Compete November 2017

NOVEMBER 2017 • VOL. 11 NO. 11 $3.95 • COMPETENETWORK.COM

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NOVEMBER 2017 • VOL. 11 NO. 11 COMPETENETWORK.COM

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FACES OF SPORTS 6 Billie Jean King 22

14 Robbie Rogers

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16 E sera Tuaolo 18 Chris Balton, SDL 21 M ichael Phelps 22 Dr. Jen Welter

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24 Andrew Esquer 26 K ris Smith, SDL 30 Candy Pratt

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32 Joanie Evans 34 D aniel Koenig

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36 A lexis Levi

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37 Kurt Gross, SDL 38 Dr. John Sutherland 40 T erri Goddard

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42 P atrick Higgins, SDL Cover – Eric Esquer Sports – Soccer, Running

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Photographer – Robert Mercer,

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Ripped Genes LLC

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COMPETE

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WITH YOU: FROM THE PUBLISHER

GRAND SLAMMIN’

BILLIE JEAN

W

KING

hen I was growing up my sports idols were football’s Danny White, basketball’s Larry Bird, boxer Muhammad Ali, Olympian Caitlyn (then Bruce) Jenner and baseball’s Steve Garvey as well as Rod Carew for his signature batting training program.

There wasn’t a woman on the list. I had heard of Mary Lou Retton but only on the nightly news. By then Billie Jean King had been a big star for many years and I didn’t really know much about her, perhaps because I didn’t follow tennis. With the exception of Ali and Jenner, I followed the more traditional sports.

Flash forward 30 years and I still greatly admire everyone on that list. Putting politics aside, for her courage to simply be who she really is, I admire Caitlin Jenner even more now than I did when she was known and competing as Bruce. And now I definitely think Retton is an amazing athlete.

Even though King was a sports pioneer before I was born, she is a shining example of the athlete I wish I had become – brilliant, strong, ambitious, purposeful and so much more. But she was the inspiration behind the naming of Compete. I’ve had the good fortune to meet King twice and at one of those meetings I asked her who her greatest competitor was. She replied, “My biggest competitor is myself.” Because at his or her core, each competitive athlete knows and acknowledges this truth, we decided to change the magazine’s name to Compete.

Although King has never left the sports scene, she is once again in the limelight with the debut of the biopic movie, “Battle of the Sexes.” In real life King has taken on many battles and come out on top, one of the best known being that battle against former tennis champion Bobby Riggs. But she was also the first female athlete to come out as a lesbian, making her an icon for the then-generally closeted LGBTQ community. And thanks to her continuing contributions to sports equality, she's still an icon for younger generations.

King is more than a tennis star – she is a game-changer for women’s sports by leading the way for gender equality, including equal prize money. While it is impossible to list all her honors and awards here, her dedication has put her on the cover of countless magazines and in 1975 she was named by Time as a person of the year. A member of the International and National Tennis Halls of Fame, the U.S. Tennis Association named its venue the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to honor her. In addition to founding the Women’s Sports Foundation, King was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 by President Barak Obama.

But more than that, King is now one of my heroes, having definitely earned a place on my adult list of sports idols.

With You,

@CompeteEric

Eric Carlyle, SDL Publisher/CEO eric@competenetwork.com

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THE CATBIRD SEAT: FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

HONORING THE POWER of INDIVIDUALS to CHANGE THE WORLD OF SPORTS

O

ur annual Faces of Sports issue is one of my favorites. It highlights a number of people who are contributing to the growing sports diversity movement in various ways. Some of them you’ve probably never heard of before while some of them are well known, even people we’ve covered before like Esera Tuaolo who was in last year’s issue. But when he became a contestant on “The Voice” this year he was able to show the world that a rugged retired NFL player can also be a talented singer and a loving father in addition to being gay.

We love showing the variety of people who are making a difference in our collective world by just being who they are and living their beliefs on a daily basis in their personal worlds. Some are LGBTQ+ and some are allies; some are women and some are men; some are professional athletes and some are recreational athletes; some are younger and some are older. But it’s their dedication to eliminating homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, racism and sexism in sports that makes each of them special – they are using their personal power and influence in a positive way.

It can be easy to say you can’t possibly change things for the better since you’re only one person. But the real truth is that each one of us is power-full, not power-less. I know I've said this before but it bears repeating. We all have more personal power to change things than we’re often willing to admit. And when we worry what other people will think and say about us, we allow fear to take over. We often don’t want to risk using our personal power because we’re afraid of its consequences. When you read the powerful story of Chris Balton you’ll see someone who lived through a horrific personal experience. But since finding his voice, he now uses his power to foster equality, inclusion and diversity in his chosen sport of softball.

I hope that after reading this issue you’ll see that each one of us has the power to change the world every day, sometimes by our seemingly inconsequential decisions and sometimes by the courageous conscious decisions we make. Please join us in making the world of sports and beyond more open and welcoming. And just in case you’re a little hesitant, to quote my favorite “Star Wars” line, “May the force be with you!”

And don’t forget to join us the 10th of this month in Kansas City for our 8th Annual Petey Awards and meet some of the people you’ve read about in this issue. You’ll be even more impressed when you meet them in person!

Keep Smiling,

Connie Wardman, M.A., SDL Editor-in-Chief connie@competenetwork.com

@CompeteConnie

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î Že Eighth Annual Petey Awards

Honoring the Best in Sports Diversity

November 10, 2017 Kansas City, Missouri

COMPETE EDITORS SPORTS EDITOR David "Dirk" Smith With a B.S. in exercise science and nutrition from MSU Denver, David is ACSM, AFAA and AFPAIcertified and a medalwinning swimmer who conquered obesity by losing over 50 pounds.

HEALTH EDITOR Dr. John Sutherland A graduate of Harvard and the University of Michigan Medical School, Dr. John Sutherland is a board certified internist and cardiologist and the founder of the North Mountain Cardio programs for health and well-being.

FITNESS EDITOR Jake Tommerup A graduate of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Jake Tommerup M.S. is an exercise physiologist, an ISSA-certified Master Trainer and the founder of RxErcise.

STYLE EDITOR Bobby Ciletti A graduate of Boston University, Bobby is a lifestyle and travel expert and founder of TheDaysoftheChic.com, an online destination for simply elegant living.

Twitter @bobbyciletti MISSION STATEMENT Compete unites the world through sports.

COMPETENETWORK.COM FACEBOOK.COM/COMPETEMAG @COMPETESPORTS COMPETE MAGAZINE INSTAGRAM.COM/COMPETEMAGAZINE

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PUBLISHER Eric Carlyle • eric@competenetwork.com COMPETE MAGAZINE Editor-in-Chief Connie Wardman • connie@competenetwork.com Sports Editor Dirk Smith • dirk@competenetowork.com Health Editor Dr. John Sutherland • johns@competenetwork.com Fitness Editor Jake Tommerup • jake@competenetwork.com Style Editor Bobby Ciletti • bobby@competenetwork.com Art Director Heather Brown • heather@competenetwork.com Graphic Designer Kristi Wayland • kristi@competenetwork.com Contributors Harry Andrew, Ian Colgate, Jeff Kagan, Kelli Kulick, Miriam Latto, Bryan Lee, Brian Patrick, Jeff Sloan.

Andy Winder Staff Photographer Ariel Stevens • ariel@competenetwork.com COO Barbara Harwell • barbara@competenetwork.com Sales Gale Fitzgerald • gale@competenetwork.com Jared Garduno • jared@competenetwork.com Richard Myers • richard@competenetwork.com Administration Bethany Harvat • bethany@competenetwork.com Copyright © 2017 MEDIA OUT LOUD, LLC All Rights Reserved.

All Mail PO Box 2756 Scottsdale, AZ 85252 • (800) 868-5906 Corporate Office 6991 East Camelback Road, Suite D-300 Scottsdale, AZ 85251 West Coast Office 3415 South Sepulveda Blvd, Suite 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90034 East Coast Office 100 Church Street, 8th Floor New York City, NY 10007 Compete is a trademark of Media Out Loud, LLC

Sports Diversity Leadership Council, Sports Diversity Leader and SDL are trademarks of Media Out Loud, LLC. Compete is available by subscription, online, on the Compete app, at local and national events and at 250+ pick up locations nationwide.

