Arts & Entertainment
My-King Johnson is first openly gay recruit in NCAA
the defensive end says ‘I’m just here to play football’
(Screenshot via YouTube.)
My-King Johnson’s recruitment to the University of Arizona makes him the first openly gay scholarship player in the NCAA.
The 17-year-old Tempe High School senior and defensive end came out publicly in an interview with the Arizona Daily Star on Saturday.
“I do feel like when I say that [I am openly gay], it can put a target on my back, but whatever,” Johnson, who came out at age 12, told the Arizona Daily Star.
Arizona defensive line coach Vince Amey recruited Johnson and says when Johnson told him he was gay he still wanted him on the team.
“When I found out, I really couldn’t sleep,” Amey told the Arizona Daily Star. “And it wasn’t like I was uncomfortable with it. I was just like, all right, it’s different, it’s new. … I said, ‘Look, you are who you are, I am who I am, and I’m going to coach you the same way. I’m going to treat you the same way. I’m going to get on you the same way as everybody else. There’s no difference. You do what you do.'” “I said, ‘When the players find out, especially my room, I’m going to tell [those] dudes: Look, you gotta have his back.'”
For Johnson, it was important to just be candid about who he is so he can be himself.
“I’m a very honest person,” Johnson continued. “I just don’t see how I could be living an honest, truthful life and have that in the background.”
Even though there is buzz around Johnson’s sexuality he wants everyone to know the game is what it’s really about for him.
I’m just here to play football.
— My-King Johnson (@kingj9943) February 25, 2017
Baltimore
This John Waters interview has been edited for readability — but perhaps not human decency
Pope of Trash dishes on Trump, plane etiquette, last meal, and more
By WESLEY CASE | At 80 years old, John Waters is still the ideal dinner guest — incisively sharp, quick-witted and funny as hell.
The chic Baltimore native proved it again and again in a recent Zoom interview, calling from his summer home in Provincetown, Mass.
The occasion was the Blu-ray releases of two of his movies — the 1977 dark comedy “Desperate Living” and his enduring 1988 musical “Hairspray” — on June 23 by the Criterion Collection, which publishes restorations of films it deems culturally important. The Criterion stamp of approval has become the gold standard among cinephiles.
“It’s like getting an award,” said Waters, who wrote and directed both films.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
The Washington Blade held the seventh annual Pride on the Pier at The Wharf DC on Saturday, June 13.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
The 2026 Lost River Pride Festival was held on the scenic grounds of the Lost River Farmers Market in Lost City, W.Va. on Saturday, June 13. Headliner Tom Goss performed at the festival and gave a second performance at the nearby Guesthouse Lost River.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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Lewis George holds strong lead over McDuffie in D.C. mayor’s race
War, geopolitical tensions with U.S. overshadow Pride month events
Confronting homophobia at school
57 towns in 57 hours: Rep. McBride kicks off re-election campaign
Baltimore Pride is here
D.C. Council approves expanded grant funding for Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs
Congressional Cemetery hosts Gays & Graves
Calendar: June 12-18
