Lesbian.com : Connecting lesbians worldwide | WNBA

Wolfe Releasing lands ‘Sue Bird: In the Clutch’

shannon — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 16:50:59 +0000

“Sue Bird: In the Clutch,” a documentary about the WNBA superstar’s last season, lands with Wolfe Video for release on March 29.

Coming Out clip on Wolfe YouTube

The world’s largest distributor of LGBTQ+ films, Wolfe Releasing landed the North American distribution rights.

WHERE TO RENT OR BUY

Apple TV
Prime Video
Fandango at Home
WolfeOnDemand.com

Read the Variety article all about this groundbreaking athlete and this amazing documentary.

The post Wolfe Releasing lands ‘Sue Bird: In the Clutch’ first appeared on Lesbian.com.

Seattle Pride’s Sarah Toce gives Lesbian.com a sneak preview of this year’s debauchery

Natasia Langfelder — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 02:41:08 +0000

BY NATASIA LANGFELDER
Lesbian.com

Seattle Women’s Pride is back for a third gay-tastic year. Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 18, 2016. Taking place at the Q nightclub, queer ladies and bois can expect to dance, laugh and celebrate pride with members of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and comedian Dana Goldberg. Eastside Women’s Health, which is dedicated to providing all women with a safe space to receive quality healthcare, is co-presenting the event this year. NYC’s GO Magazine will also head west to celebrate.

Sarah Toce- you might know her from the popular online newspaper, The Seattle Lesbian– is the founder and producer of Seattle Women’s Pride.

Seattle Women’s Pride Founder, Sarah Toce (Photo: Steph Brusig)

How did Seattle Women’s Pride start?

It occurred to me that there were quite a few parties for men during the Seattle Pride season, but not really anything geared specifically toward women – other than dance parties. What about the rest of us? Being the founder/publisher of The Seattle Lesbian, Seattle’s only lesbian news source, I knew I had to step up to the plate.

I called on some friends – The Voice‘s Vicci Martinez, Washington State Supreme Court Justice Mary Yu, transgender activist Marsha Botzer, Seattle singer/songwriter Jack Mozie, and others – and the inaugural Seattle Women’s Pride sold out in less than a month from planning to execution. That’s when we knew there was a real thirst for this type of women’s Pride event in Seattle.

This will be The Seattle Lesbian’s third year producing Seattle Women’s Pride and it’s only getting better with each passing year. We’ve sold out each time and we have every reason to believe we’ll do it again this year.

How has the event evolved over the last few years?

We completely outgrew our initial location and, in the second year, chose to relocate to a 12,000 sq. ft. venue in order to accommodate all of our guests. Our talented lineup keeps expanding – Vicci Martinez, Julie Goldman and now, this year, Dana Goldberg – have all headlined our event. We’ve increased staff size and are working with Eastside Women’s Health Center this year to secure sponsorship opportunities with likeminded brands and companies. Seattle Women’s Pride is quickly becoming a staple in Seattle’s Pride Month tapestry.

What surprises do you have up your sleeve to make 2016 the best pride so far?

If I told you, they wouldn’t be surprises!

We have some wonderful sponsors this year whose aim is to make Seattle Women’s Pride 2016 the most memorable yet, so stay tuned!

The landscape of the queer community is constantly evolving. Generation Z is more likely to label as queer than any other generation, at the same time, lesbian bars and queer spaces have been closing. What role do you think Pride will play in queer people’s lives as queer becomes more mainstream?

Pride is a celebration of who we are as a people, as a community – but also serves as a moment to stop and reflect at how far we’ve come – and how far we have yet to go. Regardless of how we identify ourselves individually, Pride is about celebrating how much we have achieved – together.

Seattle Women’s Pride takes it a step further. We’re not only celebrating our LGBTQ+ community, we’re also celebrating who we are as women in that community. This is a great moment to point out that everyone is welcome to attend Seattle Women’s Pride (as long as you’re over 21).

What is your favorite Pride memory?

