From the Sky Box

Compete Sports Media got its start in rugby. It was shortly before gay rugby’s 2006 Bingham Cup that I began discussing the idea of a gay sports magazine with my now business partner, David Riach. We took the idea with us to New York where David decided that the Bingham Cup needed more coverage and jumped on board with me to found what is now Compete Sports Media. While the years since our inception five years ago have flown by, the tide always seems to return to rugby for us. This year Compete Sports Media is proud to be a media sponsor of the Ben Cohen Acceptance Tour.

Ben, a.k.a. Big Ben, is one of the world’s most prominent ruggers and a huge supporter of gay equality. He will be in Atlanta, New York, D.C. and Seattle this year battling homophobia. What makes Cohen unique in his support of gay rights is that he is unabashedly straight.

About his tour, Ben described it best to ESPN: “We want to use rugby clubs to send an olive branch to people to join a rugby community, not necessarily just to play. The gay-friendly rugby clubs have really turned it around. They want to be more accepted in the community because they are perceived to be different, which they are not.”

I am very proud to lead the Compete Sports Media family – a place where we profile and honor community superstars like the winner of Team DC's Fashion Show and Model Search (shown on this month’s cover) as well as international superstars like Ben Cohen.

Based on Cohen’s pursuit of equality, perhaps rugby is truly a gentleman’s sport.

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