36 SPORTS – 14 CULTURAL EVENTS

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4-12 AUGUST 2018

Paris2018.com @Paris2018

GAY GAMES

HONG KONG IS PRESUMPTIVE HOST for 2022 GAY GAMES XI

BY HARRY ANDREW

T

he Federation of Gay Games (FGG) has announced that Hong Kong is the 2022 Gay Games XI presumptive host city according to R. Tony Smith, FGG officer of communications. So to all the athletes worldwide who have already competed in past Gay Games and call it a life-changing experience, and for those who are wanting to be part of this successful global competition for LGBTQ+ and ally athletes, get your passports ready.

The FGG general assembly voted on October 30 in Paris, France between the three finalist cities – Guadalajara, Mexico; Hong Kong, China and Washington D.C., U.S. – and announced Hong Kong as the presumptive host city.

Site inspections of the three finalist cities took place during June and July 2017 by a team of inspectors from Australia, Germany, Canada and the U.S. With the team spending three-to-five days in each city they were able to tour all the venues and attend local supporter civic events to encourage and ensure support on the local level.

The FGG offered its gratitude to the record number of 17 cities that expressed interest in the 2022 Gay Games XI. Five cities that made it to the semi-final round included Texas cities Austin and Dallas; Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah and San Francisco, California.

An additional nine cities that had initially expressed interest in hosting the 2022 Gay Games included Cape Town, South Africa; Tel Aviv, Israel and U.S. cities Anaheim and Los Angeles, California; Atlanta, Georgia; Des Moines, Iowa; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Antonio, Texas.

The impact that the Gay Games has in host cities is incredible in terms of culture, sport, economic impact, history and most importantly, elevating all matters of LGBTQ+ equality. The Paris 2018 – Gay Games 10, with its tag line of All Equal will be no exception. It takes place August 4-12, 2018 and features 36 sports, 14 cultural events, an academic conference and up to 15,000 participants from 70 different countries.

As the largest sport and culture event in the world open to all, the mission of the FGG since its founding in 1982 is to promote equality. Through its core principles of “Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best™” its positive legacy continues to change social and political attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people throughout the world.

Conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, a gay Olympic decathlete, the first Gay Games celebration was held in San Francisco in 1982. Subsequent Gay Games have been held in San Francisco (1986); Vancouver (1990); New York (1994); Amsterdam (1998); Sydney (2002); Chicago (2006); Cologne (2010); Cleveland+Akron (2014) and now in Paris (2018).

For additional information on the Paris 2018 – Gay Games 10, check out the following social media sites: www.Facebook.com/FederationofGayGames www.Instagram.com/GayGames www.Twitter.com/GayGames #gaygames #allequal

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COMPETE READER SURVEY & GRANDSTANDING

WHICH NFL TEAM WILL WIN THE 2018 SUPER BOWL?

LETTERS to COMPETE GRANDSTANDING

15%

Green Bay Packers

35%

New England Patriots

20%

Dallas Cowboys

30%

Kansas City Chiefs

She’s the One [October 2017] So proud of Dr. Jennifer Welter. What an amazing person and I have already ordered her new book. There is a first for everything and this one is Dr. Welter.

Laurie Burgess Portland, Maine Round ‘em Up … In Palm Springs [October 2017] Why did they hold the World Gay Rodeo Finals in Albuquerque? They should have held it in Palm Springs!

I am a super-duper rodeo fan and would love to see the big rodeo come to my home city. There is a lot to love about Palm Springs, especially when the cowboys and cowgirls are in town.

Jamie Copeland Palm Springs, California Please submit all Letters to Compete via email to letters@competenetwork.com.

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MILLENNIAL ON SPORTS: FROM THE SPORTS EDITOR

ROBBIE ROGERS LIVES AN AUTHENTIC LIFE

BY DIRK SMITH

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t age 30 Robbie Rogers has certainly accomplished a lot in his career as a professional soccer player – he’s traveled the world to play, played on Team USA at the Olympics and had professional contracts that have led to TV shows, modeling gigs and books. What many people may not fully realize is that Robbie Rogers is also the first male to play for a professional sports league in the U.S. as an openly gay man.

Rogers came out as gay in February of 2013 during a brief retirement from the sport. Living and playing in London for pro soccer team Leeds United, he retired ultimately because he knew he had to acknowledge that he was gay in order to live his life authentically. With his conservative upbringing, Robbie feared the worst but knew he couldn’t move forward with his life while holding such a secret.

Filled with fear and anxiety about dealing with the impending storm that awaited him, especially from his conservative Christian family, Rogers felt that retirement was the best option to handle his coming out announcement. Many athletes before him had to face hostile reactions to their coming out, including the U.K.’s first openly gay football (soccer) player Justin Fashanu who came out in 1990 and sadly, committed suicide in 1998.

While his sexuality didn’t affect his abilities as an athlete, the pressure of living life with such a secret certainly did. Only a few short weeks from his last game Rogers posted this to his website: "People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay. … Life is simple when your secret is gone. Gone is the pain that lurks in the stomach at work, the pain from avoiding questions, and at last the pain from hiding such a deep secret."

Coming out just two months before the NBA’s Jason Collins, Rogers actually expected the coming out stories of the two professional athletes to start a domino effect, having lots of pro players in various sports do the same.

Unfortunately, that didn’t happen but both men did receive an outpouring of positive responses to their admissions of being gay. And in May 2013 Rogers signed a contract with the U.S. professional soccer team, the LA Galaxy. While Rogers had come out after he retired from Leeds, in April Collins came out while still an active player although unsigned at the time. Collins was also hired by another NBA team shortly after Rogers began playing.

Rogers has become a voice in professional soccer, an advocate fighting homophobia from outside and within the sport. He has become an ambassador for #ProudToPlay, joining with Jason Collins, Michael Sam, Kobe Bryant and other professional athletes to promote acceptance and inclusion for all within sport. He also has publicly called out FIFA on their choices for hosting soccer’s World Cup in prominently homophobic countries, e.g., Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.

Rogers continues to enjoy a successful career with the LA Galaxy. He is also the co-owner of the men’s fashion company Hampton + Baker and the producer of "Men In Shorts" and "My Policeman." He’s also the face of Target’s new ad campaign for their recently launched clothing line, Goodfellow & Co. And on a personal note, Rogers and his fiancé, TV producer Greg Berlanti live in southern California with their son Caleb who was born in 2016 via a surrogate.

Robbie Rogers has shown the world that a gay man can be a successful professional athlete, a powerful advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and a loving family man, all at the same time. He’s a positive and powerful role model for millennials!

Dirk Smith, SDL Sports Editor dirk@competenetwork.com @competedirk

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COMPETE CELEBRATES 8TH ANNUAL

Petey Awards

Kansas City, Missouri sets the stage on November 10 for the 2017 Compete Sports Diversity Awards – the 8th Annual Petey Awards. The awards ceremony and dinner will take place at the Kansas City Westin at Crown Center in partnership with the North American Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA) and is presented by Orbitz.

This year’s winners include Major League Soccer (MLS), the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA), Detroit Sports Commission, Connect Sports, Dr. Jennifer Welter and a number of other deserving individuals and organizations.

Ryan Long will receive the Mark Bingham Athlete of the Year award, the 10th athlete to be so honored. The award is named in honor of Mark Bingham, founder of the San Francisco Fog Rugby Football Club who died on 9/11 aboard Flight 93. Shigeo Iwamiya will be awarded the Molly Lenore Inspiring Athlete Award.

The event will be followed by the Petey Awards Brunch on November 11 in partnership with Kansas City-based publication, Camp Magazine. To find out more about the Petey Awards visit www.sportsdiversityawards.com.

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ONE-ON-ONE

ESERA TUAOLO’S VOICE GROWS

EVEN LARGER

BY CONNIE WARDMAN

S

Photo courtesy of Compete Magazine

ince Esera Tuaolo retired from a nine-year career in the National Football League (NFL) and came out openly as a gay man in 2002, he has spent the last 15 years speaking out against homophobia in sports. But with his win during the blind auditions for this year’s 13th season of the NBC program “The Voice” and his first battle round win the following week Tuaolo has gained an even bigger voice for diversity, acceptance and equality in the sports world and beyond.

