There has been a lot of scuttle going on in the national gay media markets, ranging from the two University of Nebraska champion wrestlers Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan, who were uncovered as performers on a gay adult website posing and masturbating for some easy cash (typically 2-500 dollars per scene) over the summer, by being outed on a blog dedicated to the raunchier side of campus life.
Paul (stage name: Nash) (nsfw) and Kenny (sn: Cal) (sources: Queer Click and Fleshbot) were both suspended and then dropped from the team around seventy two hours later after the controversial outing on the campus blog, The Scarlet Project, as they were made ineligible due to an NCAA rule involving commercial print work...
The scandal doesn't stop there though, according to the Associated Press, Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne (pictured @ right w/Donahoe and other teammates) says the two dismissed last week after appearing on a pornographic Web site had run afoul of NCAA rules on a previous occasion. Osborne said Friday "the athletic department had declared Paul Donahoe and Kenny Jordan ineligible once before for violating the extra-benefits rule. Osborne says the athletic department had to appeal to the NCAA to have the pair reinstated. Each was suspended one match."
The two had both indicated that they were hoping to continue with their college wrestling careers. At this point they'd have to apply to the NCAA at a different school to do so (Andy @ Towle's Road).", said John Marsh, owner of Fratmen, who continued with, "If Nebraska is going to be pigheaded and kick him off unreasonably there has to be another wrestling program that's going to want him.", in regards to Donahoe. He further went on to say, "I'm in my mid-40s, and my generation has a stigma about porn. The kids, the generation of the student-athletes, don't have that stigma. They really don't care.... The shame and stigma aren't there for them. They're mostly worried about what their parents are going to think, because their parents think it's horrifying." (Queer Click)
365 Gay News Center has finally reported that Donahoe, who "won the Big 12 championship at 125 pounds in 2008 and placed third in the NCAA tournament after winning the title the year before", has transferred to Edinboro University in Pennsylvania. He will not be able to compete there until the second semester and also must be reinstated by the NCAA.
The Omaha Nebraska periodical World Herald reports that when asked "if he was concerned scrutiny will follow him to Edinboro", Paul Donahoe with tears filling his eyes said, "I'm just really thankful they have given me this opportunity to come here and finish my career,... So far everyone I've met has been great." Edinboro Athletic Director Bruce Baumgartner told the Times-News, "If we hadn't taken him, there is a line of schools, schools in the Big Ten, that would have taken that chance. I'm sure we'll get some (criticism). People make mistakes all the time, and I think he deserves a second chance."
There is also the story of 34 year old, openly gay, Florida Police Officer, Mickey Verdugo who was a recent Reality Television Home Repair and Design contestant who previously did a BDSM (Bondage & Discipline) film (XTUBE) for Tom "Ropes" McGurk's Production Company back in 1996 (12 years ago), under the stage name of Jeremy Wess. He was outed back in 2004 when the department responded to a domestic disturbance and it ended up being two of their own male officers who were living together. Unfortunately the scandal has now caused him to be placed on suspension/ administrative leave until an investigation can take place.
Lets of course not forget to mention James Zinkand from Big Brother 9 who had previous exposure on a adult soap opera Dirty Tricks, and the source of a shitload of hits and page views for F6 still, and provided fodder for a cross blog debated on graphic content that is acceptable for reporting or commenting on the news of the moment.
From this season of Big Brother, Jessie Godderz (You Tube), (pics to left) *can we say woof!, was revealed as a performer on a Muscle Fitness site, Nude Model, and former contestant on MTV's NEXT & EXPOSED dating shows. His removal from the Big Brother House was the third time he has been ejected from a reality television game show. He was dragged out of the closet by several friends who distributed his promotional portfolio which contained very suggestive pictures to certain blog editors and it went viral within the week.
So much for rejected stereotypes, a gay agenda, and a liberal bias in the media. On to other news before I publish this post on Gays In Sports and Athletics, the coverage of the OLYMPICS by our news networks are not immune from discrimination and seclusion either.
Even after recently being profiled in The Advocate, a twenty year old Australian gold medalist diver Matthew Mitcham, who came from behind (no pun intended) for a major upset in the 10 meter platform dive during the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, was ignored by the National Broadcast Company, and shoved back in the closet by FOX New's Sports Channel.
Openly gay diver wins gold
By Maggie Hendricks
Diver Matthew Mitcham, the only openly gay male athlete in the Beijing Olympics, won gold in the 10m platform. He beat Chinese favorite Zhou Luxin by 4.8 points, preventing China from sweeping gold in diving events. Mitcham is the first Aussie to win diving gold since 1924, but that's not the only thing that makes him a trailblazer.
He is hardly the first gay athlete to compete but he is one of the first to be out while competing. American diver Greg Louganis did not share his orientation until his diving career was over. To Mitcham, he is just living his life as a gay man and as a diver, and there is nothing extraordinary about that:
“Being gay and diving are completely separate parts of my life. Of course there’s going to be crossover because some people have issues, but everyone I dive with has been so supportive."
Though he wants to be known as more than a gay man, the LGBT community is proud of their star. At OutSports, a sports Web site that focuses on the gay community, his win is front-page news. The Web site brings up a good question -- will NBC mention Mitcham's orientation during tonight's broadcast?
To Mitcham, that doesn't seem to matter. He has gold, and has reached his goals:
"I’m happy with myself and where I am. I’m very happy with who I am and what I’ve done.
UPDATE: NBC did not mention Mitcham's orientation, nor did they show his family and partner who were in the stands. NBC has made athletes' significant others a part of the coverage in the past, choosing to spotlight track athlete Sanya Richards' fiancee, a love triangle between French and Italian swimmers and Kerri Walsh's wedding ring debacle.
(source: Yahoo! Sports Blog)
NBC first defended the oversight and has now apologized: “We regret that we missed the opportunity to tell Matthew Mitcham’s story. We apologize for this.” The President of NBC's Olympics Gary Zenkel apologized in recent statement calling the oversight an "unintentional omission"!
F6 EDITOR'S UPDATE:
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