May 31

With a side of denim:

Orlando Cruz

What with all the recent attention given active professional team sports athletes Jason Collins (basketball) and Robbie Rogers (soccer), professional boxer Orlando Cruz wants to remind everyone that he came out before either Rogers or Collins.

Puerto Rico’s featherweight boxer Cruz has won two fights since coming out last year. As an amateur, he represented Puerto Rico at the 2000 Olympic Games in Australia. Cruz made his professional debut that same year against Alfredo Valdez in Puerto Rico. Cruz was undefeated for nine years, until he lost to Cornelius Lock by a technical knockout in 2009. Cruz is currently ranked at No. 4 among featherweights by the World Boxing Organization (WBO).

On October 4, 2012, Cruz became the first WBO boxer to come out as gay while still active professionally, stating that "I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”

Cruz revealed in his statement that he was tired of hiding who he really was.

"I don't want to hide any of my identities," he said. "I want people to look at me for the human being that I am. I am a professional sportsman that always brings his best to the ring. I want for people to continue to see me for my boxing skills, my character, my sportsmanship. But I also want kids who suffer from bullying to know that you can be whoever you want to be in life, including a professional boxer, that anything is possible, and that who you are or whom you love should not be an impediment to achieving anything in life.”

Cruz said he met with psychologists and others before making the announcement, adding he had the full support of his family, trainer and manager. He praised his mother and sister for their unconditional love and said his father has always backed him. At the time Cruz came out, no active professional team sports player had yet come out as gay. Robbie Rogers and Jason Collins have since taken care of that deficiency.

Note: U.S. Virgin Islander Emile Griffith, who told The New York Times in 2005 that he struggled with his sexuality, admitted that he had sexual relations with both men and women. His comments, however, came decades after he ended his 18-year career as a pro boxer. Griffith is well-known for his 1962 fight against Cuban boxer Benny Paret, who taunted Griffith with gay slurs before their bout (during the weigh-in, Paret patted Griffith’s behind and called him a maricon – Spanish for “faggot”). Griffith knocked him out, and Paret died 10 days later. Griffith is also a former middleweight champion and a Hall of Famer.

May 30

With a side of legs:

Lawn boys (just because):

 

May 29

Jesse Tyler Ferguson

The Emmy-nominated star’s role on TV’s popular Modern Family has given him the opportunity to reshape public perception of same-sex relationships and their families. Ferguson plays Mitchell Pritchett, an uptight gay lawyer raising an adopted Asian-American baby with his excitable, over-the-top partner, Cameron.

At left: Ferguson with fiancé Justin Mikita.

In a recent Advocate magazine interview, he said, “I feel like there are a lot of people who still aren’t comfortable with gay characters on television, but what I admire about our show is that it has a plethora of characters for people to attach to, and slowly those people are becoming attached to Mitchell and Cam...It’s kind of like a Trojan horse. We sneak into a lot of people’s living rooms when they aren’t expecting it and maybe change some minds through the back door.

Mitchell is basically me, so when people tell me I’m stereotypical and cliché in that role, then Jesse Tyler Ferguson is stereotypical and cliché, because I’m basically doing no acting at all.”

Nonetheless, his performance as Mitchell has earned him three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Two weeks ago the series was picked up for a fifth season.

Ferguson has big plans for the summer. He and fiancé Justin Mikita, a lawyer, will be married in New York in July. They met in a gym, where Justin recognized Jesse and came over to say he enjoyed Jesse’s portrayal of Mitchell on the hit television show. They started dating several months later and became engaged eight months ago. At about the same time the couple launched Tie the Knot, which sells custom bow ties and donates all proceeds to various organizations fighting for marriage equality and LGBT civil rights in general.

Says Ferguson, “Justin came up with the idea. I’ve definitely become more of an advocate, philanthropist, and do-gooder because of him. He has really ignited the civil rights passion within me.”

The couple says they would have loved to have gotten married in California, which is where they reside, but, “unfortunately it’s not legal there right now. We’re spending a lot of money on the wedding, and that’s money California is not getting. But congratulations to New York!”

May 28

With a side of briefs:

Exciting job opportunity (just because):

Hot weather on its way (mid-Atlantic),
so let's have a look at a Finnish ice cream commercial (just because): 

May 27

Monday Holiday: Aussie Rowers

At the request of blog reader Dan, an entire post of sexy Aussie rowers and their revealing tan lines:

Update on MLS player Robbie Rogers:

Soccer midfielder Robbie Rogers made his LA Galaxy debut last night (Sunday) against the Seattle Sounders. He entered the game to a rousing ovation in the 77th minute, becoming the first openly gay male athlete to play in an American professional team sport. Galaxy chalked up a 4-0 rout over the Sounders. The 26-year-old Huntington Beach, CA, native had five touches, one tackle and three completed passes in the final 13 minutes.

Said teammate Robbie Keane, "It was great to see Robbie [Rogers] get that kind of reception from the fans, and now he can concentrate on being a Galaxy player."

Although the ink was barely dry on his contract (Rogers had signed a scant 24 hours before yesterday’s game), Robbie (jersey #14) had been practicing with the team for several weeks. The times, they are a-changin'.


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