For those who have never lived a coming out experience or been close to someone who has, it can be difficult to understand the deep, almost indescribable fear of being outed – the potential

Photo courtesy of Esera Tuaolo

loss of family, friends and a job. And when you’re playing in the NFL, in what’s arguably the most macho of American team sports, it can be overwhelming.

As a 6-foot-4, 300-pound defensive lineman, no one could deny he looked the part of a rugged NFL player. But born in Hawaii of Samoan origin, music has always been part of his life and he had always envisioned music as his career following football. With a voice as big and powerful as his body, Esera is known for singing the National Anthem at various NFL games and other functions. I met him in 2014 when he attended our annual Compete Sports Diversity Awards. We awarded him our Compete Legacy Award and when he sang the National Anthem, in addition to being deeply touched, we were in awe of his vocal power – it was an amazing experience.

Now as then, Esera is proud to have come out as LGBTQ for his children’s sake as well as his own. He and his former partner had a set of twins and wanted to raise them in a world where people could love and be loved for who they were; they wanted to be seen and appreciated as a loving family, just like straight people were entitled to.

That love for his children and family has never changed.

In fact, during Esera’s interview for “The Voice” and during the blind audition, his now 19-year-old twins Mitchie and Michele were there with their dad, cheering him on and dissolving in tears when he won. For Esera and his family, love is love!

For those who have never lived a coming out experience or been close to someone who has, it can be difficult to understand the deep, almost indescribable fear of being outed – the potential loss of family, friends and a job. And when you’re playing in the NFL, in what’s arguably the most macho of American team sports, it can be overwhelming. Esera credits his friend David Kopay’s courage for being the first NFL player to come

out publically in 1997 for saving his life, calling him “my hero.”

In 2006 Esera’s book, “Alone in the Trenches: My Life as a Gay Man in the NFL” was released, recounting how he had to live a lie to fit in that macho world of pro football. Some of his former teammates even admitted that had they known he was gay, they’d have tried to injure him so they wouldn’t be viewed as also being gay in a “guilt by association” scenario. And when you talk with him one-on-one, his emotions around that time are still palpable.

Raised in an Assembly of God Pentecostal Church which looked at homosexuality as a sin or curse, Esera particularly likes to share his personal experiences with religious groups, using his knowledge of the Bible to counter their homophobic views based on their narrow religious interpretation. Yet for all he’s faced, his message is still one of tolerance, acceptance and inclusivity, the very hallmarks of the sports diversity movement.

He doesn’t consider himself a hero, though; he sees himself as a servant of the movement. Reflective of his strong religious background, Esera recently said that as servants we don’t do things because we’re required or obligated to do them; we do things because it makes the world a better place, because it’s the right thing to do. He shared with me that his life’s goal is to educate people, to help create a world for his children where sexual orientation will never hinder them reaching their full potential. Now that he’s a contestant on “The Voice,” one of television’s most watched shows, his voice has been given an even larger platform for his ongoing dedication to eliminating homophobia in sports and beyond, giving all our children a better world.

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FACES OF SPORTS FEATURE

SPORTS DIVERSITY LEADER™

THE POWER OF SPORTS IN HEALING A PAINFUL JOURNEY

BY CHRIS BALTON, SDL

Photos courtesy of Chris Balton, SDL

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Editor’s Note: I met Chris Balton, SDL in 2013 when I called to interview him about a story on NAGAAA, the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance.

As the organization’s commissioner, I asked him what gay softball had meant to him in his life … and he began to share with me a brief but horrific story of his beloved partner Jim’s death, of being kicked out of their home and more. I told him that day that if and when he was ready to share his story with others, I would help and support him so he could offer healing to others who had been caught in similar situations. Here is Chris’ story.

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

SPORTS DIVERSITY LEADER™

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s the youngest of five children in a Catholic family in Memphis, Tennessee, listening to Jack Buck and Harry Carey announce Cardinal games on the radio in the 60s and 70s with my grandmother made me feel safe. She encouraged me to try out for baseball in second grade but I really was scared and quit after the first day. Those early school years were hard: I was teased and humiliated because I couldn't hit or catch a ball; I was called fatty and was ashamed of my body; I also wet my pants during class one year and that reputation fueled more bullying that followed me into middle school. Desperately wanting to belong, I gave football and basketball a try. I was the last player picked on the basketball team in the seventh grade and rode the bench. I stuck with football that year despite wanting to puke before every practice; the team loved to play "smear the queer" – you guess who the queer was.

But my last year of middle school is when life would change, never to be the same. To push out the constant bullying, I made good grades and was teased for being the teacher's pet. But that is where I got positive affirmation, the only thing I looked forward to at school. I had gotten particularly close to one male teacher and confided in him about feeling different than others. Later that year he invited me on a field trip and we got a hotel room.

I remember everything about that room – the blue carpet, the alarm clock, the lamp on the bedside table, the paisley comforter. But there was only one bed. I asked where I slept and he said we would share the bed and it would be OK. The first night he offered me wine and I said OK. When I woke up the next morning he was holding me. I lay there wondering what was going on.

We had some clothes on but I sat still, afraid to move.

I remember thinking this feels good; someone who I looked up to was holding me. I was confused but it really felt nice that someone cared about me and I felt safe in his strong arms.

As the day progressed I was more confused but I really liked that feeling of being held and protected – a far cry from the teasing I got at school. After dinner Saturday night he once again had wine in the room and he offered me a pill that would make me feel relaxed.

I was tipsy and said yes. (This next part is so hard to write - the memories still haunt me.) The next thing I remembered was being naked and feeling a sharp pain.

He held me down and I was paralyzed – but the drugs and alcohol could not numb the physical and emotional pain I felt in that moment.

He told me not to tell anyone; I would take this secret to my grave. How could I confide in anyone about this? He was also my guidance counselor. People would ask me why I stayed in the same room, why did I drink alcohol, why did I take drugs. It was my fault - tons of questions swirled through my head, questions about my masculinity and sexuality. I lay there watching every

"[My grandmother] encouraged me to try out for baseball in second grade but I really was scared and quit after the first day.

Those early school years were hard: I was teased and humiliated because I couldn't hit or catch a ball;"

second go by on the bedside clock wishing this was just a nightmare. I didn't sleep a wink; it felt like an eternity before morning came. I remember just wanting to die.

Why did I let this happen? Things would never be the same.

I kept quiet about that night but the abuse affected me profoundly. My grades slipped and I became withdrawn and depressed. Teachers noticed I was struggling, but I wasn't going to share that experience. I would never trust anyone again. It was my private shame and I thought there must be something wrong with me; to allow myself to be a target I must have been weak or worse, deserved the pain. My high school years were filled with alcohol and drugs yet I managed to keep a B average.

Off to college in 1978 to the University of Tennessee in Knoxville to make a fresh start. I joined a fraternity where alcohol helped me be social and make new friends. My roommate and I were invited to watch ABC Sports rehearse for the Tennessee/Alabama football game and we got asked to help as spotters on the sideline. It was one of the most exciting times of my life. In four years I moved up from runner, to spotter, to

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2017 FACES OF SPORTS

SPORTS DIVERSITY LEADER™ In group therapy after being clean for several years, I heard a girl talk about her sexual abuse. My counselor noticed me tearing up and shutting down. He later asked me what was going on and I confided in him about my sexual abuse, telling him it was my fault. He had me stand in front of a poster of a 6-foot- man about 50 years old and a small 14-year-old boy and asked what I saw; I said a man and a boy. Looking me right in the

"Look at your 6-foot teacher and you as a 14-year-old boy. Who had the power when you were abused?"

That simple question changed my life forever!

statistician and then associate director. I couldn't believe I was getting paid to watch sports. I worked on college football, Monday night baseball and football, Indy 500, Kentucky Derby, Daytona 500, PGA Championship, U.S. Open, Wide World of Sports, Special Olympics, boxing, swimming and diving as well as track and field.

