Gaydar still working: One more for our team

Outsports: U.S. star women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe, who will be on the Olympic team, answered “we’re out there” when asked when a high-profile player would come out. It was a rather novel way to answer the question. Here is the appropriate part from a video interview with Rapinoe on KickTV (video below):

Q: Do you think we’ll see a high-profile soccer player coming out?

Rapinoe: Hopefully, hopefully, I think that obviously we’re out there. It’s weird. [On the women's side], it’s accepted with the teams and within the sport but it seems as if sports is that last institution of homophobia. In all other professions, there’s plenty of out professional around but for some reason sport isn’t that way. … It’s sad there’s that there’s still thick homophobia in sports.

Rather bizarrely, the interviewer never follows up on what would be a nice scoop for him. He simply ends the segment. AfterEllen quickly added Rapinoe to its list of its 12 favorite out athletes from the last 40 years, saying:

While many speculated (and hoped) that Rapinoe was gay, she did not address her sexuality before this week when she stated “we’re out there” when speaking about gay athletes. Hopefully we’ll be able to watch her excel on the field and continue to be a voice for gay rights off of it.

“We’re out there” is pretty definitive and I echo what AfterEllen said. Quick web searches find Rapinoe linked to fellow player Abby Wambach (Zimbio even has 14 photos of Rapinoe and Wambach together, definitely making a link), so people clearly have been speculating.

It was also enough for one YouTube commenter, who joked: “it sucks that’s she is lesbian. there goes any mathematical chance i might have had.”

Gutter Queen

Outsports: Las Vegas will soon have (what is sure to be) the world’s first drag-queen bowling alley, Drink & Drag, near the old Strip. What makes it a drag queen bowling alley? The staff, the hairspray and the attitude, dear. From the press release:

Drink & Drag is expected to become a major draw for Downtown Las Vegas and will be opening on the second level of the Neonopolis (450 Fremont St., Ste 250), a 250000-square-foot entertainment complex and shopping center. Located in the former Jillian’s space, Drink & Drag is neighbored by the much buzzed Heart Attack Grill and overlooks the neon courtyard. With over 24 full-time drag queens, Drink & Drag may very well be the largest employer of drag queens in the United States.

The drag queen unemployment rate in the country just went from 92% to 87%.

Dancing with the stars will be gay again…for more than one reason

Outsports: Out tennis legend Martina Navratilova will be one of the contestants on this season’s ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ ABC has announced. I’ve gotta believe she has a good shot, with her athletic prowess and her work ethic. Though I wonder if the anti-LGBT attacks faced by Chaz Bono will line up against Martina….

She will be one of two professional athletes this season, with Green Bay Packer wide receiver Donald Driver joining her. Gladys Knight, Sherri Shepherd, Melissa Gilbert and a bunch of other D-list “stars” round out the cast.

Does this fall in the ‘Brave’ or ‘Obsessive-Crazy’ category?

Outsports: Out distance swimmer Diana Nyad says she will again attempt to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys this summer. It will be her fourth attempt. She first tried what she calls the “Xtreme Dream” in 1978 at the age of 29, but she was thwarted by bad weather. Last summer she attempted the swim twice, but she was beaten back by an injury, asthma and jellyfish stings.

Now she says she understands the entire problem has been the jellyfish all along (she talks about it in a video after the jump), and she’s figuring out, with the help of various companies, how to protect herself from those.

While these swims are starting to feel a little bit like the boy who cried wolf, we have to praise Nyad for not letting go of her dream. Too often people accept rejection and setbacks on the first try. Nyad won’t be stopped, which is a testament to her character.

We’ll again follow her in this crusade and hope she finally completes her dream of 34 years.

Just speculation…

Queerty: Is Cincinnati Bengal Cedric Benson Serving Time For Beating His Boyfriend?

This last July, Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson faced charges of “assault causing bodily injury to a family member” for beating his “longtime roommate” Charles Clavens. One report says that Clavens and Benson clashed at 5am during a talk “about their problems,” though Benson’s lawyer accused Clavens of blackmailing Benson (though with what nobody knows).

Benson has agreed to pay Clemons an undisclosed amount and complete 30 hours of community service to get the assault charges dismissed.