News: Chris Evans, GLAAD, Nigeria Soccer, Brad Walsh

Former NYC mayor John Lindsay gave Florence Henderson crabs.

Chris Evans blankets the new poster for Captain America.

The Boston Globe on the GLAAD/AT&T letter controversy: "Many nonprofits seek corporate sponsorship, especially in today’s financial climate, but their fund-raising operations shouldn’t drive their advocacy. And if AT&T or any other corporation wants to support civil-rights groups or a teachers’ union, it should do so out of a commitment to those causes, not as a down payment on future favors."

Prince makes an attempt to hide his royal purple.

Tom Ford on his possiblel future children: "If I have children, no one will know about it until the child is born. And no one will ever see the child because I certainly wouldn’t use it as a press tool."

Today marks the 2 year anniversary of Michael Jackson's sudden death.

"Gay Liberation" sculpture in Christopher Park gets a thorough scrubbing.

Hundreds march for marriage equality in North Carolina.

Church reportedly marries eight same-sex couples in Baguio, Philippines.

Singer Brad Walsh on the anti-gay attack he experienced a few years ago: "There's a song on the new album called "D. F. W. M." which stands for Don't F*** With Me and it's about a time when I was walking and this truck driver got out, punched me in the face, called me a faggot, and chased me down the street. That was the first time a stranger has touched me in an angry manner. I made a big deal about it in the media and eventually got him fired. The police wouldn't classify it as an assault, so they called it harassment, which is not what it was. Nobody would stick around to be my witness for the police. It was one of those moments where I was like 'wow, it's really not the world I thought it was.' It took me two years to write that very angry song."

Gay organizations have called on FIFA to fight the discrimination produced by the Nigerian Football Federation. Sign the petition here. Earlier today, anti-gay Nigeria coach Eucharia Uche said "homosexuality is a dirty thing, spiritually and morally it is very, very wrong."

Despite the financial difficulties it has recently faced, organizers of San Francisco's pride parade will not skimp on the festivities.

Gay Footballer Anton Hysén Defends His Father

Anton Hysén, the first European footballer to come out as gay, is defending his father, former Liverpool FC defender Glenn Hysén, who had been accused of homophobia after he assaulted a man who groped him in an airport bathroom in 2001.

The elder Hysén (above) surprisingly delivered the opening remarks during Stockholm Pride in 2007. His well-received speech at the event encouraged athletes to be open about their sexuality and he spoke about the prevalence of homophobia in sports.

The 20-year-old Sweden, who also reveals that he was the boy in his father's speech at Pride, defends him in the Guardian:

"Until now only my family and friends have known about my sexuality – well I think so, at least. That was the funniest thing when my dad made that speech. When he was talking about 'a 16-year-old who didn't want to come out because he feared what his team‑mates would think', that was me. And people thought it so bloody strange that he was allowed to speak at the Pride Festival, that he was a homophobe and so on. Shit, they were so wrong."

Watch a non-English interview with Hysén published before his coming out, AFTER THE JUMP.

UK Soccer Fans Are Ready For An Openly Gay Player

It seems like soccer fans in Europe care more about the way the sport is played than who plays in the games themselves. So says a new research study in the UK:

"In a survey of 3,000 people published by the University of Staffordshire, eight out of 10 supporters said gay players would have a positive effect on the sport, comparable to how the influx of black players helped the games tackle racism in the 1980s and 1990s." 

"'One fan told us: 'I'd rather have a gay player who can play than a straight one who can't.' And this is a typical view, not just from supporters but from everyone associated with football,' said Ellis Cashmore, professor of culture, media and sport at the University, in the Observer newspaper."

About half of those questioned could see a positive impact from a well-known player's coming out, comparing him to Gareth Thomas, who came out at the peak of his rugby career.

The Guardian reports: "Of those football fans questioned in the research, more than 52% believe the greatest cause for a change in attitudes in the game would be a Gareth Thomas-type player coming out. A campaign backed by leading players was also considered by almost 31% to be influential."

One respondent in the study believes an openly gay footballer could be win-win for the player: "He could make a lot of money [as] the first gay footballer....when football joins the 21st century."

The actual first player in the sport to publicly come out was Justin Fashanu who did so in 1990. He sadly took his own life eight years later.

Joe Hart Receives Underwear From His Gay Fans

Manchester City goalkeeper might very well be a gay icon. According to the Daily Star:

Joe Hart has been forced to dive for cover before he’s even taken to the field in South Africa, thanks to his ever- increasing army of gay followers...A source close to the player said: “Joe gets huge amounts of gay fanmail and the strangest gifts sent to him. “The other month one admirer sent him a new pair of lime green Aussie-style bum briefs, complete with the message ‘You’ve Stolen My Hart’.”

Hart became an Internet star a couple of years ago with a viral video of the footballer dancing in his hotel room in his underwear. Revisit the video AFTER THE JUMP.

Don't Dare Call Zlatan Ibrahimovic Gay

Remember all that speculation that arose last week about the relationship between Barcelona football stars Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gerard Pique after pictures of the two in a seemingly intimate pose were published?

According to the sports blog Daily Tackle, a female reporter out right asked Ibrahimovic in person if he was gay. The footballer responded to her question quite bluntly: He told her: "Come to my house with your sister and see if I'm queer."

Ok then.

Video of the moment (in Spanish) is AFTER THE JUMP.