I worked with Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Jim McKay and Al Michaels and have so many great memories, like writing Cosell’s halftime highlights scripts for Monday Night Football (the #1 rated TV show). With no ESPN then, I couldn't wait to watch the halftime highlights on Monday night to see what happened on Sunday. I was also Jim McKay's personal spotter for golf. McKay and I were always in sync and that really helped my self-esteem. He was a terrific and humble man whom I admired greatly.

Life was good because I was busy with school and ABC. After each production we would go out and I discovered drugs were an ever-present feature of the entertainment/sports world. I wanted so much to belong it was difficult to avoid drugs; peer pressure was a significant issue for me. So by age 26 I ended up in Orlando and hit rock bottom on March 25, 1988. I was homeless, $30,000 in debt, had a serious drug habit and was living on the streets. That day my best friend found me strung out on the beach. I will never forget him saying, "Chris, you’re an amazing person when you’re sober but when you’re like this I don't know who you are." He had arranged an intervention and I entered treatment back in Memphis.

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eyes he said, "Look at your 6-foot teacher and you as a 14-year-old boy. Who had the power when you were abused?" That simple question changed my life forever!

I saw a big strong man and an innocent boy and realized it wasn’t my fault. Tears flowed down my cheeks and a huge burden was lifted from me. After that day I began to work on healing. I can truly say that the abuse no longer defines me. In some ways it’s even made me a stronger person.

I was 32 when I met the love of my life, Dr. Jim Holt. We dated for a couple of years before we moved in together, eventually spending 10 happy years as a couple. It was Memphis in the 90s so we didn’t go to bars; we stayed closeted, socializing with a small group of gay friends at dinners and house parties. In 2001 I suggested that we should get out more and participate in some activities; I decided to join the Jungle Jocks, a Memphis gay softball team.

I had been to one practice and one game when I came home on June 10, 2001 to find Jim dead on the floor. His sister stormed into our home and told me to get out. She accused me of murdering him, told me she was having the all the locks changed and that I was not welcome at the funeral. By now I had found my voice. I went to Jim’s funeral and sat right in the front row. And when I happened to look around, my entire softball team was standing across the back of the room. They hardly knew me but were there to support me anyway – I was their teammate and they carried me emotionally through that first year.

Now in my third term as commissioner of NAGAAA, my focus is on reaching people who have been afraid to play sports because they’ve been teased or think they don’t have the ability to play. The greatest feeling in the world is to watch players get their first hit or catch their first fly ball and to watch them grow. You can just see their self-esteem rise. I know from personal experience that sports can be great therapy!

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

MICHAEL PHELPS: Making Swimming More Safe and Accessible

M

BY DIRK SMITH

ention the name Michael Phelps and most of the world conjures up a mental picture of a tall, lanky American swimmer with Olympic gold medals hanging around his neck. But before Michael Phelps retired as an Olympian with 23 gold, three silver and two bronze medals, making him the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), he was just another tall, lanky, awkward kid.

Like many kids Michael was involved in a variety of sports growing up, including swimming, baseball and American football. But his coach Bob Bowman saw that Michael had the potential to go far in sports, and growing up in a family of swimmers Bowman had no shortage of influence within the sport.

Michael has been notoriously reserved when people have asked him about his goals, motivations and inspirations that contribute to his outstanding work ethic in the sport. He had always wanted to be an Olympian and even aspired one day to win a gold medal. But his most significant goal and his motivation to succeed went beyond medals. One day when asked about his goals, Phelps simply answered, “I want to change the sport of swimming.”

According to his autobiography, “Michael Phelps: Beneath the Surface,” he had competed several times in Australia, including the 2000 Olympics. Following Ian Thorpe, his rival at the time he saw just how popular the sport of swimming is in Australia, rivaling the popularity of American Football in the U.S. At the time swimming only enjoyed popularity in the U.S. when the Summer Olympics were held. Phelps’ goal was to change that and bring swimming closer to the forefront of American sport.

With swimming performances that have earned him gold medals and broken world records, Phelps has achieved his goal. He’s inspiring millions of people to learn to swim and take up the sport. Following the 2008 Olympics Phelps launched his Michael Phelps Foundation that is now partnering with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Special Olympics.

Its purpose is “Working to promote healthy, active lives, especially for children, primarily by expanding the opportunities for participation in the sport of swimming.”

Taking inspiration from his own experiences learning how to swim as well as his childhood experiences living in a single-parent household, Phelps is working with his foundation to expand opportunities for at-risk youth and kids who might not have the resources or abilities to learn to swim. The foundation’s main program is the “IM Program” named for one of Phelps’ events, the Individual Medley. The moniker “I Am” is to help inspire resiliency and versatility in each

participant, helping to instill these qualities into each kid to help in daily life. Through the program kids learn swimming skills, life-saving skills, health and wellness and water safety as well as life skills to help them succeed both in and out of the pool.

The Foundation also has a Level Field Fund to offer financial support for talented athletes with limited finances and a Caps for a Cause program that permits non-profit organizations working to grow sport and/or encourage children to live healthy, active lives to apply for an authentic Michael Phelps-signed swim cap for use for their fundraising events.

As Phelps and his wife Nicole are enjoying raising their son Boomer [born just before the Rio Olympics in 2016] and expecting another child soon, they’re also more keenly aware of the environment and the world they’ll leave their children; this includes saving water.

In addition to his work at the foundation, on Earth Day this past April Phelps teamed up with Colgate in their #EveryDropCounts campaign to raise awareness for the need for water conservation.

One day when asked about his goals, Phelps simply answered, “I want to change the sport of swimming.”

www.CompeteNetwork.com

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2017 FACES OF SPORTS

JEN WELTER’S COACHING IS MORE THAN

XS OS

BY CONNIE WARDMAN ince the release model, her personal battle was to play the game she’s of her book last loved since she was a child, not specifically to be a month, “Play Big: warrior for women’s causes. In a recent interview with Lessons in Being Glamour she has highlighted that fact: Limitless From the First … if there are no women in the room and the door is Woman to Coach in the locked, it takes a guy to unlock the door for you and NFL,” Dr. Jen Welter let you in. I think we have to get better at working has once again been together in that regard, as opposed to always feeling in the media spotlight like we need to crash the door down. You don't need for her remarkable to bring out the ax; sometimes you can just knock. accomplishments as both And sometimes guys will open the door for you, but a football player and an for so many women who felt like they had to fight NFL coach. While she is a so hard, we forget that they may be allies. Men have wonderful role model for taught me that because I couldn't have done it any young girls and women other way. wanting to emulate her, There are, according to Welter some terrific women players who would qualify to move forward in "… if there are no women in the Welter’s coaching goes beyond the pro football; the problem room and the door is locked, it Xs and Os of game play. She believes she sees is the lack of takes a guy to unlock the door in actually talking to someone and personal connections for you and let you in. I think getting to know him or her as a women have within the person. league. The positive result we have to get better at working In a world that often expects of all her recent publicity together in that regard, as an either/or response to a hot button is that she has a number of opposed to always feeling like we issue from its heroes and sheroes, opportunities to work with need to crash the door down. " Welter brings a gentle but powerful new partners. For example, reminder that those people society in partnership with the NFL has placed on a pedestal are still Alumni, Welter is hosting just people who have good days and bad days … just a 12-city tour of youth football camps for girls around like everyone else. This includes professional football the country where the girls will get coaching from both players in the NFL. While she is definitely an advocate powerful women football players as well as retired for women in sports, her personal philosophy is that NFL players. By passing along her experience and everyone has a place to shine. connections, Welter is moving the game she loves into With a doctorate in psychology, she’s treated her a more diverse and inclusionary sport where other girls male teammates as well as the men she’s coached with and women who also love the game can have an equal empathy as fellow human beings, not just as men. As a footing with the men. player herself, that’s how she would want to be treated.

More than just a coach, Welter is really a “people To use her terminology, she’s played down in their cleats whisperer.” By talking with people to understand rather and understands that positive movement forward in than to judge them, by treating athletes as people football as well as in life isn’t simply a woman versus rather than performers, she’s leading us away from man proposition. hero worship and a divisive we/they mentality, instead As the person who broke the barrier in an allmoving us all into a place where acceptance and diversity male professional sport, Welter has approached the level the playing field so everyone, in her words, “has a men on her journey as allies rather than foes. While place to shine."

