In Russia, fans of two-time defending Russian soccer champion Zenit St. Petersburg are calling for non-white and gay players to be excluded from the team, according to ESPN.com . Landscrona, the largest Zenit fan club, released a manifesto saying, among other things, that gay players were "unworthy of our great city." The team quickly distanced itself from those fans; coach Luciano Spalletti said, "tolerance for me is most of all the ability to understand and accept differences."
A conservative website is trying to convince its readers that CBS is mocking football player Tim Tebow and Christianity by featuring out actor Neil Patrick Harris in its Super Bowl ads, according to Advocate.com . Calling Harris an "outspoken homosexual actor," WND.com points out that the CBS sitcom star was used in spots advertising next month's Super Bowl. In the ad, Harris has blackeye paint that lists the date of the football game. (Beyonce used the same paint and pose to promote her halftime show for the Feb. 3 sporting event.)
Out figure-skating champion Johnny Weir is taking his competitive skills from the ice rink to the kitchen in the show Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off, according to Gay Star News. Previews of the series show him kissing a fellow competitor, actor Dean McDermott, who is married to Tori Spelling. Other celebrities on the show, which premiered Jan. 6 on the Food Network, include actress Kathy Najimy, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, football icon Hines Ward, singer Carnie Wilson, philanthropist Cornelia Guest and singer/rapper Chilli (of the group TLC).
