Posted on 03/22/2008 9:12:52 AM PDT by Comparative Advantage
During the final 10 minutes of many Rangers home games, the spotlights focus on Section 407 as Larry Goodman, a longtime season-ticket holder, pumps up the crowd with a goofy dance.
Kevin Jennings said he stopped attending Rangers games for a month because of homophobic epithets shouted at players. As Goodmans routine is broadcast on the giant monitors above the ice, a familiar chant picks up momentum. Ho-mo Lar-ry! the crowd shouts. Ho-mo Lar-ry!
The chant is one example of what several gay hockey fans describe as a toxic atmosphere during Rangers games and that Madison Square Garden, which owns the team, is not doing nearly enough to address their concerns.
Kevin Jennings, a Rangers fan who is gay, said he stopped attending home games for about a month this season because he felt so uncomfortable with the homophobic epithets that are shouted to the players.
Ray Stankes, 50, of Bayside, Queens, said he canceled season tickets he had had for 25 years in part because of the antigay environment.
This is a place where I grew up, and I never really felt uncomfortable at the Garden, Stankes said. I didnt wear it on my sleeve that Im gay. If I take a friend who is also gay who, for lack of a better term, is not as masculine, Im always sitting there a little tense. Like, is somebody going to say something to us? And its made it not quite as fun as it used to be.
Other fans recalled that the crowd booed when the name of the New York City Gay Hockey Association, a recreational league, flashed briefly across the jumbo screen.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Good catch! That has to be him...how many gay Kevin Jennings could there be?
Oh the irony!
Like a hot dog treats a bun.
Search the Internet, I'm sure there are darling iron-on sleeve patches to match all your outfits.
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