“Training Rules” Screening in Seattle
October 22, 2009
Jennifer Harris on the court
On Saturday, October 24th, GLAAD and the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival brought to you by Three Dollar Bill Cinema are sponsoring a special screening of the film “Training Rules.” The film looks at how anti-LGBT attitudes and actions within women’s collegiate sports destroy the lives and dreams of many gifted athletes.
“Training Rules” chronicles women’s basketball coach, Rene Portland and her 27-year tenure at Pennsylvania State University, as well as several players who suffered under her deeply homophobic reign.
During her time as head coach, Portland had three rules: no drinking, no drugs, and no lesbians. Players were routinely threatened, and sometimes stripped of their college scholarships if they identified as lesbian, were suspected of being a lesbian, or even spoke to a lesbian.
In 2003, Jennifer Harris graduated from high school with the distinction of being the most decorated basketball player in her school’s history. More than 250 universities recruited her. Following her graduation, she accepted an athletic scholarship from PSU and became a Lady Lion. In March 2005, Harris was suddenly kicked off her beloved basketball team on suspicion she was a lesbian.
The following year, after dealing with bouts of depression and thoughts of suicide, Harris teamed up with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and filed charges against PSU and Coach Portland for discrimination based on sexual orientation, racism and gender stereotyping. Soon, six other talented female athletes stepped forward to validate Harris’ discrimination claim. The film ties together the lives of each of these women through the heart-breaking tale of how Portland and her homophobia destroyed their dreams of playing basketball.
The lawsuit lasted nearly two years and was eventually settled; Portland resigned from her position as Head Coach. Despite losing her chance to play in the WNBA, Harris is given the chance to inspire and motivate other colleges and athletes to stand up against discrimination and homophobia.
Immediately following the film, there will be a GLAAD-sponsored panel aimed at discussing homophobia in sports. Moderated by CR Douglas, panelists include film director Dee Morbacher, Karen Bryant, CEO of the Seattle Storm, and GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios. Come listen and chat about how homophobia impacts athletes, sports and the spirit of competition.
Additionally, Jarrett Barrios will speak about how GLAAD has been helping with the fight to pass Referendum 71 to ensure the rights of same-sex couples stay intact in Washington State.
Related Posts:Openly Gay Basketball Player Recruited by the ABA
December 1, 2008
![Mike Survillion [Photo from RockDogsBasketball.com]](http://www.rockdogsbasketball.com/images/comprofiler/plug_profilegallery/76/tnpg_1009332989.jpg)
Mike Survillion - Photo from RockDogsBasketball.com
“We had 32 players and have cut down to about 17,” Dee Minor, Rumble vice president of team operations, told the Bay Area Reporter. “Mike is one of the 17. At this point, no one has signed a contract. That wouldn’t happen until after Thanksgiving.”
Minor says sexual orientation is not a factor when choosing players.
“In basketball, it’s about athletics. We’re looking for the best semipro men’s basketball team we can put on,” Minor said.
According to Outsports, this makes Survillion the second openly gay male professional basketball player in the United States. Survillion’s Rock Dogs teammate, DeMarco Majors, played with the ABA’s Hawaii team for a period of time. Perhaps the most famous gay professional basketball player, John Amaechi, did not publicly come out until after he left the NBA.
Mike has already shown up on our radars during our previous coverage of Shirts & Skins, in particular when he came out to his mother right before the Chicago championships and when he hit up Amaechi for advice on a professional career. It’s so great to see him following his dreams. Hopefully we’ll hear more about him in the future!
Rock Dogs: New Meets Old
October 24, 2008
With one week left until the Chicago basketball championships, tensions were high in the Rockdogs training house on Logo’s reality show Shirts and Skins.
The team was given an assignment. Each player was instructed to write down on a chalkboard what he thought his role on the team was. Jamel, ever the trouble maker, said that roles were determined by the coach and wrote a question mark next to his name.
Some of his teammates (especially Simon) were incredulous that a starter didn’t know what kind of role he had on the team.
Luckily, John Amaechi, as he did in episode 2, diffused a volatile moment. John walked into the house in the middle of Gus and Jamel’s screaming match. John asked if what they were doing was a step towards what they hoped to achieve at the basketball tournament.
That’s all it took for the guys to realize that fighting will not help them win. If the Rock Dogs win the tournament (to be shown next week) they should, at the very least, send John a gift basket or something.
After John calmed down the guys and Gus and Simon made up, the team scrimmaged against past members of the team. The alums, lovingly known as the Old Dogs, didn’t stand a chance against the younger dogs but everyone had a great time. It was great to see the current Rockdogs side-by-side with a few original members, some of whom have been around since the team’s inception in 1987.
Watching the current Rockdogs and the Old Dogs interact, it’s easy to see they are a family. Jay’s dinnertime speech highlighted this. The former (and older) players were father figures to him and clearly had an affect on his life. It’s a great illustration of why sports and athletics are so important for the LGBT community – A sports team often becomes the family for a player, and some of the bonds are stronger than those of blood relatives.
So much has changed for the LGBT community in the past two decades (when the Rockdogs were founded), but I can’t help thinking how much further we have to go. Besides Amaechi, there has never been an openly gay male professional basketball player. And there has never been an active male player who was publicly out.
But who knows? We’ve seen plenty of talented guys on the team and even a few like Mike hoping to break into the professional world. Maybe sometime soon, we’ll flip on TNT on Thursday night to see a former Rockdog shooting a 3-pointer.
