Retired American General Sheehan Apologizes To Dutch Army For Anti-Gay Remarks, Tarleton University Investigating Death Threats Made To Director And Cast Of Corpus Christi, Terrence McNally Issues Statement On Corpus Christi, Discrimination Suit Against Christian Network By Former Gay Employee Settled, Sony Ericsson Tennis Hotness With Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, And Novak Djokovic

John Sheehan, the retired former United States Marine General and NATO Commander has written a letter of apology for statements he made before a Senate Commission hearing arguments for and against the repeal of the American military ban on gay men and women serving at which Sheehan said he was told by the head of the Dutch Army that the presence of gay soldiers in the Dutch Army United Nations troops contributed to a massacre in Srebrenica in 1995 when Serbian nationals killed an estimated 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys. Sheehan wrote “to be clear, the failure on the ground in Srebrenica was in no way the fault of the individual soldiers,” in the letter dated March 29th, 2010, and addressed to former chief of staff of the Dutch Army General Henk Van den Breeman. “I am sorry that my recent public recollection of those discussions of 15 years ago inaccurately reflected your thinking on some specific social issues in the military,” the letter continues, adding “it is also regrettable that I allowed you to be pulled into a public debate.” The letter of apology, however, contains no attempt to correct Sheehan’s contention that somehow admitting openly gay men and women to serve in the military undermines the cohesion and strength of any given unit – the sentiment he expressed before the Senate hearing.

Tarleton State University police are investigating some of the threatening e-mails and phone call that contributed to the cancellation of a class project in which students from the University’s advanced drama directing class were to perform a series of four one-act plays, including Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi, which imagines a gay Jesus. Several of the e-mails and phone calls threatened the play’s director and cast, including one that said “the Socialist anti-Christ groups as well as the homosexuals and lesbian community will be the brunt of an out-pouring of unabated hatred that may well dwarf the present attitude toward the murdering of Muslim fanatics. Whatever penalty and punishment you receive, know that I sincerely believe you deserve it as a socially corrupt college and an institution of less than higher learning.” McNally, a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, issued a statement Monday that read in part “Corpus Christi is a play about God’s unconditional love for all men and women, even those who would prevent you from seeing. Gay men and women have taken their place at the table of faith, and they are not giving up their seats to anyone. I am proud the students at Tarleton State University wanted to perform my play; I am saddened the administration chose not to support them.”

A confidential settlement has been reached between Brian Dugger, an openly gay broadcast engineer and his former employee, Trinity Broadcasting Network, the largest Christian broadcasting empire in the world. Dugger sued in March, 2009, claiming he was discriminated against and harassed by employers of TBN, including Paul Crouch Jr., the son of founder Paul Crouch. According to the suit, Dugger began employment with TBN in 1993, when the network was centered in Nashville, Tennessee, and the elder Crouch came to be “exceedingly close” with Dugger. A year later, in fact, the TBN paid $425,000 to silence allegations that the senior Crouch was involved in a gay affair with an unidentified man. The network moved its headquarters to Southern California, and at that time, the harassment against Dugger intensified, Brian told to not dress so gay and to act straight. It is alleged that Crouch Jr. sent explicit pictures of pornography, was consistently denied promotions and raises, and was told that TBN was no place “for fairies.”

Famed photographer Ryan McGinley has a new show that opened on March 18th in New York City, at Team Gallery, in SoHo, titled Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, featuring stunningly black and white nude studio portraits. The exhibit runs through till April 17th. (NSFW)

The Sony Ericsson Open in underway in Miami, Florida – the men’s final this Easter Sunday, both Roger Federer (seen below changing), and Rafael Nadal (seen below doing something that involves two balls and well, you can see the rest), are in the hunt for the championship.





Meanwhile, perennial hotness and second ranked Novak Djokovic was upset last Friday by Belgium’s Oliver Rochus, which prompted Novak to pull his, um, well, Djokovic I guess.