News: H1N1, Banksy, Drew Gooden, Space Hotel, Justin Bourne

Wisconsin Supreme Court to hear appeal of lawsuit oever same-sex marriage referendum.

Dallas Mavericks Drew Gooden accused of calling fan a "faggot".

Lady Gaga found something else in her closet.

Census data: many similarities between straight married couples and gay married couples.

Gay candidate smeared as child molester in Annapolis election.

Anti-gay sign investigated as hate crime in Maine: "A hand-painted, plywood sign that had a threat directed at homosexuals was found nailed on a tree in the front yard of a Route 156 residence on Friday, police say."

Hypocrite: Rep. Joe Wilson blames Obama administration for vaccine shortage after voting no on funding bill to combat H1N1.

Space hotel to launch in 2012?

A look at Ultimate Fighting, its gay-friendly and not so gay-friendly fighters, and its gay fans: “Any guy involved in grappling is the furthest thing from homophobic in the world. I honestly think it would have no impact whatsoever with not only our fighters or our fan base. The guys in the UFC, everybody is so cool, it’s great sportsmanship, everybody has respect for each other. I honestly, it wouldn’t be a big deal to me and most of the guys I know in this sport, it wouldn’t be a big deal for them either.”

Circus: Kylie Minogue spent Halloween in NYC with Marc Jacobs and Lorenzo Martone.

Miss Gay America crowned in St. Louis.

Minor league hockey player Justin Bourne: End the gay slurs. "In my days as a hockey player, I did nothing but contribute to hockey's culture of homophobia and prejudice against gays. I used gay slurs more times than I'd like to admit. Six months after I left my last professional locker room, I felt a twinge of regret, followed by a full-out, stomach punch of regret. And by the time I finished the first draft of this column, I was disgusted with myself."

Is Precious this year's Slumdog?

Listen: Silverton, Oregon's transgender mayor Stu Rasmussen profiled on WNYC's Radiolab.

Dancing with the Stars' Derek Hough: I'm not gay, but I almost played one on Cougar Town: "It would have been perfect. With all the rumors going around, I thought it would be really funny because it's just not true. But I was like, you know what? If that's what you want to see."

Rihanna discusses assault: "I went to sleep as Rihanna and woke up as Britney Spears."

Banksy commentary on graffiti vandalism covered in graffiti by vandals.

Minnesota pastor quits over Lutheran position on gay clergy.

Mariah Carey nearly takes spill on Jay Leno.

Twitter war erupts after user calls British actor Stephen Fry's Tweets "boring."

Conservative Washington Times highlights Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway's opposition to lifting ban on gays in the military: "But Gen. Conway has gone further than others in stating his opposition to a change in policy, according to the former official, who has been privy to private conversations on the matter. "He feels very strongly that [removing the ban] would be disruptive, and he opposes it," said the former official. Gen. Conway's private remarks stand in contrast to public utterances by other service chiefs, who have restricted themselves to repeating a well-rehearsed mantra: If Congress introduces a bill to repeal the ban, they will discuss it with the chain of command. If Congress changes the law, they will follow the law."

Sportrait: Dwight Howard

More images are starting to trickle out from ESPN magazine's upcoming 'The Body Issue'. Here's one of six covers, featuring Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

Previous sportraits...
Sportrait: Carl Edwards [tr]
Sportrait: Ben Cohen [tr]
Sportrait: Rafael Nadal [tr]
Sportrait: Mark Sanchez [tr]
Sportrait: Janko Tipsarevic [tr]
Sportrait Joe and Nate Montana [tr]

Watch: NBA Free Agent Stephon Marbury Denies He's Gay, Shows Off Painted Toenails

You may remember a post I did in April about NBA free agent Stephon Marbury, who was being mocked by other players because of a "gay" YouTube video in which he sobs and is consoled by an unidentified male friend.

Now, Marbury has again taken to YouTube to deny he's gay. It's also the first gay denial video I've seen in which the guy denying the gay rumors shows off painted toenails studded in rhinestones.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Player's YouTube Clip Reignites Debate on Homophobia in NBA

Washington Wizards center Brendan Haywood has reignited a conversation on homophobia in professional basketball after making fun of a YouTube clip which NBA free agent Stephon Marbury posted earlier in the summer. Haywood suggests there's something very "gay" about Marbury and he'd be apprehensive about sharing a locker room with him. According to Outsports, the crying and dejected behavior in Marbury's video apparently has something to do with being rejected by the Boston Celtics.

Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...

Said Haywood this week in a radio interview:

“At first it was cool, but after a while it just became disturbing. He’s on YouTube crying with no shirt on for no reason, sweating while his boy’s rubbing his shoulders. What’s that about? That’s like gay porn. I don’t understand it. He’s dancing to a song called ‘Barbie Doll’, doing like stripper moves. I have no idea what’s going on with the guy, it’s almost like he’s trying to end his own career. There’s not a GM out there that would touch Marbury right now… Have you seen the ‘Barbie Doll’ clip? Click on YouTube and go to Barbie Doll. There’s no way any other professional athletes would wanna get dressed around this guy, because you gotta think something is a little, he’s swinging from both sides of the fence.”

Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo! Sports and ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz were critical of Haywood's remarks.

Haywood later posted an apology: "My last blog about some of Stephon Marbury’s actions, combined with a radio interview that I did, have been misinterpreted by some as speaking out against homosexuality. I’ve received some comments and so have the Wizards about it. I just wanted to take a time out and let you know that no disrespect was intended. I was just trying to have fun with a crazy situation. I don’t support or condemn homosexuality and I believe in everyone making choices for themselves. If it doesn’t affect me, I don’t really care. I hope no one was offended because I wasn’t trying to come off like Tim Hardaway."

NBA Fanhouse doesn't buy it:

"But in that apology, Haywood invokes the name Tim Hardaway (as in, 'I wasn't trying to come off like Tim Hardaway') and offers up ye old 'if it doesn't affect me, I don't really care' response to the very existence of homosexuality. In other words, Haywood notifies us that he will continue to be a part of the problem...That kind of talk and the "I don't care one way or another" bit don't match up. You do care, Brendan. You're a professional athlete, and you're saying you don't want to get dressed next to a guy who might be bisexual or gay. You're entitled to have whatever internal fears you want. No one can put you on trial for getting nervous around a gay man, just as no one can prosecute a white woman who clutches her purse tightly when passing you on the street. Both fears are ignorant and accessory to a perpetual, destructive existence of fear of The Other. But they are your own fears. The problem is when you transform those fears into public opinions. And when you spout those wrong and ignorant opinions unprovoked in a broadcast conversation, and attach said opinions to the whole of the professional athlete fraternity, you forfeit your right to be indignant regarding negative reactions to your private, personal fears, since you have made those a topic of public discourse. You cannot make a homophobic comment and days later distance yourself from it by saying you have no problem with gay people."

Watch Stephon Marbury's video, AFTER THE JUMP...

New Jersey Net Richard Jefferson: 'I'm Not Gay'

Reports that New Jersey Net Richard Jefferson dumped his fiance shortly before their wedding have revived rumors that Jefferson is gay, according to Deadspin, or at least those rumors that some New Jersey Net is gay. Jefferson says it's not him.

The New York Post reports: " The couple had planned to top off their $500,000 wedding with a honeymoon in London, where they had tickets to one of the Michael Jackson comeback shows. Of the money he's giving Nichols, Jefferson said, 'I'm not trying to buy her off. She has a lump sum to help her move on.' He added, 'I've made my mistakes in this relationship, 100 percent. But at the end of the day, there were some people who were responsible for the demise of it.' He insisted a rumor he's gay had nothing to do with the breakup.' I'm not gay,' Jefferson said. 'That couldn't be any further from the truth. I have nothing to hide.' Nichols could not be reached."

ESPN Pulls Shaquille O'Neal 'Fist Kiss' Ad

ESPN's Media Relations Vice President Rob Tobias issued a statement this afternoon with regard to the Shaquille O'Neal "fist kiss" ad that I posted this morning.

"We have dozens of executions of the 'NBA on ESPN RV Tour' online campaign and none are intended to be offensive to anyone or any community of people. Our intent is to send a positive message about the camaraderie of sports and to do so as creatively as we can. However, we understand your perspective on this ad and would like to apologize to the members of the gay community. In addition, we have decided to remove the ad from the campaign’s online executions. ESPN has a long-standing tradition of supporting diversity in the workplace and beyond. We are fully committed to continuing a dialogue that welcomes and recognizes diverse perspectives. We appreciate your bringing your concerns to our attention."