I had just come out and was living in New York City when then-Sen. Hillary Clinton was walking near Christopher Street – right in the middle of the New York City Pride Parade. I literally came out of Duane Reade and bumped into her Secret Service detail – and they allowed me to take a picture. Imagine that – completely by accident. Not sure what can top that one!

Tickets are available via Stranger Tickets at $30 General Admission and $45 VIP. The VIP Experience gets guests closer to the action with Priority Entrance, a Meet-and-Greet with Dana after the show, Swag Bags, and more. Visit seattlewomenspride or strangertickets.com/events/31940901/comedian-dana-goldberg-at-seattle-womens-pride for more information.

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WNBA finally asks lesbians to go steady

candy — Thu, 22 May 2014 15:30:05 +0000

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

If you’re a woman of a certain age, no doubt you’ve lived to tell this common tale. It’s a story of chasing after the “confused” girl who really seemed to love having you around — and even made out with you once or twice when no one was around — but who wouldn’t acknowledge you publicly when out with a group of friends.

Well, for those for whom the WNBA has been that “confused” girl, your tale of courtship (pun totally intended) just got its happy ending.

After 17 years of accepting our time, attention and consumer dollars while all the while peppering its television broadcasts with info-bites about its players’ husbands and children (“Hey, look everybody — our players are straight!”) and promoting the league as the summertime destination for male basketball fans and their young daughters, the WNBA finally walked right up to us yesterday and gave us a big wet kiss in front of everybody.

The overture came in the form of an announcement of WNBA Pride, presented by COVERGIRL (but after all these years of pining, I suppose we can forgive them for that), described in a press release as “a new national platform celebrating inclusion and equality, while combating anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bias.”

“The WNBA welcomes all fans, athletes and partners to our game,” said WNBA President Laurel J. Richie. “These beliefs unite the 12 teams of the WNBA and we are very excited to introduce the WNBA Pride platform which celebrates acceptance and inclusion. The WNBA takes great pride in working with extraordinary partners who share these values, and we are so grateful to our presenting partner COVERGIRL along with ESPN, GLSEN and GLAAD for joining the WNBA on this important initiative.”

Acknowledging that a study commissioned in 2012 revealed that 25 percent of lesbians watch the WNBA’s televised broadcasts and that 21 percent have attended a game, the league confessed the error of its ways in miscalculating its fan base.

“We guessed very wrong on that,” said Rick Welts, who was executive vice president and chief marketing officer of the NBA when the WNBA first started in 1997, noting that the league’s executives had believed that the fan base would be a carry over from the NBA.

Over the years, the WNBA has done some promotion to the LGBT community locally, sponsoring pride events and hosting groups at games. But WNBA Pride is the first league-wide initiative aimed at attracting the LGBT crowd.

Openly gay WNBA superstar Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury said, “I’m so glad we’re finally making a push to the LGBT community who is a strong supporter of the WNBA.” Griner plans to don rainbow-colored shoes throughout June in a show of support for the initiative.

So what will WNBA Pride entail? Well, it started with the launch of the WNBA Pride website on Wednesday and will continue with teams participating in local pride festivals and parades, working with advocacy groups to raise awareness of inclusion through grassroots events and advertising with lesbian media. All 12 teams will also have their own Pride initiative over the course of the season, and the league will sponsor the fifth annual LogoTV/AfterEllen Score Your Seats Sweepstakes, where fans will have the opportunity to win a trip to a WNBA Finals game.

The league will become the first to celebrate LGBT Pride on national television when the Tulsa Shock takes on the Chicago Sky on Sunday, June 22, at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2. During the national game telecast, WNBA Pride will have a major presence, including the new WNBA Pride logo appearing in court-side signage and in-game promotions.

Other announced Pride games include:

Washington — 7/25/2014
Tulsa — 6/6/2014
Seattle — 6/22/2014
Phoenix — 6/20/2014
New York — 6/27/2014
Minnesota — 6/20/2014
Indiana — 6/11/2014
Chicago — 6/22/2014
Atlanta — 6/20/2014

The news is exciting, ladies, but as is always the case with matters of the heart, keep your eyes open and your wits about you until the object of your desire reveals her true intentions.

