Page 3 - Dirk Smith News Today

Tokyo Olympics Chief Participates in LGBTQIA+ Pride Event in Tokyo By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) As activists and lawmakers in Japan are pushing for a new equality law to be enacted before the games are set to begin this summer. Seiko Hashimoto, the head of the Tokyo Olympics took part in Japan’s LGBTQIA+ Pride Week. Hashimoto visited Pride House Tokyo, which is an international initiative to provide LGBTQIA+ people a place to gather and connect during large sporting events, including the...

Select Page Phoenix Rising FC Season Opener Against San Diego Loyal Seeks to Make Amends and Find a Fresh Start By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) Last season when the Phoenix Rising Football Club went up against the San Diego Loyal, the match ended up with San Diego forfeiting after a Rising player made a gay slur against openly gay player Colin Martin. The homophobic player, Junior Flemings, has since been dumped by Phoneix and manager Rick Shantz was suspended for mishandling the incident dur...

th until May 2 nd to celebrate and show solidarity with all LGBTQ+ women and non-binary people. Specifically, to celebrate our community members who identify as lesbian as a voice for unity and uplifting each other. Lesbian Visibility Week originally started as a day in 2008 and has since expanded to the full week by the organization Stonewall to “recognize, celebrate and support lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer women to be their true selves at work, home and socially.” For the occa...

LGBTQ+ Students and Educators Take Part in GLSEN’s Annual Day of Silence By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) Every April, GLSEN leads a nationwide student demonstration in which LGBTQ+ and allied students take a “vow of silence” to protest harassment, bullying and discrimination of LGBTQ+ people in school and education. The Day of Silence began in 1996 by two college students at the University of Virginia who wanted to do more than just organize an echo chamber of panel discussions. By the ...

#AIDSLifeCycle Launches #TogetherRide As a Virtual Fundraising Event for HIV/AIDS Research By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) In the 28+ year history of the #AIDSLifeCycle, a week long cycling event from San Francisco to LA to raise money and awareness of lifesaving HIV/AIDS research, for the first time last year it had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For 2021, the event is taking on a new, Covid safe event in the form of #TogetherRide which encourages participants to fundraise and...

What exactly is Spikeball and Roundnet? Catching up with SDC Member Nora White for the Scoop By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) With the rise in popularity of Spikeball and Roundnet around the world and its debut as a competitive sport in the Sin City Classic, we caught up with Spikeball founder, Nora White to help us learn more about Spikeball and the sport of Roundnet. Dirk Smith: What exactly is Spikeball/Roundne t? Nora White: I launched Spikeball Inc in 2008 with no real clue about starting...

Flagging Down A Cure for Breast Cancer with Mashonda Gilmore and the Lynn Lewis Foundation By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) All of us at Compete Sports Diversity are excited for the upcoming #FlaggingDownACure Women’s Flag Football Tournament April 30 th through May 2 nd to raise money on behalf of the Lynn Lewis Foundation to support life saving breast cancer research. We caught up with tournament director and foundation leader, Mashonda Gilmore to learn more about the tournament, the found...

NCAA March Madness Must Do Better To Confront Gender Inequality By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) As the NCAA March Madness tournament is wrapping up, we are looking back on the annual college basketball championships that has created controversy over the extensive gender inequality it has displayed between the men’s and women’s tournaments. It all started when a coach from Stanford University posted a photo comparing the men’s and women’s weight rooms on social media.     The photo ...

Catching Up With Martin Stark and the World Gay Boxing Championships By Dirk Smith, M.Sc, SDL (He/Him) Our sports editor, Dirk Smith caught up with Martin Stark who is busy organizing and promoting the first ever World Gay Boxing Championships set to take place in 2023. We wanted to learn more about the event and how Martin is working to make boxing into a global LGBTQ+ sports event. Dirk Smith: Tell us more about the World Gay Boxing Championships; when/where they will be held, who’s invited...

And its not the only instance. Heres What You Need to Remember: No plane is invincible and the F-22 is no exception. Past evidence seems to confirm that a French fighter pilot once “killed” an American F-22 Raptor stealth fighter in mock combat. Although not unprecedented, the simulated shoot-down is still a big deal for a couple reasons. This article first appeared earlier and is being reposted due to reader interest. For one, the Lockheed Martin-made F-22 is supposed to be the most fea...