Quick Facts
Biography
Cyd Zeigler Jr (born May 27, 1973 in Harwich, Massachusetts) is a commentator and author in the field of sexuality and sports.
Biography
Zeigler (b. May 27, 1973) was born in Harwich, Massachusetts, and lived there through high school. He was a track & field athlete and led his high school track team in scoring three consecutive years. Zeigler graduated from Stanford University (B.A., Communication, 1995), where he founded Theta Delta Chi Fraternity, was on the Stanford Men's Ultimate (Frisbee) Team, and was a contributor to the Stanford Review newspaper.
He is a former sports editor for Genre Magazine, former associate editor for the New York Blade, and has written for Playboy, MSNBC, CNN, New York Press and Out Magazine. He has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports Radio, CNN, and MSNBC as well as contributing to Sports Illustrated, Logo and the New York Times.
In 1999, Zeigler and Jim Buzinski founded Outsports.com. They co-authored The Outsports Revolution: Truth & Myth in the World of Gay Sports.
Zeigler is credited with breaking the story of John Amaechi coming out of the closet in February 2007. Amaechi had contacted Zeigler months before, and Zeigler connected Amaechi with the publicist Howard Bragman, who had assisted other gay athletes in coming out. Zeigler has also broken national stories including the coming out of then-NFL prospect Michael Sam, the late gay brother of NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin, transgender Div. 1 NCAA athlete Kye Allums, openly gay football players Wade Davis and Alan Gendreau, and a racial headline by ESPN in reference to Jeremy Lin.
Zeigler presently lives in Los Angeles with his husband, Dan Pinar, a dentist. He previously lived in New York City where he was a research editor for a global financial services firm. He was previously a development executive for Disney Channel, focusing on their movie and music franchises before leaving in 2001.
Works
- Zeigler, Cyd; Buzinksi, Jim (2007), The Outsports Revolution: Truth and Myth in the World of Gay Sports, Alyson, ISBN 1-59350-005-X
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards | Outsports | Excellence in New Media | Won |
| 2010 | GLAAD Media Awards | Former College Football Captain was Openly Gay | Digital Journalism | Nominated |
| 2011 | NLGJA Excellence in Journalism Awards | Kye Allums: First transgender man playing women's basketball | Online Journalism | 3rd place |
| 2012 | All Sports Film Festival | Thanksgiving Game | Original Feature Screenplay | Won |
| 2014 | GLAAD Media Awards | Coming Out Kicking | Digital Journalism | Nominated |
| 2015 | GLAAD Media Awards | Conner Mertens came out to his college football team | Digital Journalism | Nominated |
| 2015 | National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association | Cyd Zeigler | Features Coverage | Won |