|
|
|
Roger Brigham... Wrestler Coach Legend Brother ...
Celebrating his Life...
b. 14 October 1953 - d. 5 February 2025 Oakland, California
Roger Brigham is remembered by the LGBTQ+ sports and culture community for his decades of service as a professional journalist, wrestling coach, and directly by the FGG, where he created communications initiatives, served on the Strategic Planning Committee, and helped develop the FGG’s anti-doping policy. Not only a Honorary Life Member (HLM) of the FGG, Roger also received the Tom Waddell Award at Gay Games XI in Guadalajara in November 2023.
Click Here
to eMail pictures, comments, and posts to
Wrestlers WithOut Borders Legacy Page
Eduardo Guadaramas (Life Partner) A Eulogy "Roger Knows Best" (Click on Pic)
Gene Dermody (GGWC WWB FGG HLM Wrestling Tom Waddell Award Recipient)
I first met Roger at Gay Games-1 San Francisco 1982, when he showed up at Kesar Stadium. He was supposed to be in my 136# category, but the match never happened. Our competitive spirits drew us together and fueled a deep friendship, but then he went back to Alaska. In 2004, Roger returned with his partner Eddie to live in Oakland, and he joined my Golden Gate WC (GGWC) as we were preparing for Chicago 2006 Gay Games-7. Although on two artifical hips (and not much on his feet), he was a beast on the Mat. He became a great coach not only for GGWC, but Mission HS where he took a last place team to City Championships. Roger was invited to Sydney WC to prepare them for Paris 2018 Gay Games-9.
Roger was a well known sports journalist for many mainstream newspapers, and even interviewed Magic Johnson. His strategic writing skills made him a natural for the Federation of Gay Games (FGG), and he served in various crucial official roles in media, sports, and Mission Spokesman. It was his decisive vote in 2005 at the FGG meeting that moved the 2006 Gay Games from Montreal to Chicago. Plus, his provacative Column at the Bay Area Reporter saved the Gay Games Brand from being subseqently stolen.
Roger was my best friend for > 30 years, and we accomplished many FGG projects such as Drug Testing, RedBooks, Web Site, and Communications. It was a partnership tested in fire because we were very different, and we operated as Strategist Fox & HoneyBadger.
His greatest contribution to Gay Games was solidifying the Mission that it was to be an Athletic Event run by the Athletes, not an extended PRIDE Celebration.
Roger earned his highest recognition when he was awarded the Tom Waddell Award from the FGG at the 2022 Guadalajara Gay Games-9.
Given all his surgeries, Roger was the toughest man I ever knew. However, in the end, they simply ran out of new parts.
I loved him dearly, and I will miss our contentious discussions and free psychotherapy every day. But I know he will always be with me when I need him.
Doug Litwin (FGG HLM Band)
I was there when Roger attended his first FGG AGA in Chicago in 2003. This was just as negotiations between the FGG and Montreal reached the breaking point. He joined the Communications Committee like a breath of fresh air, with so many new and radical ideas it was breathtaking. His impact was felt immediately and led directly to many changes in how the FGG operated. Not many people could have done that.
Roger taught me an important lesson in those early years, one I carry with me to this day. This was while he was leading Communications and I was leading Marketing for the FGG. He explained to me why rainbow imagery really did not belong at the Gay Games, at least in communication & marketing messages the FGG was putting out. Roger explained that rainbow imagery was associated with pride events, but that the Gay Games were about more than that. The Gay Games was about equality in the world of culture and sports. The Gay Games has its own iconic logo and THAT is what we need to be featuring, not rainbows. Of course, we cannot (and should) stop participants from bringing their own rainbow items to the Gay Games. But, the FGG should focus on its own logo and identity. Thank you, Roger, for stating that situation so clearly for me. I have repeated it many times to hosts and fellow FGG Board members.
Much more recently, Roger was excited about working with me on converting the series of 40 "Passing The Torch" web posts (commemorating the 40th Anniversary of the Gay Games) into a book that would be sold to raise funds for the FGG. Alas, his health would not allow him to devote his limited energy to that project. With Roger's input, I'm sure this book would have been amazing.
