Baltimore's LGBTQ rugby team draws attention to its tenacity, comradery
BALTIMORE -- Like the namesake tropical birds, the Baltimore Flamingos wear plenty of pink and can draw plenty of attention—and that's just the way they like it.
The LGBTQ rugby team—Maryland's first—started small seven years ago and kept growing.
"People who are thinking they'll never play a sport like this, and kind of beckoning them to this sport, and then realizing they love it and have a safe place to learn, is really amazing," President Val Pizzo. "We have almost 80 registered players."
Pizzo has been there from the beginning.
Some people find the sport a bit intimidating, but playing rugby isn't the only way to participate.
"I think they definitely do," Pizzo said. "It's an intimidating sport. I think some people learn maybe it isn't for them, but there are so many other ways you can be involved in our team."
The team's name pays homage to a Baltimore icon. It's a nod to John Waters and his 1972 film, Pink Flamingos.
Its members describe themselves as "filthy and fierce."
And their jerseys are a hat tip to Waters' muse: Divine.
"What John Waters stood for with the irreverence and the shock value, and going against the system, I think that's very much what we're here for," Jean Michel Chanchu, vice president of the Flamingos, said. "We're not here to be just any rugby team."
Richard Hyman III is the rookie on the team.
"There's not many places to go in Baltimore, so having this as an outlet just enriched my life," Hyman said. "It was something I was looking forward to every Tuesday and Thursday."
Hyman joined the team last Spring after moving to Baltimore from Florida, which has been at the center of recent civil rights struggles.
"Seeing their rights are being taken away, especially in Florida, it's kind of heartbreaking."
Hyman said people need to know that we're here and we're not afraid.
"We started out, not winning any games and not being very athletic, and I think when we stuck to our values of providing a safe space, the athleticism came later," Chanchu said.