David Denson Becomes First Openly Gay Player On MLB-Affiliated Team

MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee Brewers minor leaguer David Denson has become the first openly gay player on a team affiliated with Major League Baseball.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said Denson, with the help of former major leaguer Billy Bean, reached out to the newspaper to tell his story.

The 20-year-old first baseman plays for the Helena Brewers in the rookie Pioneer League. Bean, Major League Baseball’s first Ambassador for Inclusion, revealed he is gay after his playing career.

“Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them,” Denson told the newspaper. “They said, “You’re still our teammate. You’re still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You’re still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don’t treat you any different. We’ve got your back.’

“That was a giant relief for me. I never wanted to feel like I was forcing it on them. It just happened. The outcome was amazing. It was nice to know my teammates see me for who I am, not my sexuality.”

In June, pitcher Sean Conroy of the Sonoma Stompers of the independent Pacific Association, revealed he is gay. The Pacific Association is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.

Denson was selected by the Brewers in the 15th round in 2013 after playing for South Hills High School in West Covina, California. He spent last season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in the Class A Midwest League, hitting .243 with four homers and 29 RBIs in 68 games. He started this season with Wisconsin, hitting .195 with one homer and eight RBIs in 24 games before being sent to Helena. In 42 games with the Montana team, he’s hitting .245 with four homers and 18 RBIs.

On Saturday night in a doubleheader at Idaho Falls, Denson was 1 for 3 in a 6-1, seven-inning loss and 0 for 5 with an RBI in an 8-7 loss in nine innings.

“It’s a lot to take in right now,” Denson told the Idaho Falls Post-Register. “I’m a ball player first. That’s what I’m focusing on.

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Civil rights icon and LGBTI ally Julian Bond dies at 75

Julian Bond, a stalwart defender of civil rights, died today (15 August) at the age of 75.

‘With Julian’s passing, the country has lost one of its most passionate and eloquent voices for the cause of justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center said in a statement. ‘He advocated not just for African Americans, but for every group, indeed every person subject to oppression and discrimination, because he recognized the common humanity in us all.’

Bond was a co-founder of the SPLC, serving as its president from 1971 to 1979. He also was a board member of the activist organization.

In the 1960s, when a student at Morehouse college, Bond helped form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Known as SNCC, the group was an important arm of the US civil rights movement.

In 1965, he was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives. However, he was refused his seat because of his stance against the Vietnam War. The case made it to the US Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor. He served the house from 1967 to 1975. He also sat in the Georgia Senate, from 1975 to 1986.

He was the former chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

‘The grateful citizen heirs of the civil and human rights legacy of Julian Bond can neither be counted nor confined to a generation,’ NAACP Chairman Roslyn M. Brock said in a statement. ‘Many of the most characteristically American freedoms enjoyed by so many Americans today were made real because of the lifelong sacrifice and service of Julian Bond.’

Bond never shied away from making the connection between the struggle in the 1960s to the fight for gay equality.

‘We ought to be happy that many people, including gays and lesbians…have imitated the black movement for human rights,’ Bond said in a 2012 March interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. ‘When others imitate what we did to gain their rights we ought to be first in line to say “can I help you.”‘

Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin said the following:

‘Quite simply, this nation and this world are far better because of his life and commitment to equality for all people,’

Bond is survived by his second wife and five children.

Below is a clip of the CNN interview:

The post Civil rights icon and LGBTI ally Julian Bond dies at 75 appeared first on Gay Star News.

James Withers

www.gaystarnews.com/article/civil-rights-icon-and-lgbti-ally-julian-bond-dies-at-75/

Florida AG Pam Bondi’s Tooth and Nail Fight Against Gay Marriage Isn’t Over Just Yet

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, who was labeled a “modern-day Anita Bryant” and named “Loser of 2014″ by the Tampa Bay Times for her unsuccessful crusade against marriage equality, is back in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Last week, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi objected to a motion concerning legal fees from lawyers who represented gay couples seeking to have their marriages recognized in Florida. In response, she wrote that because Florida voluntarily dismissed its appeal after the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the right to same-sex marriage nationwide, the state should not have to cover the cost of the lengthy appeals process it initiated.

Attorneys who worked to defeat the marriage ban said they have not come up with the exact amount they are owed.

However, one suggested that it could be in the realm of $500,000.

“It’s ludicrous,” said Elizabeth White, a Jacksonville civil rights attorney who helped bring one of the cases that challenged the state’s gay marriage ban. “Quite frankly, the state vigorously litigated this. Now they’re saying, ‘We lost, but we don’t want to pay.’ “

Previously, Florida AG Pam Bondi Extends Insincere Olive Branch to the Gay Couples She Fought So Hard Against

Added ACLU of Florida attorney Stephen Rosenthal, who represented the same-sex couples in the case:

“It really is the height of hypocrisy to argue we shouldn’t be entitled to fees when they put us through this…They knew full well that if they lost, that they and, frankly taxpayers, would be on the hook for paying for their unwise legal defense of an unconstitutional law,”

The post Florida AG Pam Bondi’s Tooth and Nail Fight Against Gay Marriage Isn’t Over Just Yet appeared first on Towleroad.

