Major League Baseball umpire comes out
Umpire Dale Scott, who has worked three World Series and 29 seasons, has come out as gay, making him the first out official in any of the “big four” North American professional leagues. Scott took the first step in coming out when he was profiled in Referee magazine and provided a picture of himself with his husband and partner of 28 years. “I am extremely grateful that Major League Baseball has always judged me on my work and nothing else and that’s the way it should be,” he said.
Mother corrects trans teen’s birth announcement
In an adorable show of support, an Australian mother has corrected her son’s birth announcement in a local newspaper after he came out as trans: “In 1995 we announced the arrival of our sprogget Elizabeth Anne as a daughter. He informs us that we were mistaken. Oops! Our bad. We would like to present our wonderful son — Kai Bogert. Loving you is the easiest thing in the world. Tidy your room.”
More than 100 gay athletes came out this year
OutSports’ Cyd Zeigler says 2014 should be the year of the gay athlete. He points to the record-breaking number of gay athletes who have come out this year, including football’s Michael Sam, who rocked the football world by kissing his boyfriend on TV after being drafted. In total, more than 100 athletes have come out this year, Zeigler says, urging Sports Illustrated to put “the gay athlete” on its cover.
Museveni: No condoms, just padlock your privates
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said in a speech Dec 1 that Ugandans should rely not on condoms or circumcision to prevent HIV, but abstinence. “We managed to bring down the rates of infection through prevention messages until other people brought in condom use and circumcision. People became complacent,” he said. Instead of trusting condoms, young people should “put padlocks on your privates,” he added. Seven percent of Ugandans are infected with HIV.
Read more at The Africa Report.
The other Missouri shooting
As protesters demonstrate against the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, another shooting demonstrates the complexities of violence against black people in Missouri. Dionte Greene, a gay black man, was shot in his car after meeting with a “trade,” a publicly straight man considering gay sex. Police won’t call Greene’s murder a hate crime because his killer was also likely gay.
Half of queer Jamaican women threatened with sexual violence
According to a study by a Jamaican human rights group, nearly half of bisexual and gay Jamaican women have suffered or been threatened with sexual violence. Often, it comes in the form of “corrective rape,” under the belief that the right kind of heterosexual sex will turn a gay woman straight. Women seldom report the attacks because they often want to keep their orientation a secret.
Photo Credits: mlb.com, Sports Illustrated
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