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Griner memoir describes rift with anti-gay Baylor

candy — Thu, 17 Apr 2014 15:45:24 +0000

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

WNBA star Brittney Griner had reservations about attending Baylor University. The highly recruited phenom had come out early in high school and was concerned about how she would be received at the Baptist school. But during the recruiting process her future coach Kim Mulkey told her, “You can be black, white, blue, purple, whatever. As long as you come here and do what you need to do and hoop, I don’t care.” According to Griner’s new memoir, that wasn’t exactly the case.

In “Under My Skin: My Life On and Off the Basketball Court,” Griner describes her discomfort with the university’s anti-gay policies.

“I would love to be an ambassador for Baylor, to show my school pride, but it’s hard to do that — it’s hard to stand up and say, ‘Baylor is the best!’ — when the administration has a written policy against homosexuality. I’ve spent too much of my life being made to feel like there’s something wrong with me. And no matter how much support I felt as a basketball player at Baylor, it still doesn’t erase all the pain I felt there.”

In the memoir, published April 8, Griner talks about the school’s policies, recalling her frustration at not being able to kiss her girlfriend in public without it getting back to Mulkey. Griner says her coach made it clear that she needed to keep her sexuality out of the public eye.

“The more I think about it, the more I feel like the people who run the school want it both ways: they want to keep the policy, so they can keep selling themselves as a Christian university, but they are more than happy to benefit from the success of their gay athletes. That is, as long as those gay athletes don’t talk about being gay,” said Griner in “Under My Skin.”

In a 2013 interview with ESPN, the record-setting hoopster said she never considered asking Mulkey if it would be alright for her to come out while at Baylor.

“I already knew the answer,” she told ESPN in May 2013. “I didn’t want to hear ‘No.’ It was a recruiting thing. The coaches thought if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn’t let their kids play for Baylor.”

Griner came out publicly in April 2013 in a story in USA Today.

Griner was a standout at Baylor, leading the Lady Bears to a perfect 40-0 season in 2011-2012 and setting an all-time record for blocked shots during her college career. Despite being made to feel out of place at the university, Griner is balanced in her expressing her experience while at the school and says, even knowing all she knows now, she would still choose to attend Baylor.

The Phoenix Mercury superstar also addresses rumors which circulated after she withdrew her name from consideration for the 2012 U.S. Olympic team in the book. In removing herself from consideration, she cited a family illness (her mother was diagnosed with lupus) and a pressing summer school schedule. Critics speculated that the 6’8″ dunking center feared the gender testing that would go along with Olympic play.

“I have every intention of playing for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, if I’m selected for the team. And if some country wants to issue a challenge, bring it on. I don’t have anything to hide. I’ll do whatever I need to do, prove whatever point I need to prove, so I can play. And then maybe everyone will finally shut up.”

Griner is one of 33 players in the 2014-16 USA Basketball national team pool, 12 of whom will be selected for the 2016 Olympic team.

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Sun picks Ogwumike No. 1 in WNBA draft

candy — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 13:30:40 +0000

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

The Connecticut Sun made Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike the No. 1 pick in the 2014 WNBA draft Monday night.

Ogwumike finished her outstanding collegiate career at Stanford as the top scorer and rebounder in Pac-12 history. The 6’4″ forward received numerous honors as a Cardinal, including being named three-time First Team All-American, two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year and three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year.

Along with her sister, Nneka, who was selected as the No. 1 pick by Los Angeles in the 2012 WNBA draft, Ogwumike lead Stanford to the NCAA Final Four in both her freshman and sophomore years. The sisters become only the second pair of siblings selected as No. 1 picks in any of the four major American sports. Peyton and Eli Manning were the first.