Photo courtesy of Alexis Levi Sports & Entertainment Group she enthusiastically accepts her status as a female role

S

22 COMPETE november 2017

TEAM COMPETE NOVEMBER 2017 MVP:

ANDREW ESQUER 24 COMPETE november 2017

“I just want people to know that every day is a new day, so learn from the past and remind yourself just how beautiful you truly are.”

This month’s Compete MVP is Andrew Esquer, the 2017 winner of Team DC’s annual Model Search and Fashion Show that raises money to support the Team DC College Scholarship Program for LGBTQ student-athletes. A native of Buckhannon, West Virginia, he now resides in the Washington, D.C. area and loves playing multiple sports with the various sports teams under the Team DC gay sports umbrella, including soccer, hiking, flag football, volleyball and softball; he also loves working out with the November Project group in his area. Since he’s a fulltime membership consultant at VIDA Fitness and teaches spin and boot camp part-time, Andrew’s love of sports and fitness should come as no surprise.

Sports offer him the opportunity to be active and to bond with other athletes, especially in the team sports.

Andrew’s love of sports started back in elementary school playing recreational basketball because he wanted to fit in with the cool kids who were doing it. After six years of basketball, he began running cross country and track, something that was so easy for him he was varsity from the start. It also garnered him lots of attention which he loved, especially in his junior and senior years of high school when he both qualified and placed at the state meets.

But the road hasn’t always been as easy for Andrew as it might appear on the surface. Losing his dad in middle school meant that his mom began working a fulltime job to make sure that he and his older brother and younger sister could enjoy their school years and play sports if they wanted. To this day he says that “She is truly a phenomenal woman and my biggest role model.”

Not aware he was gay until he was in high school, Andrew made the decision to stay closeted. Growing up in West Virginia, especially in such a very small town as Buckhannon, it wasn’t easy to be openly gay so he’d sneak out late at night and drive an hour up the road to Morgantown to hang out with his gay friends. But once in college he decided to come out to his mother and family who he says were very supportive of him and his sexuality.

Growing up we all struggle with self-confidence at some point in our lives, a problem that Andrew openly admits having. He says that being on the cover of Compete is something he could never have imagined for himself. “My selfconfidence is something that I severely lack, and I have tried to improve on it over time, but it is a major struggle in my life.” He thinks it began with a mentally and physically abusive relationship that went on over five years which he says “destroyed most of my confidence. Being beaten down constantly takes a mental toll over time. I consistently have to be reminded to love myself and be more thankful.”

Adding a message to Compete readers not judge one another or to bring another down, our MVP says the world can be cruel enough, so there’s no need to add to it. He says “I just want people to know that every day is a new day, so learn from the past and remind yourself just how beautiful you truly are.” We couldn’t agree more!

Photos by Kevin Majoros

www.CompeteNetwork.com

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SPORTS DIVERSITY LEADER™

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

KRIS SMITH, SDL: A Catalyst for Change, Growth and Acceptance

BY HARRY ANDREW

Photo co it Sports

urtesy o f Detro

A

sion

Commis

s the director of the Detroit Sports Commission (DSC), Kris Smith is a self-proclaimed man of few words who likes to represent his city and let his actions speak for themselves. The son of a preacher and educator, he values hard work, commitment and community but he also values sports and the life lessons they’ve taught him, calling them “priceless.”

First signed up to play tee ball as a young boy, Smith has been an athlete for the majority of his life, playing football, basketball and baseball; he says his greatest athletic achievement was not sustaining any serious injuries. Today he’s limited his play to basketball but still enjoys the camaraderie, competition and dedication that are an integral part of playing sports. He feels blessed to now have a career that allows him to embrace his values and passions every day in a way he finds extremely gratifying.

When asked about the LGBTQ community’s inclusion in the sports diversity movement, Smith has the following to say:

ersonally, P diversity and inclusion in sports are incredibly important to me and the community that I represent.

It’s vital to recognize and ensure that athletes from marginalized groups have a voice and a safe space to compete.

When it comes to sports, I believe that it’s the great unifier regardless of who you are or where you come from. Competition and team work are the catalyst for change, growth and acceptance.

A native of Chicago, Smith originally spent 10 years as group sales manager of competitions and meetings at Sports Hampton in Virginia. He and his family moved to

26 COMPETE november 2017

Detroit in 2012 when he accepted the position of sales manager/event development with the DSC representing much larger venues in a three-county region. Now the DSC director, Smith already has those all-important relationships in place, a vital part of any sales job.

In the four years since he’s been back in the Midwest living in Detroit, Smith says that it feels like a new city; he believes sports planners will agree, saying: o be honest, we are who we are and we own T that. We understand the perceptions of our community. What we want to do is change that narrative and have visitors come here. When people come to Detroit, those perceptions go away very, very quickly.

It’s a warm city; it’s a welcoming city and a city where people want to be. There’s a reason this community has hosted Final Fours and Super Bowls. Pretty soon, you are going to have to come to Detroit to guarantee success with your events; that’s the bottom line.

Clearly, there are reasons to be optimistic about Smith’s prediction. Of the three counties represented by the Detroit Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Sports Commission, the emphasis is on The District Detroit, a 50-block entertainment center in downtown Detroit. Following a $280 million renovation on the Cobo Center, Little Caesars Arena will open this fall and become the centerpiece of The District Detroit, bringing the Pistons back to the downtown area and also housing the Red Wings. So if you’re thinking about a new venue, you might want to give Smith a call and let him convince you that Detroit is the newest, best place to hold an event.

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

OLD WEST MEETS NEW WEST in CANDY PRATT

BY HARRY ANDREW

W

hile the world gets more complex due to technological innovations, in Aubrey, Texas there is a woman who manages to balance the unrelenting pressure of corporate America with the old style life on a ranch surrounded by the people and horses she loves. Her name is Candy Pratt. And to the people who are part of the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA) circuit she’s also known as family.

Always a lover of horses, she owned her own horse by age eight. Boarding it at a stable where competitions were called play days, Candy followed her father’s guidance to always give her best. And what better sport could she have chosen than rodeo where she could participate with her horses. Those play days were a fun way for her to hone her horsemanship skills that now enable her to be good at multiple rodeo events.

In spite of a demanding job, Candy is a true rodeo star! She’s won several rodeo World Championships in the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA), American Paint Horse Association (APHA) and the Arkansas Barrel Racing Association (ABRA). These are in addition to her many awards in IGRA in pole bending, flag race, mounted breakaway roping events as well as in barrel racing, calf roping on foot, team roping and wild drag race.

However, it’s the IGRA award for All Around Cowgirl that reveals the versatility of Candy’s skills on a horse – she just received her 101st All Around Cowgirl Award at this year’s World Gay Rodeo Finals in Albuquerque and was also honored as the event’s Grand Marshall. For her years of participation and dedication to IGRA, in 2009 she was inducted into its Hall of Fame. These awards are meaningful and come with expensive prestigious buckles to prove it; buckles she often donates to charitable organizations to help with fundraisers.

In her professional life as a corporate credit manager, Candy certainly understands the power of money to provide for others. Having started in IGRA in 1988 she’s held multiple roles within the international organization and with a number of its smaller memberorganizations, all of which give a great deal of money to charitable organizations, many of them supporting the LGBTQ community.

The idea of giving back to others is a theme that runs through Candy’s life. She volunteers, donates and does as much as she can to make that happen. She also puts on a charity barrel race called Rockin RoundUp each year for Health Services of North Texas, a 501(c)(3) organization

When asked to name her greatest personal achievement, it’s not about the buckles. Candy says that it’s “Living life to the fullest with the people around me that I love.” that supports the area LGBTQ community. She also shares her knowledge and life skills with other competitors at the very successful rodeo schools held by the Red River Rodeo Association (RRRA) several times a year.