Most personally, Roger and I both grew up in the same era as huge baseball fans. As a former sportswriter for mainstream newspapers, he would regale me with stories about his hometown Cincinnati Reds and their championship "Big Red Machine" teams of the 1970s. I think he was a big fan of Pete Rose, a true bulldog of a player and manager. Roger was the same way for the most part, although he had a huge heart to go with his convictions.
It was my distinct honor to coordinate the nomination of Roger Brigham to the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists Hall of Fame (https://www.nlgja.org/awardsinfo/nlgja-hall-of-fame/) in previous years. Alas, that nomination was not successful. I think the FGG should re-nominate Roger for this honor. Perhaps it will be awarded posthumously.
Alan Lessik (FGG HLM IGFSU Figure Skating)
I met Roger when I was brought in as a consultant with with Debra Kent to help reorganize the FGG in the early 2000's after the Montreal debacle rolled out. Roger was initially skeptical of the efforts (that was a special talent of his to be skeptical) but in the end was the one who came up with the idea of the FGG Assembly. We worked together to develop that idea into a proposal. vote. His endorsement pushed the proposal forward in a close vote of the Board. After that, he was the champion of making sure the new roles and responsibilities of the Board and Assembly were implemented.
As a SF resident, I took for grant that the BAR queer newspaper had a sports column. When John Manzon-Santos and I were kicked out of an ice rink for skating hand-in-hand as we prepared for the Chicago Gay Games, Roger was the first to pick up the story. He used his column to highlight the sports achievements of so many individuals and teams. He was a dogged journalist following through on claims by the FGG and its competitors and mixed advocacy with factual reporting.
I have always known a Roger that was challenged by health issues. I have always known a Roger that never let those challenges stop him. When I saw him on the stage of the aquatic center in Guadalajara to receive his award, as always, he used the time as a history lesson of queer sport, reminding us all of our potential and what we can accomplish in life.
Emy Ritt (FGG HLM Paris2018)
My deepest condolences to Gene Dermody and to all who knew Roger Brigham. I met Roger at my first FGG Annual Meeting in Chicago in 2003. We were both attending as FGG Delegates representing our local clubs. Over the years, I appreciated our conversations and interactions very much as we each became more involved in the Federation of Gay Games. I admired Roger’s dedication to the Gay Games movement. His initiatives, such as the Equality Coaching Alliance, helped to raise the visibility of the Gay Games and LGBT+ sport in general. Roger’s crowning glory as winner of the 2023 Tom Waddell Award was well-deserved. Roger served as a stellar role model for us all.
Tony Jasinski (NGBA BasketBall)
I just learned Roger just passed. There is no one in gay sports who was more helpful to me in my years in gay basketball than Roger. I greatly appreciated his advice, especially.
He will be missed by me so very much. He was a great person...
R. Tony Smith (FGG)
I had the honor of working closely with Roger leading up to the 2014 Gay Games Cleveland + Akron, during the challenging World Outgames matters, and as the FGG Officer of Communications leading up to Paris 2014 to 2018. His guidance, integrity and dedication to the FGG mission continues to be enjoyed to this day and will contribute beyond our years.
R. Matt Carey (LAWC Wrestling)
I’m terribly saddened to hear of Roger’s passing. What an exceptional man he was. His tenacity in the face of health challenges astonished me — I have never known someone with as much fight in him, as much grit. At the same time, he was the soul of decency and wisdom. A remarkable person — a champion on and off the mat.
R. Paul Oostenbrug (FGG HLM Tom Waddell Award Recipient)
This is indeed sad news. I was one of three tri-chairs of the Strategic Planning Committee, along with Roger Brigham and Paul Savard of Toronto. The committee carefully considered the FGG's then current status (with sport and cultural organizations being Directors of the board and Members of the organization). The Committee recruited consultants (Alan Lessik and Deborah Kent), who helped the FGG consider alternative organizational structures. There were SO many meetings, which Roger helped lead with careful attention to risks and rewards.
