Thursday, January 08, 2015
No Holds Barred: Akil Patterson on Diversity and Inclusion in the Wrestling Family
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman spoke with LGBT sports advocate, former Terrapin Wrestling Club director, and a member of USA Wrestling's diversity committee, Akil Patterson.
We spoke with him by phone Wednesday.
Although he had been a top college football player, he was also a wrestler and a wrestling coach. "I'm a wrestler at heart," he said. Akil identifies himself as a Black, gay, Christian male.
We thus focused on the issues of overcoming homophobia and transphobia, and fighting for diversity and inclusion, in wrestling and other sports.
"I try to help bring along some new initiatives to frame some new and outstanding information that's going to be going out to the wrestling communities," he said. "And also just to kind of bridge the gap between what is considered D and I, what really is diversity and inclusion in America, and how we can not only take the LGBT part, but also a minority perspective, and really make sure that everyone understands and is culturally aware and competent about what wrestling really means."
He explained, "The crux of it is, is you're out there to compete. You're out there to have fun. And at the end of the day, we're one big family. We really are."
We discussed why acceptance and equality for LGBT athletes will come, but "a little slower than we like it." We also discussed his own experiences in sports when he came out as gay, the treatment of LGBT athletes in many sports today, the support he has been given in his efforts, his work with Athlete Ally, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at AmericanTopTeam.com.
Defense Soap, an effective, deep penetrating body soap with natural antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial soap ingredients. Defense Soap is the best cleansing body soap for men and women athletes who are involved in contact sports such as MMA, wrestling, grappling, jiu-jitsu, and judo, to help their antifungal, anti-ringworm, anti-jock itch strategy. Check out their web site, at DefenseSoap.com.
Payleg.com, which gives you the tools to develop a full-time income by building a home-based business. Teaching success in the home-based business industry since 1988, Payleg.com is available in 190 countries. For more information, go to Payleg.com.
Takedown Wrestling Media, America's wrestling TV and radio shows, which are hosted by founder Scott Casber, and have been airing on radio and Internet for over 17 years. Takedown Media produces a weekly TV program seen in 54 million homes in the U.S. on DirecTV, Dish Network, and cable affiliates around the country, called Takedown TV. Takedown Media also produces the weekly USA Wrestling TV show for the governing body of the sport, USA Wrestling. For more information, go to TakedownRadio.com.
Labels: Akil Patterson, diversity, Eddie Goldman, gay, inclusion, LGBT, No Holds Barred, sports, wrestling
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
No Holds Barred: Emile Griffith, 1938-2013
Upon hearing of his passing, our correspondent Charles Farrell wrote of Emile Griffith that he was a "spectacularly good fighter. His fights with Luis Rodriguez are works of art. Those two were as close to being equals as any two fighters I've ever seen." Those fights can now be seen on YouTube.
Back in October 2008, there was a media event in Manhattan for the publication of the book "Nine ... Ten ... And Out! The Two Worlds of Emile Griffith". This book was written by Ron Ross and published by boxing promoter Lou DiBella. We spoke with both of them at that event, and are reposting these interviews, which originally appeared on the now-defunct SecondsOut Radio, in their entirety.
This is what we wrote at the time about these interviews:
We spoke at length with the author of this book, Ron Ross, and its publisher, boxing promoter Lou DiBella, about the significance of this story about Emile Griffith, who had a Hall of Fame career in the 1960's and '70's as a welterweight and middleweight champion of the world many times over.
But this book, and our discussion, also delved into that second, less public world lived in by Emile Griffith, that of a gay man. In our conversations, we all emphasized the importance of promoting tolerance, even in this brutal world of boxing.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here and here. If one link doesn't work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on mobile phones and iPads through Stitcher.
Also, No Holds Barred is available through iTunes.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
ONE Fighting Championship. ONE FC is Asia's largest and most prestigious mixed martial arts event. ONE FC features the best Asian fighters and has initiated the ONE Asia Partnership Network, which includes most of the major MMA promotions and MMA gyms in Asia. For more information, go to their web site, at ONEFC.com.
Beezid.com - Penny Auctions. Your #1 source for exciting auction shopping and outstanding deals on just about anything! Top rated, most trusted auction site online. Where do you shop? Beezid.com - Penny Auctions.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
The First Annual Liberty Bell Classic East Coast King of Catch Tournament, organized by the North American Catch Wrestling Association in conjunction with Scientific Wrestling. This catch wrestling tournament will take place Saturday, August 31, 2013, at the Klein JCC, 10100 Jamison Ave., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19116. No points! No politics! Only submissions and pins win! For more information, go to http://nacwa.weebly.com.
Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Emile Griffith, gay, homosexuality, LGBT, Lou DiBella, No Holds Barred, Ron Ross, tolerance
Friday, April 03, 2009
No Holds Barred: Ted Rybka of GLAAD on UFC
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Ted Rybka, Director of Sports Media of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). After UFC president Dana White issued a video blog with a rant including homophobic and sexist slurs, and after GLAAD received numerous complaints about this, Ted contacted UFC and White. An apology by White has since been posted on YouTube.
In our interview with Ted, we spoke about why such slurs can be so harmful to the very well-being of people perceived as being gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender. We discussed White's apology, and what further contact GLAAD will have with UFC. We also discussed the efforts of GLAAD to educate both the media and the people about homophobia and sports.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by musician Ian Carpenter.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
Gladiator Magazine, for in-depth coverage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, submission grappling, and MMA, as well as lifestyle articles on surfing, cars, movies, and more. Gladiator Magazine is available at any major bookstore and online at BJJMart.com or Jiu Jitsu Pro Gear.
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.
Fair Deal for Atlantic City Dealers, a campaign organized by an alliance of casino workers and unions in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to fight for justice in the gaming industry and achieve a fair deal for all casino workers.
Labels: bisexual, boxing, Dana White, Eddie Goldman, gay, Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, GLAAD, lesbian, mixed martial arts, MMA, No Holds Barred, Ted Rybka, transgender, UFC, wrestling
Sunday, January 04, 2009
SecondsOut Radio: Ron Ross and Lou DiBella on Emile Griffith
On this week's edition of SecondsOut Radio, host Eddie Goldman discusses the new book, "Nine ... Ten ... And Out! The Two Worlds of Emile Griffith".
We spoke at length with the author of this book, Ron Ross, and its publisher, boxing promoter Lou DiBella, about the significance of this story about Emile Griffith, who had a Hall of Fame career in the 1960's and '70's as a welterweight and middleweight champion of the world many times over.
But this book, and our discussion, also delved into that second, less public world lived in by Emile Griffith, that of a gay man. In our conversations, we all emphasized the importance of promoting tolerance, even in this brutal world of boxing.
It is free to listen to SecondsOut Radio, but you must register to gain access to it. Just click here, and listen, learn, and enjoy.
Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, Emile Griffith, gay, homosexuality, Lou DiBella, Ron Ross, SecondsOut Radio, tolerance