Kyler Geoffroy

Florida AG Pam Bondi’s Tooth and Nail Fight Against Gay Marriage Isn’t Over Just Yet

Can This Man Tell The Difference Between A Kiss From A Woman And A Kiss From A Man?

Can a straight man tell the difference between a kiss from a woman and a man?

Popular YouTube vlogger Davey Wavey investigated by blindfolding a straight male friend of his and putting him to the test.

Wavey led the volunteer to believe that a woman would also be part of the experiment and he would be challenged to determine which kiss came from the woman and which came from Wavey.

However, Wavey had a few tricks up his sleeve: there actually was no woman present — all three kisses came from the muscly blogger himself.

So how did the straight guy react? Check out the video above to see for yourself. 

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

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HRC Mourns the Loss of Civil Rights Leader Julian Bond

Today, HRC mourns the loss of civil rights leader Julian Bond.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/hrc-mourns-the-loss-of-civil-rights-leader-julian-bond1?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

I Survived Amsterdam’s Queerest, Craziest Summer Festival

It was raining when I got to the entrance of the Milkshake Festival in Amsterdam. I’d only arrived to the city a few hours earlier, on an early morning flight. As I was checking into my hotel the weather seemed perfectly fine, which is why when I left the hotel just before noon, I walked out in short shorts and a tank top. Only to find the sunny weather I was anticipating had turned to a sudden downpour. But as I walked up to the festival entrance (thankfully: under a poncho handed to me by a drag queen on the sidewalk outside Westerpark), I didn’t care.

But the rain eventually disappeared and the sun came out — as well as all the crazy characters you’d expect from Amsterdam’s most queer & crazy summer festival. This was the fourth annual Milkshake Festival and with thousands of guests, the crowd was far from typical. Most people had costumes or colorful outfits (or lack of outfits) but there was a definite “come as you are” vibe. The festival ran from just after noon until 11pm with acts performing nonstop on the nine different stages. Backup dancers kept the grooves going throughout the day and “secret” stages were home to chill-out spaces with face-painters, hula-hoopers, bubbles and other random activities.

Scroll down for a few more photos from the fest.

A longer version of this article was previously published on Travels of Adam. Read the full story and see even more photos here.

Follow Groffman on Twitter @travelsofadam.

Jeremy Kinser

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David Denson Is First Openly Gay Player On Major League Baseball-Affiliated Team

It’s often said that what keeps so many athletes in the closet is their fear of how teammates would react, especially in the locker room.

But for David Denson, it was a locker room slur that prompted him to finally reveal his sexual orientation to his teammates.

Denson, 20, became the first player to come out publicly as gay while on a team affiliated with Major League Baseball, after telling his story to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel in an article published online Saturday.

A first baseman and power hitter, Denson plays for the Helena (Montana) Brewers in the rookie Pioneer League, an affiliate of MLB’s Milwaukee Brewers. Earlier this year, a teammate jokingly called Denson a “faggot” in the locker room, without realizing he was actually gay. Here’s how Denson reacted:

“Be careful what you say. You never know,” Denson cautioned the player with a smile.

Before he knew it, Denson was making the emotional announcement he yearned to share, and the group around him expanded to the point that he soon was speaking to most of the team. Much to Denson’s relief, when the conversation ended he was greeted with outward support and understanding instead of condemnation.

“Talking with my teammates, they gave me the confidence I needed, coming out to them,” recalled Denson. “They said, ‘You’re still our teammate. You’re still our brother. We kind of had an idea, but your sexuality has nothing to do with your ability. You’re still a ballplayer at the end of the day. We don’t treat you any different. We’ve got your back.’

Denson came out to his family this spring — and he says it was more difficult to reveal his sexual orientation to his religiously conservative father than to his teammates. He also came out to his manager as a member of the class-A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Denson had been struggling on the field with the Timbler Rattlers, largely due to the stress of hiding his sexual orientation, so he was reassigned to the Pioneer League.

But even after coming out to his teammates in Helena, it wasn’t enough, so he contacted gay former player Billy Bean, who serves as the MLB’s ambassador for inclusion. Bean, who remained closeted during his career, advised Denson to contact the Journal-Sentinel:

“Any player who happens to be gay and is a professional and has kept that secret, they just want to be judged for their baseball or football or basketball ability. David would not be playing professional baseball if he wasn’t an excellent baseball player,” Bean said.

“The beauty of what could come from this is he can be an example that can help change that perception and change the stereotype that there would never be a gay person on a men’s professional sports team. That was something I struggled with.”

Denson, who attended South Hills High School in West Covina, California, was selected by the Brewers in the 15th round of the 2013 draft. He is of African-American and Hispanic descent.

Denson is batting .253 with four homers and 17 RBI in 41 games for Helena this year. Earlier this month, he was named MVP of the Pioneer League All-Star Game. Although Denson is not considered a top prospect in the Brewers organization, he does have tremendous power as a hitter, so it’s possible he could someday play in the Major Leagues.

Denson is the second professional baseball player to come out this year. The other is Sean Conroy, a pitcher for the Sonoma (California) Stompers, who are not affiliated with an MLB team.

The post David Denson Is First Openly Gay Player On Major League Baseball-Affiliated Team appeared first on Towleroad.

John Wright

David Denson Is First Openly Gay Player On Major League Baseball-Affiliated Team