If Kevin Grayson had not torn a ligament and missed being drafted by the NFL, he might very well have become that US football league's first openly gay player.

Instead, the former star wide receiver for the University of Richmond (2008-2011) played for the Parma Panthers in Italian Football League last season where he was MVP.

Either way, he is now out and proud.

Grayson says he wants other athletes to know 'just because you're gay doesn't mean you can't be the athlete you want to be. Doesn't mean you can't be a star.'

A soccer player scored the winning goal after being called a ‘faggot’ this weekend.

Alan Gordon, the San Jose Earthquakes forward, hurled the gay slur at Will Johnson, a midfielder for the Portland Timbers.

On Sunday night (14 April), Johnson’s goal gave his team a 1-0 win.

Gordon was ejected minutes earlier by soccer officials after calling Johnson ‘faggot’.

After the match, he apologized: ‘I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone who watched tonight's match on NBC Sports Network.

Love conquers all – and whether or not the US Supreme Court rules for gay marriage, these kids have won our hearts.

As the Justices sit today and tomorrow to hear vital cases on Proposition 8 and DOMA, crowds have flocked to Washington DC to have their say.

And while the anti-gay protestors are emphasizing hate, calling for the death penalty for ‘fags’, there’s a message of love and hope from those supporting same-sex marriage equality.

On the heels of Michelle Shocked's apology for an anti-gay marriage rant she said was misinterpreted, audio of the incident in San Francisco last Sunday (17 March) has emerged.

Singer Michelle Shocked is finding herself quickly losing work after an anti-gay tirade during a gig last weekend in San Francisco.

The Telluride Bluegrass Festival in Telluride, Colorado, canceled Shocked's scheduled appearance there - the final date left on her US tour after venues in several other states uninvited her to perform.

On Sunday (17 March), the singer was performing at a jazz club called Yoshi’s when she went into a rant against gay marriage saying: 'I live in fear that the world will be destroyed if gays are allowed to marry.'

The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church claims to like the LGBT rainbow home that is now across the street from them in Topeka, Kansas.

'We thank God for the Sodomite Rainbow House,' the church said in a statement today. 'It is right across the street from the ONLY church that loves people enough to tell them the Bible truth about the filthy, soul-damning, nation-destroying sin of sodomy...The Sodomite Rainbow house helps shing a bright spotlight on this!'

Singer Michelle Shocked is suffering backlash after going on an anti-gay tirade in, of all places, San Francisco.

On Sunday (17 March), the singer was performing at a club called Yoshi’s when she went into a rant against gay marriage saying: 'I live in fear that the world will be destroyed if gays are allowed to marry.'

She then said to the crowd: 'You can go on Twitter and say, ‘Michelle Shocked says God hates fags.’”

A gay man was beaten unconscious as his attacker repeatedly called him a faggot in Davis, California, over the weekend.

Mikey Partida, 32, had been celebrating his birthday and was leaving his cousin's house early Sunday (10 March) when the attack occurred.

Partida said a man who lived near his cousin began to verbally harass him as he was leaving the house.

He said he ignored the loud taunts of 'faggot' and quickly walked by. But then he had to turn around and go back to his cousin's house to retrieve his keys.

The Westboro Baptist Church is planning a protest of an upcoming motor racing event in response to pro-gay comments made by a famous driver.

Brad Kaselowski, who drives and owns a team in the stock car racing events, was asked last week by Queers4Gears how he would feel about a gay person in his team.

He said: ‘I can’t speak for the fans, I can only speak for myself, but in this garage, if you can win, people will want to be a part of what you can do.’

There was a time not long ago that Brett Ratner would have been an unlikely choice to recieve the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's Ally Award later this month in New York City.

The director of the Tower Heist and the Rush Hour franchise had resigned under pressure from producing the 2012 Oscars telecast due to the fallout from a gay slur he made during a film screening in Hollywood.

Ratner had been asked whether he rehearses with his actors before shooting a scene and replied, 'Rehearsing is for faggots.'

When members of the Westboro Baptist Church showed up at Santa Monica High School today to conduct an anti-gay protest, they were in for a huge surprise.

That surprise was a huge crowd that was on hand to counter-protest the group known to protest at military funerals carrying signs that say such things as 'God Hates Fags.'

The church had protested outside the Oscars on Sunday (24 February) and chose the high school in Santa Monica as its next target because of what it believes is the school's affirmation of LGBT students.