSspotted — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:56:06 +0000

The Oakland City Council voted unanimously to pass a resolution supporting LGBT athletes and The Last Closet Campaign. The resolution was introduced by City Council President Pat Kernighan.

The resolution encourages the Commissioners of the five major men’s sports leagues – Major League Baseball, National Football league, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League [...]

SportsDocs Reflect on Jason Collins, Gender, and the Road Ahead

Sports Docs — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:53:37 +0000

A couple of weeks ago POPSspot asked a few SportsDocs to provide their general plain-spoken reactions to the news of Jason Collins announcing he was gay. In all four reactions to Collins, the gay double-standard to gender was cited, and the fact that we still have a long way to go.

SportsDocs share a commitment [...]

Derrick Rose: What We Talk About When We Talk About Playing Hurt

James Haberl — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:19:29 +0000

One year ago, Derrick Rose tore his anterior cruciate ligament. Early in March, doctors medically cleared him to play and he began to practice with the Bulls. It became difficult to go anywhere in Chicago, where I live, without the subject coming up. Someone might turn to a stranger in a Bulls [...]

Infographic: Coach is Highest Paid Employee in 40 of 50 States

POPSspotted — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:41:41 +0000

Via Deadspin: ”The highest-paid employee in each state is usually the football coach at the largest state school. This is actually a gross mischaracterization: Sometimes it is the basketball coach. Based on data drawn from media reports and state salary databases, the ranks of the highest-paid active public employees include 27 football coaches, 13 [...]

NFL Vet Reggie Williams Fights for Leg and Health Insurance

POPSspotted — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:46:46 +0000

Via WashPost: “After 24 knee operations, the National Football League’s former Man of the Year leans heavily on a crutch. When Reggie Williams pulls up his pants leg, what’s underneath looks like the trimmings from a butcher shop. His right leg is so ravaged that it’s three inches shorter than his left. Worse, [...]

Former NBA Player James Donaldson Visits Schools in China Earthquake Area

POPSspotted — Thu, 09 May 2013 22:07:37 +0000

Press Release – Mianyang, China: Former NBA All Star, Humanitarian, entrepreneur and author, James Donaldson made a recent visit to several schools in the earthquake stricken areas in the Sichuan province of China. Donaldson, who spends a great deal of time in China working with The China Service Centre for Friendship and Cooperation with Foreign [...]

Jason Collins: Big Deal or No Big Deal?

Jeffrey Montez de Oca — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:36:24 +0000

Jason Collins’ coming out is no big deal. Lots of male athletes have “come out” during retirement and we all know there are lots of successful gay male athletes who are still “in the closet”. More than that, lots of successful female athletes have come out prior to retirement.

So then why are so many [...]

It’s Bigger Than Jason Collins

David J. Leonard — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:15:45 +0000

One of the time honored recent traditions within NBA media culture is the television shot of a players’ partner nervously watching “her man” on the court. Often deployed during the playoffs, this gaze adds to both the humanity and importance of the game. With Kobe Bryant, especially in the aftermath of Colorado, his kissing of [...]

Why Jason Collins Faith is Ignored… And Tebow’s Isn’t

POPSspotted — Fri, 03 May 2013 12:24:47 +0000

T.F. Charlton at RD Magazine: On Monday, the New York Jets released quarterback Tim Tebow from their roster after only a year on a team. In ironic timing, news almost immediately followed that Jason Collins, a veteran center in the NBA, had become the ﬁrst active male athlete in a major American team [...]

Jason Collins Can Be Fired in 29 States For ANY Job — What We Can Do Right Now

POPSspotted — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:37:25 +0000

From SEIU.org:

“This is simply outrageous: In the United States in 2013, it’s still legal for an employer to fire someone for being gay in 29 states.

Last week, a bipartisan group in Congress took steps to change this. They introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, or ENDA, which would make it illegal for [...]