Tune in next week for the season finale as the Rockdogs finally make it to Chicago.
John Amaechi Drops In on Shirts & Skins
September 30, 2008
In episode one of Logo’s new reality show Shirts & Skins , we were introduced to the Rockdogs, an all-star gay basketball team with aspirations of winning the National Gay Basketball Championship in Chicago.
Last week, openly gay former NBA player John Amaechi stopped by to offer some guidance both on and off the court. Amaechi watched the team play, suggested a few technical tips and then visited the guys at their house.
“I don’t think you guys realize how powerful and influential you can be,” Amaechi told the Rockdogs, explaining their potential to serve as role models to young gay athletes. While he gave the players insight into thinking of themselves as role models, he also encouraged the athletes to stay true to themselves.
I love the fact Amaechi reinforced the idea these athletes don’t have to live by any stereotype. He told them to be authentic – themselves – whoever that may be.
John Amaechi
For readers who may not know, Amaechi is also an experienced motivational speaker. His skills were used to great effect during his visit with the team.
In episode one, you couldn’t miss the controversy that stirred when Jamel inaccurately claimed that being gay was “a choice.” It caused a major rift (and some shouting matches) among his teammates that then carried into episode two.
Amaechi worked to resolve the conflict by creating a safe space for the players. He started by passing a basketball around and allowing only the person with the ball to express how they felt about Jamel’s comment.
What started out as verbal attacks aimed at Jamel ended up as a healthy conversation. Rather than giving into bickering and frustration, the players had an honest, heartfelt discussion. They let Jamel know both how his words affected them and also how much they cared about him.
Monday Night Basketball
September 17, 2008
Shirts & Skins, Logo’s new gay basketball docu-series, premiered Monday delivering plenty of talent, drama and heart.
Although the Real World-style of creating drama by throwing a bunch of young people into close quarters has been done before, it’s refreshing to see the members of the San Francisco Rockdogs depicted as talented basketball players who also happen to be gay.
The producers seem to try to give a full picture of the athletes – showing their interactions both on and off the court. The first episode highlights their game against a team of firefighters, who the Rockdogs easily crush by about 30 points. But you also get a chance to see the guys relate to their fellow teammates as they goof around and wind down after the game and welcome back a former player. You can tell they care a lot about the team and support each other.
One of the biggest problems with the show is the airtime. Cyd Zeigler of Outsports.com rightfully laments that the only sports show on Logo airs Monday nights at 10:00 pm, going up against Monday Night Football.
Be on the lookout for next week’s episode when openly gay former NBA player John Amaechi stops by to offer the Rockdogs some advice.
Shirts & Skins: A slam dunk?
September 15, 2008
Take a bunch of gay basketball players, put them in a house to train for two weeks and what do you get? A slightly different twist on Big Brother? Not exactly.
Logo aims to showcase the talent and complexities of gay athletes in their new docu-series called Shirts & Skins, premiering tonight at 10:00 pm.
During its six-episode run, Shirts & Skins follows the players, managers and coaches of the Rockdogs, a gay basketball team, as they prepare to defend their title at the National Gay Basketball Championship in Chicago. The team has a notable history, winning more Gay Games gold medals over the past 20 years than any other basketball team.
AfterElton has a review of the show by Cyd Zeigler, co-founder of Outsports.com, calling it “a testament to the diversity of gay people and what should be a source of real inspiration for young gay men who, more and more, don’t want to turn their backs on sports.”
Shirts and Skins. [Mon, Sept. 15 at 10 PM on Logo, 30 minute runtime.]
Countown to the Olympics!
August 6, 2008
The opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games will be broadcast on NBC Friday, August 8 starting at 7:30 p.m. ET. With 1,400 hours of television coverage broadcast on seven different networks (plus two channels dedicated to basketball and soccer) and 2,000 hours of online coverage, it’s impossible to watch everything.
So I have highlighted the most important parts – when the openly gay and lesbian athletes will be competing, so you can watch and cheer them on! Since China is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Time, you might have to set your alarm clock (or drink a lot of coffee to stay awake) to catch some of the events.
First up is handball. Gro Hammersengand Katja Nyberg (pictured) are teammates on the Norwegian team and they’re a couple as well! NBC’s Olympics Web site states that Hammerseng (she’s the team captain) has what it takes to lead her team to the Gold medal this year. First up will be a match against the hometown team from China. You can watch that match on August 9 at 7 a.m. ET online.
Judith Arndt is a German cyclist who took the Silver in the 2004 Games. As she crossed the finish line in Athens she made an obscene finger gesture in protest of her partner (cyclist Petra Rossner and an accomplished sprinter) not being named to the German cycling team. So who knows what’s in store for these Games. The women’s road race can be seen August 10 starting at 2 a.m. ET online.
Another German and openly lesbian is the epeé fencer Imke Duplitzer. She won a Silver medal in the 2004 Games in the team competition. Women’s epeé fencing begins August 13 at 1:30 a.m. ET online.
Finally, a man who has received a lot of American press is openly gay diverMatthew Mitcham (pictured) from Australia. He is a legitimate contender for the gold in both 3m springboard and 10m platform. NBC will broadcast the 3m preliminaries on August 18 at 11:30 a.m. ET. The 10m platform will first show up on NBC on August 22 at 8 p.m. ET.
I’ll continue to follow the progress of these out Olympians and any other noteworthy stories over the course of the event and post them on cineQueer.