No. 1 pick – Chiney Ogwumike

Baylor’s Odyssey Sims went next in the draft. The Tulsa Shock will be looking for the high-scoring left-handed guard to boost their offense alongside formal rival Skylar Diggins. Sims was a consensus All-American and sits atop Baylor’s record books for assists.

No. 2 pick – Odyssey Sims

The San Antonio Stars made Kayla McBride, who as a senior led Notre Dame to its first undefeated season in the program’s history, the draft’s No. 3 pick.

No. 3 pick – Kayla McBride

Finishing out the first round were:

4. New York Liberty – Alyssa Thomas
5. Indiana Fever – Natasha Howard
6. Washington Mystics – Stefanie Dolson
7. Seattle Storm – Bria Hartley
8. Atlanta Dream – Shoni Schimmel
9. Indiana Fever – Natalie Achonwa
10. Chicago Sky – Markeisha Gatling
11. Connecticut Sun – Chelsea Gray
12. Minnesota Lynx – Tricia Liston

The 2014 WNBA season gets underway May 16.

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Wambach trades Flash for Liberty

candy — Tue, 01 Apr 2014 17:15:10 +0000

BY LESBIAN.COM

In a move that left teammates and coaches stunned, Abby Wambach, star forward of the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT) and Western New York Flash, announced plans to abandon her soccer career in favor of a roster spot on the WNBA’s New York Liberty.

At a press conference held Monday afternoon outside 140 Alex Bar and Grill, a gay and lesbian bar in her home town of Rochester, N.Y., Wambach said, “I can’t really explain it. I’m just tired of playing a sport where I never get to use my hands.”

The remark drew giggles and cheers from several lesbians gathered for the announcement.

The 5’11” Wambach last played basketball as a child in a recreational league in Pittsford, a Rochester suburb. Averaging two rebounds, three assists and six points per game as a nine-year-old, Wambach abandoned the court for the soccer field when she learned it was legal to score goals with her head, a move frowned upon for hoopsters.

“I was pretty good for my age back then,” said Wambach. “But my coaches were always all over me about getting technical fouls for using my header move to pop the ball in the basket instead of going for the conventional two-handed offensive rebound.”

Wambach went on to say that now, at age 33, she believes she possesses the discipline necessary to use her hands to rebound.

“Not only do I think I can give up the header move and use my hands,” said Wambach, “I’m very much looking forward to playing a sport where no kicking or heading the ball is allowed.”

Wambach will remain with the USWNT through its April 10 match against China PR in San Diego, Calif. After that, she’ll report to New York Liberty training camp on April 27 where she hopes to gain a spot as a guard on the team’s roster alongside the recently resigned Katie Smith.

When reached at his New York offices, New York Liberty general manager and head coach Bill Laimbeer said, “We’re ready to welcome Abby to the team. If nothing else, she’ll certainly help us sell some jerseys.”

Laimbeer believes Wambach’s greatest challenge will be overcoming the urge to slide-tackle opponents while dropping back on defense.

Happy April Fool’s Day!

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WNBA announces new 8-year CBA

candy — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 15:30:25 +0000

(Photo by Mark W. Sutton)

BY CANDY PARKER
Lesbian.com

The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced that it has entered into a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA).

“I am pleased to announce that we have concluded the collective bargaining process and have reached an agreement with the WNBPA that provides the league with a long-term foundation for growth while also guaranteeing increases in player salaries and benefits,” said WNBA President Laurel J. Richie. “This agreement caps a successful 2013 season both on and off the court, and we are now focused on delivering the best basketball in the world.”

The agreement provides for roster expansion from 11 to 12 players, incentives for players to limit off-season overseas play, an undisclosed increase in salary caps, an expedited path to player free agency and revenue sharing provisions that now make it more likely that players will share benefit from league revenue growth. The new CBA takes effect with the 2014 season and will remain in effect for eight years, with either the WNBA or WNBPA reserving the right to opt out after the sixth year.

Key to ownership was establishing a mechanism for limiting players’ off-season play in leagues overseas.

