Adam Rippon made history this weekend, becoming the first openly gay man from the U.S. to medal at the Winter Olympics.
And the founder of Outsports.com says the bronze medal-winner may have opened the door for other LGBT youth to find a place in the world of sports.
“The fact that Adam backed it up with a great performance on Sunday night and America fell in love, that’s the message that kid is receiving: ‘I can be Adam, and I can still be loved by America, too,’” Cyd Zeigler said. “It’s not just the kid watching Adam be his authentic self. It’s then watching his classmates and other people on social media totally embrace it.”
Rippon and fellow out Team USA member Gus Kenworthy, a freestyle skier who races this weekend, have been widely applauded at the Winter Games. But they also sparked controversy with a selfie captioned “Eat your heart out, Pence.”
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who led the U.S. delegation at the Olympics’ Opening Ceremony, has been criticized for his support of “religious freedom” laws and reported advocacy of “conversion therapy.”
The VP tried to ease any tension, tweeting at Rippon, “I want you to know we are FOR YOU. Don’t let fake news distract you.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/adam-rippon-and-gus-kenworthy-break-the-rainbow-ceiling-at-the-winter-olympics).
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 17, 2018.
New Jersey is on track to overtake Las Vegas as the new sports betting mecca, Darren Rovell, senior executive producer at The Action Network, told Cheddar in an interview Friday. With fewer than 7 months of sports betting on its books, New Jersey is expected to hit $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion in bets by the end of the year, Rovell said.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Dec. 14, 2018.
Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White says the mixed martial arts league's five-year deal with ESPN puts it in a position to go the distance despite declining linear television trends. "Everything is going digital. Cord cutting is real. It's happening and we see it in all aspects of the business, whether it's pay-per-view or television," White said in an interview with Cheddar Thursday.
Two-time Call of Duty World Champ JKap talked with Cheddar Sports about why he's so excited to play with his new team, eUnited, and his thoughts going into Black Ops 4's first major, CWL Las Vegas.
A group of former NFL stars is launching an alternative professional football league for the offseason that will give players and fans a financial stake in their team's success. “We looked for markets where there was not a professional team, but a big enough market to support a team,” Ricky Williams, former two-time All American and one of the founders, told Cheddar in an interview on Tuesday.
We journeyed to Las Vegas this weekend for two huge events: CWL Las Vegas and LoL All-Stars. Featuring interviews with Optic's Scump, Dashy, Karma, Crimsix, and CEO Hector Rodriguez, G2's Blazt, Flyquest midlaner Pobelter, Vitality midlaner Jiizuke, and journalist Travis Gafford.
We cover the Game Awards from the red carpet, Smash Ultimate releases, Black Ops 4's first tournament starts in Vegas, and Zane takes on the rest of the Cheddar Sports team in a Smash Ultimate 1v3 showdown. Featuring IMT, MIBR, and LA Valiant CEO Noah Whinston, CLG COO Nick Allen, and interviews with Dominique 'SonicFox' McLean, Imane 'Pokimane' Anys, Lia 'SSSniperWolf' Shelesh, and OWL commissioner Nate Nanzer.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Monday, Dec. 10, 2018.
