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Rugby Player Left West Point in August due to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’
Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, ESPN)
On Tuesday, a U.S. District Court Judge issued a worldwide injunction stopping enforcement of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which allows gays to serve in the military but prohibits them from doing so openly. U.S. Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal. Katie Miller, who is gay, resigned from the United States Military Academy at West Point in August, publicly citing her objections to ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.’ After two years at West Point, where she was active in rugby, on the triathlon team, and ranked 17th in her class of more than 1,100 cadets, Miller is now spending her junior year playing rugby on the Yale women’s team. She has become an in-demand speaker at events sponsored by gay-rights advocacy groups, and in September accompanied Lady Gaga, a vocal critic of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,’ to the MTV Video Music Awards. Miller says she would like to return to West Point if the policy is changed. In the meantime, the decision to make her private struggle public has shed light on the hidden subculture of West Point’s gay cadets, some of whom reporter John Barr interviews for this piece.
“They would inquire about my romantic and personal life. I mean, we’re college-aged kids, and we’re friends, it just comes up in conversation, and I was immediately starting to lie. I just thought it was out of necessity. I didn’t feel like I had anything else that I could have done. When I look back on that, that’s not who I wanted to become. I didn’t want to become a proficient liar.” – Katie Miller, on hiding her sexual orientation to comply with “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell”
“I wanted to make a difference. I thought about the prospect of not going and doing media, and just kind of leaving West Point quietly without any kind of controversy. But then I don’t think it’s silence that changes attitudes. I don’t think it’s silence that changes policies.” – Miller
How Calmer Artest Led Lakers to Title after Being a “Cuckoo” Kid
Outside the Lines (Sunday, 9 a.m., ESPN)
Ron Artest now voluntarily sees psychologist Santhi Periasamy, whom he began seeing as part of a court-mandated condition after pleading to misdemeanor domestic violence while playing with the Sacramento Kings. It marks nearly 20 years of on-and-off therapy which began when Artest was 13, following the separation of his parents, who were raising him, his six siblings and two nephews in the Queens, N.Y. projects. Whether texting the Houston-based Periasamy before games, or taking her on the road, Artest called her to Los Angeles in September when he became nervous before talking to school children about a bill that would help establish mental health programs in schools.
“I was the man of my household, but I was also a young kid and getting in a lot of trouble. So my mom brought me home one day, smacked me in the back of my head, and said, ‘Boy you need some counseling.’” — Ron Artest
“When I was a 19-year-old boy, you got all these people saying ‘Ron Artest is crazy.’ You know, it bothered me a little. But I don’t mind being called a cuckoo bird no more. It’s okay.” — Artest
“I kind of admire that he was able to put it out there in the hope that he is helping other people, and really standing up for an issue that’s really close to his heart.” — Santhi Periasamy, psychologist, on Artest’s campaign for children’s mental health programs
Velasquez on Lesnar’s Title: “I Want to Take it From Him”
ESPN Deportes SportsCenter (Sunday, 11 p.m.)
ESPNDeportes.com (Reportajes Especiales piece)
ESPN Deportes spent time with 28-year-old Mexican-American Cain Velasquez in San Jose, Calif. where he is preparing for the bout of his life against UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Velasquez credits his father, who crossed the border in search of a better life for his family and has worked in the lettuce fields for 29 years, for giving him a of good work ethic. A two-time All-America wrestler at Arizona State, Velasquez is 8-0-0 and in line to become a title holder, which would make him the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent in any discipline of combat sport.
“’Brown Pride’ (words across his chest) is ‘Latino Pride’ or ‘Mexican Pride.’ I got it because when I was a kid, there wasn’t anyone who looked like me in sports. There were Mexican boxers, but they were all really small, they weren’t heavyweights. The opportunity to go up against Brock Lesnar is the fight that I want. He currently has the belt and I want to take that from him.” — Cain Velasquez
Renaissance Man
College GameDay (Saturday, 9 a.m., ESPNU; 10 a.m. ESPN)
At 6’3″ and 300 pounds, Iowa left guard Julian Vandervelde is an imposing figure on the field. But he also commands attention off the gridiron – as a classically trained opera singer. Chris Connelly introduces us to the multi-talented senior.
E:60 (7 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN)
Jaguars’ Pro-Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew has been a touchdown machine since he came into the NFL in 2005, finishing second in the league each year since his rookie season. Jones-Drew’s connection to his namesake, his grandfather, is the driving force of his life and career. E:60 chronicles Jones-Drew’s relationship with his grandfather, and goes with him on a visit to his grandfather’s grave.
In an E:60 exclusive, Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson sits down with correspondent Michael Smith to discuss his unique bond with former high school teammate and convicted felon Kenny Turner. While Turner served five years in prison after a gunfight at a gas station, Johnson remained devoted to their hopes of playing in the NFL together. Now that Turner is out of prison and playing for Division I New Mexico State, the two best friends have resumed the pursuit of their childhood dream.
Grammy and Emmy Award Winning artist Justin Timberlake – who co-stars in the movie “The Social Network” which has topped the box office charts for two straight weeks – has such a passion for golf that he purchased his own golf course which is the first and only course that is both GEO and Audubon certified in North, Central and South America. The course recently made massive renovations and is open it to the public. E:60 correspondent Rachel Nichols gets a behind-the-scenes look at his Mirimichi golf course in Millington, TN, and interviews PGA golfer Anthony Kim, famed swing coach Butch Harmon, comedian George Lopez and Timberlake’s Parents and Co-Owners of Mirimichi; Paul and Lynn Harless to talk about Timberlake’s enthusiasm and dedication to the sport of golf.
You haven’t heard of him, but 27-year-old Jamaican Newton Marshall is a true sports pioneer. This past March, Marshall became the first Jamaican to attempt and complete the Iditarod — the thousand mile dogsled race across Alaska known as the “Last Great Race on Earth.” ESPN the Magazine’s Seth Wickersham follows Marshall on his journey from Jamaica to Alaska and chronicles his attempt to finish the race.