“The notion of really trying to find a way to both recognize the overseas play but offer an incentive to players to limit their overseas play was very important to our ownership group,” Richie said when asked about the league’s priority during negotiations. “So for us that was a very important point and we’re glad that we were able to reach an agreement in that area.”

While a star player can make up to eight times her WNBA salary in overseas league play, WNBA ownership sought to provide incentives for players to limit such play to no more than three months per year. Under terms of the new CBA, each team will be allotted $50,000 to disperse as it sees fit to persuade players to forgo long-term overseas play. In doing so, the WNBA hopes to minimize the number of games missed by star players due to injuries incurred during the WNBA off-season.

“That is $50,000 per team, per year,” Richie said when asked about the time off bonus. “That can be one player, that can be more than one player. The only restriction or guideline is that the player agrees to limit their overseas play from 0 to 90 days. So we think that’s a great way to, from our standpoint, acknowledge that there’s a market for players going overseas and we wanted to offer an incentive for players to stay stateside or limit their overseas play during our off-season.”

Popularity of the WNBA was at an all-time high in 2013 with double-digit growth in television viewership, a spike in web traffic at WNBA.com and increased game attendance. ESPN currently holds the television rights for WNBA games via an agreement which extends through 2022.

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‘Magic’ move keeps WNBA Sparks in Los Angeles

candy — Sun, 09 Feb 2014 14:45:01 +0000

BY The Seattle Lesbian

The WNBA and NBA Board of Governors have unanimously approved the purchase of the Los Angeles Sparks by an investment group led by Earvin “Magic” Johnson and controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark R. Walter, WNBA President Laurel J. Richie announced Wednesday. The investment group includes Dodger co-owners Todd L. Boehly, Robert L. Patton and Stan Kasten. Richie was joined by Johnson at the press event at STAPLES Center.

The franchise will remain in Los Angeles and play at STAPLES Center. The WNBA’s 2014 game and television schedule will also be announced this week.

WNBA announces rule changes

candy — Sat, 14 Dec 2013 16:15:21 +0000

BY The Seattle Lesbian

The WNBA Board of Governors approved six rules changes for the upcoming 2014 season, the league announced Wednesday.

Instant replay may now be used:

Instant replay may now be used during the last minute of the game or any point during an overtime period:

When reviewing a block/charge play to determine whether the defender was inside or outside the restricted area, officials will now be permitted to reverse a charge call, or uphold a blocking call, when the defender was outside the restricted area but was not set when the offensive player began her upward shooting motion.

LGBT rights in women’s sports: Still a long way to go

candy — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 16:15:53 +0000

Sophia Young of the San Antonio Silver Stars proudly opposes San Antonio’s anti-discrimination ordinance.

BY JESSICA LUTHER
Think Progress

Last week, the City Council in San Antonio passed a non-discrimination ordinance that adds gender identity, sexual orientation, and veteran status to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age and disability as characteristics that businesses cannot use to discriminate against patrons or employees. The seventh most-populous city in the United States, San Antonio has the highest percentage of gay and lesbian couples who are raising kids. The ordinance gained steam after “the Human Rights Campaign released a dismal San Antonio score on their annual Municipal Equality Index, (48 out of 100, four points behind Houston, the second-lowest ranked Texas city).” San Antonio joins other Texas cities like Austin, El Paso, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco with the passage of this ordinance, as well as nearly 180 other cities around the country.

Coverage of the ordinance hit sports sections when on August 28, the WNBA San Antonio Silver Stars forward, Sophia Young, tweeted “Should San Antonio be a city that allows same sex marriage?? I vote NO.” She followed up that tweet with another that included an image of her wearing blue (the color of those opposing the ordinance), holding a sign that read “VOTE NO,” while attending what looks like one of the public forums about the ordinance. Again, she mentioned same-sex marriage in her tweet, not the non-discrimination ordinance. It’s clear that Young was confused about the particulars of what she was protesting but she did take a firm, public stance against civil rights for gay people.