But when asked to name her greatest personal achievement, it’s not about the buckles. Candy says that it’s “Living life to the fullest with the people around me that I love.” That appears to be the key to her ability to achieve the difficult balance between the ongoing daily demands of the business world and her personal passion for her family, her horses, rodeo competitions and giving back to the community.

Now married, Candy says “I have been with the love of my life [Doreen Rue] for twenty-four years and thank God each day that I met her during an IGRA event.” Being true to herself and following her passion for horses and for helping others have enabled Candy to say that she’s happy with her life and knows her mother was proud of who she is and how she turned out. And in the final analysis, what more could any of us ask for in life?

Photos courtesy of Candy Pratt

30 COMPETE november 2017

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

JOANIE EVANS: First Black Co-President of the Federation of Gay Games

BY BRIAN PATRICK

N

ow a semi-retired soccer player who since 2014 has served as the co-president of the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), it never dawned on Joanie Evans growing up that she could be a role model for inclusion and diversity, particularly for lesbian athletes of color. And yet that’s exactly who she has become … and so much more.

Growing up in a West Indian family in Birmingham in early 1960s England, Joanie Evans was a product of the time and place – no one talked about feelings and children were to be seen and not heard. She was involved in sports from the time she went to school, saying that “I have always been able to be at my best in sports.”

Moving to London just before she turned 21, she had been working with children but says things took a turn for the worse when she realized that she was a lesbian.

Recalling that time, Evans said “I had given up work and went back to school to do a recreation and leisure course.

It was through this course that I learned of women's football [soccer].”

Evans started playing for a team that eventually made the decision to be an out, predominately lesbian team based in Hackney. Coming back to sports as an adult made things much better; it gave her the safety to be out. In fact, she’s recently been asked to be a patron of the Hackney Women's Football Club (FC), the first team she played for in London and was one of the team’s founding members.

In the early 90s Evans was asked to be part of a film highlighting the issues around homophobia in sport.

Called “Running Gay,” in the film it showed parts of the Vancouver Gay Games that led to her team going to its first Gay Games in New York; she’s been to every one since. In an interesting coincidence, when Evans came out on her 25th birthday, it just happened to be the day Gay Games founder Tom Waddell died.

Still living her childhood experience of being silent and not heard, Evans says that in 2004 “my life almost

came to an end with alcohol but I made the decision to live. I had to find my voice and not be afraid of who I am and what I believe in, which is that there is a space for everyone in the world to belong and I believe that I am the right person to be the first black co-president of the FGG.” Evans’ future goals are to increase the participation of women, young people and persons of color in sports, especially in the Gay Games movement. “I hope for an FGG board that reflects the membership we serve. I think it is very important to have a wide range of communities reflected in sport. For the LGBTQ+ community it’s especially important as it brings us together more than any Gay Pride can do. I know I need to change the diversity of the board; we've managed to recruit a few more nonAmericans, as a start.”

Never looking at herself as a role model until after the opening ceremony at the 2014 Gay Games 9 in Cleveland, Evans says she met so many people of color who were happy to see her, telling her how they felt like they belonged. This, says Evans, “was a dream come true for me, to know that I can make a difference. I would hope that the message I can give to the younger generation is that anything is possible if you want it enough; and that race, gender, sexual identity, money, class, geographical residence, etc. should not halt you from being the best person you can be!”

I had to find my voice and not be afraid of who I am and what I believe in, which is that there is a space for everyone in the world to belong and I believe that I am the right person to be the first black co-president of the FGG.” Photos courtesy of Joanie Evans

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2017 FACES OF SPORTS

DOCUMENTARIAN DANIEL KOENIG FOCUSES ON PARA-ROWING

BY HARRY ANDREW

W

ith a very competitive nature, Daniel Koenig was always involved in various sports growing up in Cisco, Texas. But it wasn’t until he went away to college that he started having some real success as an athlete. During his freshman year at the University of Oklahoma he saw a flier advertising try outs for the school’s crew team and did very well; 10 years later and rowing is still one of his greatest passions.

Following his graduation from college he began working in the film industry in various positions, both narrative and commercial that he very much enjoyed. But Koenig’s ultimate dream was to produce his own feature documentary. Now living in Phoenix, in the summer of 2013 film jobs had dried up. He found himself sitting in his room wondering how long until another film would come along when he had an epiphany: he asked himself, “Why am I sitting here waiting for someone else to have an idea? Why is my career dependent upon someone else’s pro-activity?”

" I think sport can be a great unifier because it’s something everyone can relate to and hopefully, through that common interest people will realize that we’re not all that different after all. ” It wasn’t long after that he created Power 10 Films, named for a rowing term. Typically called by the boat’s coxswain, Power 10 means that for the next 10 strokes you’re going to pull with all your strength, give it everything you’ve got to overtake your opponent or finish the race strong. “I felt that was an appropriate name for my company,” he said “and thus began a four- year documentary endeavor.

Because of his familiarity with the rowing world, Koenig was aware of a division known as para-rowing, rowing categories for people with disabilities. A very new addition to the world rowing scene, it wasn’t very well known to many people outside the small group of pararowers so he decided to make a film featuring a group of these individuals as they trained and competed for a spot on the U.S. National Rowing Team.

“I credit my rowing experience with a lot of the film’s success,” said Koenig. “Because of my knowledge and skills in rowing, I was able to relate to the people I was filming and understand the difficulties they were undergoing.”

In fact he became a training partner when the cameras

weren’t rolling and a cheerleader during the races, saying “Had I not had a rowing background, I’m sure the film would not have near the depth we were able to capture.”

Titled “Trials: Finding the Medal,” his documentary follows four elite para-rowers as they train and compete for a spot on the U.S. National Rowing Team within the para-rowing categories. Throughout the film, Koenig says that each rower is faced with difficult decisions and experiences that test their strength, knowing all the while that only the fastest will make the team. Filming at a variety of rowing locations across the U.S., the film showcases the beauty and power of rowing while giving a behind-the-scenes look into the selections process for the national rowing team.

Finally complete, the film has screened in over a dozen cities across the U.S. and won best documentary in a couple of film festivals. Looking back on his journey, he says he met some incredible people. They are very different from each other and live extremely different lifestyles, but one thing that unites them all is their love for sport. “I think sport can be a great unifier because it’s something everyone can relate to and hopefully, through that common interest people will realize that we’re not all that different after all. Whether it be disability, sexuality, we all want to be competitive and have a good time. AND beat the guy in the next lane.”

Koenig says “Trials: Finding the Medal” is now available for anyone to see on iTunes and AmazonPrime or go to www.TrialsDoc.com.

Photos courtesy of Daniel Koenig

34 COMPETE november 2017

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

ALEXIS LEVI: Changing the Sports Management Game

BY MIRIAM LATTO

M

Photo co

f urtesy o

Alexis L

evi

eet Alexis Levi, the first African American woman to become the CEO and general manager of a men’s basketball team – and this is only the beginning of her many accomplishments. But she wasn’t handed any of this. Her motivation came from her father.

She recalls that her dad “… told me I could do anything and don’t let the fact that I was a women or African American and Jewish stop me from achieving my dreams.” Having already achieved many of her dreams, the message Levi now shares with others is to persevere in whatever you’re involved in to get all you can out of life.

Levi’s love of sports comes from her father who by age six had introduced her to basketball, football and baseball (read that as the Warriors, Raiders and Oakland A’s!). An athlete in her younger years, she played softball, basketball and volleyball, winning a state championship in the latter. She was also a cheerleader and a competitive ice skater and won a few third- and fourth-place medals.

But rather than continuing to compete as an athlete, Levi has decided to take her love of sports and devote her life to developing the industry.

Now a sports executive and owner of Alexis Levi Sports and Entertainment Group headquartered in Las Vegas, in 2007 Levi purchased a franchise from the International Basketball League (IBL), named it the Las Vegas Stars and became its CEO and general manager. Having worked as a sports agent advisor for Sports Management Worldwide prior to purchasing the men’s professional basketball team, she already had the experience to manage it. But over the ensuing years her expertise has expanded to sports marketing, management, branding and technology marketing.

Her company does everything from managing an athlete or celebrity to marketing their brand so it’s no surprise the company is now moving into film and television production. Levi had already developed ProBaller Magazine, a luxury lifestyle magazine along with ProBaller Weekly, a weekly radio show on NGSC Sports with an accompanying blog, proballermag.

