English rugby star Ben Cohen has
auctioned the shirt off his back to fight homophobia.
The hunky, six-foot-two star of the
Sale Sharks club kicked off fundraising to support The Ben Cohen
Acceptance Tour, a U.S. tour to combat homophobia starting in May,
with two April meet-and-greet events titled Beer with Ben in
the UK.
At the first event in Manchester, Cohen
and the Village Spartans Rugby Club joined comedian Jonathan Mayor at
the Taurus.
When Mayor asked Cohen why he had
decided to stand up against homophobia, he answered: “If we save
one person's life, or get someone to think different, then I'm doing
a good job.”
Mayor went on to auction the
gray-colored, short-sleeved t-shirt that read “I stand up with Ben
Cohen UK tour” off Cohen's back for 200 English pounds. (The video
is embedded in the right panel of this page.)
A second event featuring the 2 Brewers
rugby club is scheduled for Wednesday, April 20 at the Kings Cross
Steelers.
Cohen will visit four U.S. cities
starting in May. The
Atlanta Bucks rugby club will host Cohen's first stop with events
scheduled from Thursday, May 19 to Saturday, May 21.