openly gay

14 Stories

NFL Veteran: I'm Bisexual, Tired of Hiding It

'I just want to play ball for a team that knows me off the field and values me on it'

(Newser) - Free agent defensive end Ryan Russell says he wants to live his dream of playing in NFL again and to live his life openly—and "those two objectives shouldn't be in conflict." The 27-year-old, who was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2015 and played in 23...

MLB Gets 1st Active Openly Gay Player

David Denson says hiding his sexuality was becoming 'depression level'

(Newser) - A player on a Milwaukee Brewers farm team has become the first active player in Major League Baseball to come out as gay, and as the Journal-Sentinel tells it, David Denson sort of did it accidentally—in response to being called a gay slur by a Helena Brewers teammate who...

Ireland Gets Its 1st Openly Gay Govt. Minister

Health minister Leo Varadkar comes out ahead of gay-rights initiatives

(Newser) - A senior Cabinet minister in Ireland has announced he's gay, becoming the first openly homosexual government figure in the history of the traditionally conservative Catholic country. Today's announcement on state radio by Health Minister Leo Varadkar received widespread praise for its straightforward honesty. Varadkar said he decided to...

US' 1st Openly Gay Bishop: I'm Getting a Divorce

Gene Robinson, husband were together for more than 25 years

(Newser) - Gene Robinson became the nation's first openly gay bishop in 2003, formed a civil union with his longtime partner, Mark Andrew, five years later, and eventually married him after New Hampshire legalized gay marriage. Now, he writes today in the Daily Beast , that marriage is ending after the couple'...

Here Is the 1st Openly Gay NCAA Division I Player

Derrick Gordon comes out in interview with ESPN

(Newser) - Less than two months after the NBA got its first openly gay active player , NCAA Division I men's college basketball now has its first openly gay player. Derrick Gordon, a sophomore starter for the University of Massachusetts, came out to his family, coaches, and teammates earlier this month, and...

Man Charged in Death of Gay Mayoral Candidate

Politics likely not a factor in Marco McMillian's death, coroner says

(Newser) - Mississippi police have charged a 22-year-old man with killing openly gay Clarksdale mayoral candidate Marco McMillian, whose body was found by the Mississippi River on Wednesday. Police revealed that the suspect, Lawrence Reed, had been driving McMillian's SUV when it collided head-on with another car Tuesday morning. Reed and...

Army Promotes 1st Openly Gay General

27-year veteran Tammy Smith served in Afghanistan, Costa Rica

(Newser) - Less than a year after the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the Army has promoted Tammy Smith to the rank of brigadier general, making her the first openly gay general in the US military, reports the Los Angeles Times . Smith stood with her commanding officer...

Ireland's First Gay Presidential Candidate Drops Out


 Ireland's First  
 Gay Presidential 
 Candidate 
 Drops Out 
EX-PARTNER'S RAPE SCANDAL
Aug 3, 2011 5:45 AM CDT

Ireland's First Gay Presidential Candidate Drops Out

David Norris was leading polls before scandal ruined candidacy

(Newser) - The leading candidate in Ireland's presidential race—the openly gay David Norris—is stepping down, after it was revealed he wrote a letter asking for clemency for his former partner who was on trial for the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy, reports the Guardian . The 67-year-old Norris would...

First Openly Gay Man Quietly Confirmed as US Judge

J. Paul Oetken makes history, with little fanfare

(Newser) - The US got its first openly gay male federal judge last night. J. Paul Oetken, a former lawyer for the Clinton administration, was confirmed by the Senate on an 80-13 vote and could take his Manhattan seat this week, the New York Times reports. "The old barriers that existed...

1st Openly Gay Bishop to Retire
 1st Openly Gay Bishop to Retire 
Nov 7, 2010 11:12 AM CST

1st Openly Gay Bishop to Retire

Eugene Robinson says the experience has taken its toll

(Newser) - Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopalian whose election to bishop reverberated through the religious world, will take early retirement in 2013, reports the Boston Globe. "The last seven years have taken their toll on me, my family, and you,” Robinson told an annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese...

Will & Grace Sidekick Comes Out
 Will & Grace 
 Sidekick 
 Comes Out 
'i was never in'
Mar 8, 2010 3:05 PM CST

Will & Grace Sidekick Comes Out

'What more do you want me to do?' asks Sean Hayes

(Newser) - Breaking news from, oh, 1998 or so: Sean Hayes is gay. After years of what many considered equivocating, the actor who gained fame as the flamboyant sidekick Jack on Will & Grace tells the Advocate , "I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never."...

Gay Soldiers Say Army's Tolerance Has Grown

Pockets of acceptance spring up in closeted military

(Newser) - Gay soldiers say the military has grown more tolerant in recent years, with younger, more liberal commanders loath to lose skilled troops to a ban they see as outdated. Underground gay communities have sprung up on bases both at home and in the war zone, with email groups keeping gay...

Houston Elects Openly Gay Mayor

Becomes biggest US city with homosexual at the helm

(Newser) - Houston became the largest US city to elect an openly gay mayor, with voters handing a solid victory to City Controller Annise Parker after a hotly contested runoff. Parker defeated former city attorney Gene Locke with 53.6% of the vote yesterday in a race that had a turnout of...

Hollywood Has Its First Gay Studio Chief

Ross' role at Disney is a milestone, but the industry just shrugs

(Newser) - You wouldn’t know it from the press—well, most of the press—but Hollywood has just passed a milestone and minted its first openly gay studio chief. Rich Ross has taken over at Disney, which "has long been the most gay friendly studio in Hollywood,” writes Patrick...

14 Stories