An advocate for fairness in sports and business, Levi considers herself blessed to be working with amazing celebrities, talent brokers and business men and women.

Having a family member and some friends who are part of the LGBTQ community, diversity of all kinds is important to her. She’s currently raising $150 million for production and development of the Matrix franchise, awarding it to a sci-fi writer who has overcome Hollywood adversity.

Levi also represents Dr. Jen Welter, who broke the glass sideline as the first female coach in the NFL.

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... she wrote a book entitled “Alexis Levi: From the Boardroom to the Locker Room” to inspire as many people as possible to “keep going; get off your couch and make it happen.”

A woman of deep faith, it’s important for Levi to help others reach their goals. Recognizing that her accomplishments mean that a lot of young men and women as well as adults look to her as a positive role model, she wrote a book entitled “Alexis Levi: From the Boardroom to the Locker Room” to inspire as many people as possible to “keep going; get off your couch and make it happen.” An amazing journey like hers doesn’t come without its share of highs and lows and she emphasizes that what really makes it happen is perseverance.

In spite of all she’s accomplished in the world of sports and business, what makes her the most proud on a personal level is raising two great sons who are respectful and productive young men. And while she represents people in the sports world, she’s not afraid to name her favorite athlete – it’s Tyler Larson. He just happens to be her son who’s a top guard playing basketball in Liege Basket in Belgium.

Don’t think however that perseverance and getting the most out of life has come to an end for Levi; that she’s ready to retire and rest on her business laurels. She’s already got future goals in mind, like bringing an NBA team to Las Vegas, developing a beautiful sports-themed hotel in Vegas and producing more TV and movies. As an advocate for youth, women and diversity, she also plans to continue helping others pursue their sports dreams. Why all this effort? Because as she says, “I believe everyone deserves an opportunity to be GREAT!”

SPORTS DIVERSITY LEADER™

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

KURT GROSS, SDL: Running for an IDEA

BY BRIAN PATRICK

O

riginally from the cool and humid climes of Oregon, committed endurance runner Kurt Gross, SDL is now in the hot and dry ones of Phoenix, Arizona as president and moving force within the Phoenix Frontrunners, Inc. (PHXFR), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation working hard to better the lives of those touched directly and indirectly through the organization’s commitment to endurance sports.

Endurance running is a passion for Gross, saying race events for runners and walkers. “When someone’s that “It keeps me simulated. It’s mentally and physically out there getting ready to challenge him or herself, is challenging. It’s a sport that nervous, second guessing whether always clears my mind, changes they can do it and then you see their my perspective and makes me feel expression as they cross the finish better. And it’s one I enjoy doing by line – it’s an amazing feeling.” myself and with others. It allows me Talking about his favorite sport, to be spontaneous.” As the volunteer Gross says that for him, running is a president of the organization, he unique sport because it can be both produces race events for runners and a solo and a team sport. “You can walkers that come to Phoenix from run by yourself or with a running all across the U.S. to participate in group. You also can compete as an the organization’s high-quality USA individual or on a team. It’s also Track & Field-certified courses that a sport where you can find team offer a Half Marathon, a 10K and 5K comradeship and fit in whether you run and walk. are just getting off the couch and Welcoming everyone to “Run starting to run (walk) or running It; Race It; Live It,” PHXFR is an that half-marathon in an hour.”

LGBTQ organization committed to But Gross says the organization the importance of its IDEA concept is also committed to help educate “I feel very fortunate that – Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and and bring awareness to important I can focus on a sport I Acceptance for everyone; everyone causes within the community. love and the values I hold really is welcome at one the group’s He’s committed long-term to his dear; inclusion, diversity, events. In a lighthearted, fun and volunteer work to grow PHXFR’s equality and acceptance exciting way, their major Pride services and reach, saying “I feel Run as well as the other weekly very fortunate that I can focus on (IDEA).”

LGBTQ runs and walks they hold Photo courtesy of Kurt Gross, SDL a sport I love and the values I hold provide professionally-held events dear; inclusion, diversity, equality where every individual can experience an atmosphere and acceptance (IDEA).” promoting equality and inclusion; one where diversity When discussing the importance of the sports diversity and acceptance for everyone reinforces that life truly is movement, Gross believes this is critically important for better with all of us in it. everyone and says what all of us do truly matters. “The While he’s dabbled in a lot of sports over the years, more common place recognition of LGBTQ+ athletes it’s really running that captures him body, mind and becomes in sports, the more familiar and accepted it soul. Rather than follow a certain athlete or team, he says will become. Each one of us holds accountability for how he’s more inspired by going out to a race where he can quickly this happens.” And for Kurt Gross and the PHXFR be surrounded by a whole bunch of people challenging members, they intend to be accountable by continuing to themselves, sharing that this is a huge part of the run for Inclusion, Diversity, Equality and Acceptance – satisfaction he gets out of being involved in producing it’s an “IDEA” whose time has come!

www.CompeteNetwork.com

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37

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

DR. JOHN SUTHERLAND’S MISSION IS Better Health for All

BY IAN COLGATE

erland

W

Photo c

ourtesy

of Dr. J ohn Su th

hen we think of medicine or better yet when we get sick, we go to the doctor. Doctors are there to treat your illness, prescribe medicine and help you get better. For over 35 years with the Arizona Heart Institute and other organizations, that’s exactly what cardiologist Dr. John Sutherland has been doing.

Compete Magazine readers may recognize Dr. Sutherland’s name. As the magazine's health editor he writes the health articles for the magazine. As an athlete myself, I was glad to have the opportunity to chat with Dr. Sutherland to learn more about the work he has been doing.

As Dr. Sutherland would say, “Where to start?” He has been working with cardiology patients for many years, but he started to realize that his time spent inserting stents (a small mesh tube inserted into an artery to help maintain its structural integrity) and prescribing medications for a variety of cardiac conditions wasn’t working well. He saw that people weren’t doing a good job taking care of their hearts or bodies once outside of the hospital.

For that matter, they weren’t even doing a good job caring for their hearts while in the hospital. In walks between clinics, the very patients who were seeking treatment were also lighting up cigarettes, eating greasy food and were commonly very overweight, none of which are healthy for the heart.

Dr. Sutherland decided to partner with a post-graduate student, an exercise physiologist named Jake Tommerup to conduct research to learn what more what they could do to help keep people from needing stents and medications in the first place. What’s the solution? Regular exercise and healthy eating habits. But they realized that while the answer was simple, getting people to follow it wasn’t simple at all.

According to Dr. Sutherland, “We were barking up the wrong tree by trying to tell them they are less likely to develop negative health effects by exercising. It wasn’t motivating people to tell them that they would help prevent the risk of a heart attack. So we focused more on

38 COMPETE november 2017

the short-term benefits of how exercise can help you feel good and strong.”

As a form of “preventative medicine,” they realized it couldn’t exactly be applied in a traditional western medical practice. It was hard to motivate people to get into a regular exercise routine.

“We’re not engaging in preventative medicine in a way that we are literally putting something in the water to try and prevent disease,” said Dr. Sutherland.

“We’re focusing on shifting the mindset for people to choose the right activity and sport for them.”

Dr. Sutherland’s patients come in all ages, but he and Tommerup have a particular focus on older populations since statistically they are more likely to develop cardiovascular, pulmonary and metabolic diseases.

Using body weight exercises, yoga, qigong, tai chi and association with different sports clubs and activity groups in Phoenix, Sutherland and Tommerup have seen great success with their clinic, “Cardio Health and Fitness.”

“People come in for a doctor’s appointment and suddenly realize they have walked into a gym,” laughed Dr. Sutherland, but actually that’s where preventing heart disease really begins. Eventually his partnership with Tommerup blossomed into a full romance. Said Dr. Sutherland, “We are like two kindred spirits” who continue to work together as partners and lovers to help create positive change in their patients’ lives.

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2017 FACES OF SPORTS

TERRI GODDARD: PLANNER OF

U

F N!

