The Gay Games are Coming to Cleveland this Summer

With the start of the Winter Olympics, this week I wanted to highlight another similar sporting event coming to Northeast Ohio this summer:  The Gay Games.  This is even more noteworthy because of the anti-LBGT laws and violence in Russia, the host of this year’s Winter Olympics.

First off—you don’t have to be gay to participate in the Gay Games.  The Games are open to all adults – regardless of sexual orientation or athletic ability. With more than 35 sports (from darts to triathlon, bowling to softball) and 2 cultural events (band and chorus), there’s something for everybody.  Games Week is about more than sport with spectacular ceremonies, Festival Village, parties and more.  The games will be held in Cleveland and Akron this summer from August 9-16.

The Gay Games were conceived in 1980 by Dr. Tom Waddell as a “vehicle of change.”  The idea of the Gay Games is to build an international legacy of changing cultural, social and political attitudes towards LGBT people across the globe, while at the same time empowering tens of thousands with the transforming benefits of sports competition.

In 1981, gay athletes were a hidden and marginalized community within the greater marginalized and beleaguered LGBT community. Being gay and being an athlete was an either-or proposition.

While things have changed and several athletes have opened up about their sexuality after retirement, one still does not see openly gay athletes currently participate in Major League Baseball, The National Basketball Association or The National Football League.  This is why it was such a big story in 2013 when Robbie Rogers of the LA Galaxy (formerly of the Columbus Crew) in Major League Soccer came out.  Thus, Dr. Waddell’s idea of the Gay Games as a vehicle of change is still relevant and needed today.

Want to find out more information about the Gay Games?  Visit the official website [here].