Roger was a wonderful guide for that process, as well as a gifted writer. The success of this major organizational change owes him an eternal debt. We will miss Roger, as will I.
Ben Chavez Gilliam (PowerLifting)
Roger Brigham you were such a beautiful bright light who also helped us so much as we started to get the LGBTQ Powerlifting Union off the ground several years ago. I am so honored to have been able to hold your hand by your bedside earlier this week as we said our goodbyes, laughed, and shed a few tears. You inspire me more than ever to keep fighting for our people, and Eddy, you are very much in Alex's and my thoughts and prayers. Roger was extraordinary, and I was so lucky to call you both beloved friends.
Charles King (FGG HLM Tennis)
I met Roger Brigham in 2004 at the AGA in Cologne. I knew then that Roger could and would be impactful. His love and devotion to Golden Gate Wrestling, and Gay Wrestling in general was deep. His care and concern for FGG, in many ways, was unrivaled. We debated heavily on a number of topics when we both served on the FGG Board, but we each had a profound respect for each other's opinions. I am lucky to have had the opportunity to meet Roger's partner, Eddie and a couple of his dogs and to count him as a close friend and it pleased me to no end when I and Roger, together with Gene Dermody, had the opportunity to dine together during Gay Games in Guadalajara. I will miss Roger considerably, but I know he will be an angel among angels looking over us, even if it means providing a discerning word up in heaven. Roger, my brother, you will be sorely missed.
Derek Liecty (FGG HLM Soccer Cycling [abridged])
Just saying 'condolences' would be a shallow way to acknowledge the passing of Roger, as his boundless contributions to society benefited so many. For me, his greatest impact was his association and training of the Mission High School wrestlers. On an intellectual level, it was his thoughtfulness and common sense approach with no drama, to help solve the many problems of the Gay Games. I cherish the comments he made about me in his June 17th 2009 Bay Area Reporter (BAR) column about my presense at the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) hearing. Within the forty five years of the Gay Games, we have lost so many good people, but Roger is truely in the Pantheon of the all time greats.
The way that Roger could deal with all his medical issues, was also inspiring. I need that inspiration.
Kimberly Hadley (FGG Soccer)
I had the pleasure of introducing my partner to Roger in Guadalajara at the Wrestling event. Her immediate thoughts were that he was a kind and gentle soul. On a personal level, Roger has supported me in many capacities, since I became part of the Gay Games. We had a great respect for each other, even when we had a differing of opinions.
He will be missed.
Sean Fitzgerald (FGG WaterPolo)
It was an honor to present Roger the Tom Waddell Award at Gay Games XI in Guadalajara and see him treated like a rock star by everyone in attendance. It took nearly an hour to leave the Opening Ceremony with Roger stopping to take pictures with everyone offering congratulations.
Rob Smitherman (FGG Chicago Cleveland)
I first met Roger Brigham through wrestling, but not through competition. He was not only a competitor, he was also a fantastic organizer. Roger and Gene Dermody basically saved Gay Games wrestling competitions because of their desire to make the sport better and more accessible for everyone.
I was in awe of Roger, his intelligence and knowledge, and his insight that always seemed to be right. His sports columns in the Bay Area Reporter were always interesting. I sometimes disagreed with him but he always made me think.
Roger was so dedicated to wrestling and gay athletics that he would travel to events even when his health should have prevented him. He was there to support and to help.
We need people in the gay sports world to have insight and courage to make decisions and give opinions even if they are hard and unpopular. Roger was one of those people. I will miss him.
Hlengiwe Buthelezi (FGG South Africa)
This is a loss for all of us. I recall the last time we had wonderful chat over lunch in San Francisco..... I am really sad that Rodger is gone, however I do appreciate the last moments we spent together.
If it will be any contribution, I won't mind a minute to say something during his memorial service. Rodger contributed a lot in telling the world about myself and challenges we face in South Africa and Africa generally...... We kept in touch since 2006 Chicago Games but I met him initially after 2002 Sydney Games.....
|