BY MIRIAM LATTO

I

f you don’t already know Kansas City’s Terri Goddard, you’ll want to now. Calling herself the planner of fun, she’s one of those gregarious event planners and non-profit fund raisers who not only knows how to plan a fun event and ask people for money to support it, she also gets them to donate because she believes each event or cause she supports to be a worthy one.

Her day job is as manager of resource development and community outreach for The Whole Person, a nonprofit organization in Kansas City, Missouri that connects people with disabilities to needed resources by supporting independent choice and advocating for positive change within the community, making it more inclusive and accessible to everyone.

But she also does the same event planning and fund raising as a community volunteer, much of it involving sports organizations and the LGBTQ community, particular anything AIDS-related. Sharing that her greatest personal achievement is raising over $22 million for a variety of charitable organizations in her community, both as a professional and a volunteer, Goddard says “Raising money is my passion.”

"Some of my greatest moments have been sports-related and I hope there are many more to come.”

In spite of the fact that much of her life revolves around sports, in a surprising and fun twist Goddard isn’t really an athlete. Her lifelong love affair as a sports spectator began at the tender age of 18 months. Her mother would take her to watch her big brother play sports year round; they’re all part of her earliest memories and she emphasizes that “I love being the 12th man and take my job really seriously.” For the kid who loved being active and having something to do, her involvement in sports is the perfect adult corollary.

In 1984 Goddard came out of the closet after meeting a woman and they began a relationship. The woman was a competitive softball player for a team that was part of the Heart of America Softball League (HASL). As fate would have it, the team was really good and in 1985 went to Milwaukee to play in the first Gay Softball World Series

40 COMPETE november 2017

Pictures courtesy of Terri Goddard

(GSWS) ever held by NAGAAA, the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance. According to Goddard, “… the rest is kind of history. I’ve pretty much been a staple in the gay league ever since.”

Once one of the softball coaches asked her to be a fill in as score keeper, it gave her something to do, a way to become part of the team instead of just sitting in the stands.

She’s still keeping score and still loves it! Then when the league commissioner asked if she could help with a couple of fundraisers that same year, it was the icing on the cake.

Holding their first team talent night, they raised $1,400, thus beginning her lengthy run serving on the league’s board of directors.

Goddard says that nothing in her life has given her a greater sense of accomplishment than serving as the director of NAGAAA’s GSWS in 1999 that included two years of meetings and fundraisers with an awesome supporting team. And she’s taken on the task as director of fundraising and special events for the 2019 GSWS. It’s no wonder that NAGAAA inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 2013 without her ever setting foot on a softball field! This summer the HASL named one its awards the Terri Goddard Team Award, another special moment for her, especially since she’s gotten to induct several of her best friends into the HASL Hall of Fame. As she reflects on her life in sports, Goddard says that “Some of my greatest moments have been sports-related and I hope there are many more to come.”

SPORTS DIVERSITY LEADER™

2017 FACES OF SPORTS

PATRICK HIGGINS, SDL: Working to Build More Robust LGBTQ Sporting Events

BY IAN COLGATE

P

One of the things that is not only encouraging, but inspiring is that you don’t have to be a star athlete to get heavily involved and become an important player on your team or within your sport. In most other sporting event communities it’s simply not that way.

Everyone that I’ve been privileged to meet so far within the LGBTQ sports community has incredible perspective on life, on sport and on competition.

One influence that’s made him such a strong ally is the fact that Higgins has an LGBTQ family member who is a fantastic athlete but who didn’t come out until much later in life. He shared one of the reasons he’s so determined to support LGBTQ+ sports: If LGBTQ sporting events were more common when she was younger and competing, she could have been empowered to come out earlier. I believe that a more robust LGBTQ sporting event community can save and enrich lives and it’s such a rewarding effort to support.

Standing at 6-foot-8 it's almost a given that he’s played some basketball in his life. But Higgins says he’ll play anything thanks to his mother’s influence – she’s the one who taught him how to throw a football. He continues to play basketball at his home in Reno, Nevada and counts Kobe Bryant, Buster Posey and Ted Williams as his favorite

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Photo courtesy of Pat

With an athletic streak that runs through the family, he also loves to play sports. “There is a magic around sports that is unlike any other,” he says. “Sports can push you, lift you, break you and mold you.”

Higgins is also a devoted husband and father, coach and powerful LGBTQ+ ally. When asked for his thoughts on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ athletes as part of the sports diversity movement, his immediate response was that it’s “off to a great start but still has a long way to go." He continued to say:

rick Higgins, SDL

atrick Higgins, SDL is a successful executive, the vice president of meetings and events at Connect Meetings who works tirelessly to develop resources for the LGBTQ+ community. Connect hosts an annual diversity conference and has formed the LGBT Sports Coalition to bring members of the sports community together to foster a stronger collaboration.

professional athletes. His biggest sports goal is to still be able to dunk a basketball when he’s 40. At his height, he’s probably got that one in the bag basket.

As far as his favorite non-professional athletes are concerned, that would definitely be his three children, all under the age of 12. He loves spending time with his wife and kids and he currently coaches his son’s baseball team.

Recently Higgins took the team all the way to participate in the state tournament after winning a regional championship. He says that “working with my son and the other members of the team to compete the right way, is something that will always be special to me.”

Higgins sees the continued progress LGBTQ+ sports are making and is excited to continue connecting sporting event organizers and the hospitality communities to bring athletes to their cities, hotels and venues. One of the reasons for his success is a lesson he learned from sports and then was reminded of it by watching his kids: Watching them grow, develop, and compete in their sports reminds me of how when you’re a kid the little things seem so monumental. The reality is [that] scores are forgotten, most wins and losses aren’t remembered, trophies get lost or broken, but people will always remember the way that you make them feel and that starts at a very young age.

Patrick Higgins makes people feel good, and those of us who have met him will always remember that!

EVENTS: FOR A COMPLETE CALENDAR OF EVENTS PLEASE VISIT WWW.COMPETENETWORK.COM/EVENTS BOWLING IGBO Mid-Year 2017 OKC Oklahoma City, Nov. 7

Los Angeles Silver Screen Invitational Tournament Los Angeles, Nov. 17

Holiday Invitational Tournament Milwaukee, Nov. 24

RUGBY Capital Women’s Collegiate Tournament Fredericksburg, Va., Nov. 5-6

SOFTBALL Turkey Shootout

Palm Springs, Nov. 24-26

Hurricane Showdown Ft. Lauderdale, Nov. 24-26

TENNIS HOUTEX37

Houston, Nov. 10-12

Palm Springs Open 24

Rancho Mirage, Nov. 24-26

Tampa Bay Citrus Classic 2017 Tampa, Nov. 24-26

VOLLEYBALL Golden Apple XI

New York City, Nov. 4

Music City challenge Nashville, Nov. 4

Capital City Classic Sacramento, Nov. 11

Strong Beach Open Long Beach, Nov. 25

December 1 is World AIDS Day Every December 1 is set aside for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, showing their support for people who are living with HIV and to honor and remember those who have died from AIDS. Beginning in 1988 at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, World AIDS Day was the very first global health day ever held.

But AIDS hasn’t gone away – there is still a vital need to continue raising awareness and money to improve education and treatment. An estimated 34 million people are currently living with HIV and more than 35 million more have died from AIDS, making the virus one of the most destructive pandemics in world history. In spite of all we know and the advances made, there is still a strong worldwide stigma attached to being HIV-positive and those who live with HIV often face terrible discrimination and isolation.

Get tested if you haven’t already! And on World AIDS Day go to http://www.worldaidsday.org/about to learn what else you can do to help combat this deadly disease.

Also check out David Reid’s AIDSWatch art project he created in 1996 as part of World AIDS Day that is presented ONLY on December 1 each year as a memorial to remember and honor those who lost lives and loved ones from HIV/AIDS. Go to www.aidswatch.org to add a name. There is no charge for this but the deadline to add names is November 27 to prevent duplications and typographical errors.

President’s Pride Cup III Washington, D.C., Nov. 25

Sports Club at

Your Uptown Fitness Experience! www.sportsclubatcitysquare.com (Indian School Rd and 2nd Ave)

602-285-2929

44 COMPETE november 2017

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