The Braves will host the third annual “Out in the Stands” LGBT fan night June 18 when the New York Mets come to town.
Like last year, this year's event will double as a fundraiser for Ben Cohen's StandUp Foundation, which promotes LGBT equality in sports through public awareness campaigns, grants and other advocacy projects. Cohen's foundation is headquartered in Atlanta.
Cohen is most famous for being a former professional rugby player and Rugby World Cup winner with his native England.
Last year's event drew some 300 people to Turner Field. This year's format is slightly different, however. There will be another patio reception, but no VIP box experience.
The end of summer marks the start of the annual fall sports leagues. From softball to flag football, gay and lesbian sporting leagues offer a plethora of options for those seeking competitive fun this fall.
On the national stage, three of Atlanta’s professional teams look to shake the city’s reputation of being a “miserable sports town,” as stated by Forbes. The Braves, Falcons and Dream are all poised for post-season action in 2012.
The gay National Flag Football League of Atlanta will kick off its fall season with a day of pre-season games Sept. 16 followed by a shorter-than-normal five-week season schedule.
The Atlanta Braves Foundation announced today $150,000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations. The Braves Foundation, the charitable arm of the Major League Baseball team, will present the grants to representatives from each of the organizations at tonight's game, the penultimate of the 2011 season, against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Among the recipients is the Anti-Defamation League Southeast Region, which will use the funds in an ongoing anti-bullying campaign called “No Place for Hate,” according to a representative of the Braves.
The "No Place for Hate" campaign connects the Anti-Defamation League with local schools and provides tools and training necessary to combat youth bullying.
Several Braves players are also featured in an anti-bullying video currently being shown at Turner Field on game days.
The Atlanta Braves won in a dominant fashion on Tuesday night, and for the approximately 200 supporters of LGBT equality who bought special tickets benefiting the state's largest LGBT advocacy organization, Georgia Equality, last night was a chance to watch their hometown team beat up on a division rival in the company of other like-minded baseball fans.
For many of the gay and lesbian fans in attendance, the highlight of the night was not Brian McCann's homerun in the sixth inning that secured a win for the Braves, but instead a short public service announcement focusing on raising awareness for anti-bullying efforts in schools.
The video was displayed on the massive outfield Jumbotron during the pre-game warmups and featured several of the team's big names, including game-winner McCann, speaking about combating youth bullying.
Atlanta Braves debut anti-bullying video during LGBT night at Turner Field
Saturday night, the Atlanta Braves were in the midst of a heated divisional game against the Washington Nationals when a man wearing a white wedding dress, a baseball glove and a Braves hat stormed the field. He was quickly, and violently, tackled by several security personnel and escorted off the field.
The man — who has not been identified publicly — was all smiles as he was escorted off the field by an Atlanta police officer.
Professional sporting leagues understandably discourage dissemination of such antics. Though it's not uncommon for ballpark attendees to run onto the field, television viewers rarely see them. The cameras generally pan away, instead focusing on crowd reactions and the players on the field rather than the intruders.
The Chicago Cubs became the latest Major League Baseball team to launch a video for the “It Gets Better” campaign. The video, released today, features the team's manager Mike Quade, first base coach Bob Drenier, pitcher Ryan Dempster, outfielder Marlon Byrd and others.
See the video below:
Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants have put together the first video from a professional sports team for the “It Gets Better” project. Released today, the video features the team's Barry Zito, Matt Cain, Sergio Romo and Andres Torres acknowledging the struggle many LGBT youth face because of their sexuality.
The video went up earlier this afternoon, but already has several hundred views and dozens of comments.
“It Gets Better” aims to offer hope to LGBT youth who often feel isolated and alone in coming to terms with their sexuality. Formed by radio personality and author Dan Savage, the project has compiled thousands of videos featuring celebrities, politicians and every day people who understand the personal struggle in the wake of a series of high-profile LGBT youth suicides.
The Giants' video will encourage Sam Maden, a 12-year-old Boston Red Sox fan who is asking people to sign a petition to encourage his team to also make an "It Gets Better" video for the campaign.