“To them, it was a sport,” said Suffolk County district attorney Tomas J. Spota, referencing hate crimes committed by a group of teens in Long Island earlier this month. The New York Times reports that one of the teens—a star athlete at his high school—has been accused of stabbing a 37-year-old Hispanic man to death.

Pretty twisted sport, if you ask me.

Earlier today, our awesome neighbor Jess brought freshly baked cinnamon buns to our house. Somehow, while chatting over cups of tea and warm cinnamon buns, we got into a discussion about white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. I know; it’s a pretty disturbing topic for a mid-afternoon tea break.

I was reminded of a series of hate crimes that took place in my home state of Maine. Several years ago, a large Somali in-migration entered Lewiston—a mid-sized town in Maine, which at that time was the whitest state in the nation. A bunch of town residents began freaking out, claiming that the Somalis were ruining the cultural integrity of the community, putting stress on social programs, stealing jobs, all of the usual stupid arguments that white people make to avoid looking into their own racist belief systems. The town mayor wrote a letter to one of the leaders in the local Somali community, kindly asking them to stop moving to Lewiston. (Is it actually possible to “kindly ask” an entire racial group to go elsewhere? That doesn’t seem like a very kind request.)

Anyway, white supremacists and neo-Nazis all around the country got wind of the local struggle going down in Lewiston, and decided to travel to Maine to help push the Somalis out. Then the rest of Maine and New England heard about the neo-Nazi rally going down in Lewiston, and decided to organize a pro-diversity rally on the same day.

What ended up happening was really quite beautiful. The pro-diversity crew outnumbered the neo-Nazis by a long shot. Hundreds of people from near and far came together to welcome and celebrate the Somali community in our state. The neo-Nazi gathering looked pretty pathetic in comparison. They made a really amazing documentary about the struggle, called The Letter.

[Below: The official trailer to The Letter.]

Hate is not a sport. If team sports have taught us anything, it’s that we rely upon community, understanding, trust, and a basic respect for our teammates in order to win. I wish that teenage star athlete from New York could have learned this before he adopted violence as a “sport”. I’ve heard arguments that diversity in both college and pro sports has helped to alleviate some racial tension in this country; these days, we consistently see Black, Latino, White, Asian, and others with diverse racial identities playing side by side on the field. But we still have a long way to go in the struggle to create safe, hate-free spaces.

Today when I left my house it was under freezing, the first truly wintry day in recent memory.  It took me an extra twenty minutes or so to pick out my clothes before leaving the house because I wanted to make sure I'd be comfortable all day.  It paid off, and all day I've been listening to people around me complain that they're uncomfortably cold.  The way I figure it, if people have been able to survive in Russia and Alaska for the past thousand years, there's no excuse to get flustered by slightly sub-freezing conditions.  You just need to be prepared.

I'm here in the great state of California - you know, the one that managed to uphold Proposition 8, which bans the rights of same-sex couple to marry.  (And NO it wasn't African-Americans' fault that the legislation didn't pass - unfortunatley, the Prop 8 organizers took for granted some communities and failed to strategize their campaign effectively to combat the pro-Proposition 8 crowd).

In any event, I recently found out that Washington D.C. is in the running to host the 2014 Gay Games.  According to The Hoya, the purpose of Gay Games is to promote and empower gay athletes - and other talents, like musicians/artists.  Kelly Stevens, the Officer of Communications for the Federation of Gay Games said this:

"I would describe the Gay Games as a celebration of human rights through sport and culture."

I found this video on YouTube that serves as a preview for the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne.

Of course I couldn't avoid reading the comments posted below the video.  It was interesting to read what people thought about the video and about the idea of having a Gay Games.  While most agreed that the presentation of the video was cool, some chimmed in stating that it isn't necessary for a Gay Games to even exist.  Take for instance these exchanges:

"This is so amazingly [expletive] stupid. What would sexual orientation have to do with athletic ability? Why don't they just compete in the regular olympics?"

One commenter responded: "The best do. And win medals, too."  Good one!  Also note how this commenter used the word "regular" to describe the Olympics, as if the Gay Games would be irregular?  In what way, I wonder.  And what constitutes something that's regular, or what I interpret this commenter to mean, as 'normal'?  Interesting use of the English language, I'd say.

And this comment:

"I am gay but i can still play sports and not get a [expletive]. you think because your Gay you cant play sports with other."

[Note: Many thanks to YouTube users for all the great expletives - and making my job as a blogger that much more tedious!]

Now of course we have to take these comments with a grain of salt - especially considering we have no idea who these people are behind their computer screens (for all we know these comments could be manipulated just to make a point).

But what about the argument that questions the idea of having a separate games for Gay athletes  - as if to send a message that gay athletes can only feel a certain kind of empowerment when participating in a gay friendly environment.

I covered the Beijing Summer Olympics quite extensively on PlayCity and in doing so I learned about openly gay Olympians.  I also covered stories about gay athletes who struggle in various realms of organized sports.  Bottom line: it ain't easy.

I'm not sure what the answer is (or if there necessarily has to be a definitive answer).  One could also bring into the debate the idea of historically black colleges (HBCs) - but again, we'd probably run the risk of replicating the same argument currently going on in the news concerning the Civil Rights movement for African-Americans and gay rights.

The saga continues . . .

What do you think?? 

CARE - a non profit organization whose mission is to mission is "to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility" - has partnered up with Nike to help promote women's sports in Rwanda.

The idea is to encourage sport in play in a country largely impacted by poverty.  Women of Rwanda can become empowered and build necessary communication skils through sport.  Other partners in this effort include Women Win, and CARE ambassador Sheila Johnson, the President of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)- and the FIRST ever African-American female to own a professional sports team.

I found a video on YouTube made by Rwanda women, some of whom are disabled, and who coach other Rwandan women in various sports.  Though this video is not directly related to the program sponsored by CARE and Nike, you'll find it just as inspiring to watch these women building strong coalitions through sport and play.

 

World middleweight boxing champion Laila Ali has more going for her than stellar athletic ability. As the youngest daughter of world-renowned boxing champ Muhammad Ali, she has some pretty big shoes to fill. But she proved her boxing worth right from the get-go when she knocked out her very first opponent without a hitch.

That was back in 99. Since then, Laila has kept rocking the ring and using her time in the spotlight to advocate for positive social change. Ali currently serves on the board of trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to “advance the lives of girls and women through sport and physical activity.” She works for better health and fitness through her partnerships with the American Diabetes Alliance and the Nation’s Food Bank Network, which helps to alleviate hunger for low-income children in the United States. She has participated in fundraisers for ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. She is an outspoken advocate of women and girls in sports, and also addresses the specific challenges faced by women of color and low-income women in sports. Rock on, Laila.

Watch this short video segment where Laila talks about how media representations affect young people, women, and people of color.