Chris Broussard, a sportswriter for ESPN Magazine, appeared on ESPN live today to disparage NBA player Jason Collins. Gay ESPN sportscaster LZ Granderson was part of the conversation and replied to Chris's claims, "I really don’t need Chris or anyone else telling me if I’m a Christian because Jesus tells me I am."

It is being described as "a first" for ESPN, which aired a victory kiss on Sunday shared between the Pro Bowling Association finals winner and his husband. 

Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin, hosts of ESPN Radio's "Sports Reporters" show, have been suspended following a segment the duo ran last week in which they mocked transgender athlete, Gabrielle Ludwig. 

More after the jump. 

With gay rights, homophobia, and coming out seemingly becoming a topic of conversation in every professional sport, ESPN magazine took the opportunity to gauge where the four major pro sports in the US individually stand on the issue of marriage equality.

The results may surprise you. Find out what they uncovered after the jump!

We've been foaming at the mouth over Patriots' tight end Rob Gronkowski ever since he made it in to our Top Hotties of the Super Bowl post earlier this year. Now we're tending to paper cuts on our lips after attempting to pull of a fake sticker covering Rob's butt naked body on the cover of ESPN The Magazine's annual "Body Issue."

The things we put our bodies through for Rob!

Check out the steamy full cover, more nekkid pics and a NSFW-ish behind-the-scenes video after the jump.

Updated Wednesday, 2:30 p.m. CST

Major League Soccer has handed down a punishment for Colin Clark, the Houston Dynamo embroiled in controversy after calling a young ball boy "faggot."

So, what's the punishment?

Oh to be amongst school yard bullies again! To every kid who was picked last in gym class because he was more "feminine" than the other boys, this goes out to you! Details after the jump.

It's that time of year again when ESPN readers appreciate the male body as much as Instinct readers (okay, maybe we will always appreciate these Adonis' a teensy bit more). After the jump check out the another cover and another shot that feature hot male jocks.

Well, they say things happen in 3s, and now it appears the sports world has seen its third coming out in a week's time. This time it was from ESPN radio host Jared Max. Find out what the popular host told listeners, after the jump.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo continues to impressively be our greatest hetero ambassador in sports as he bridges a message of marriage equality support into the straight world. The latest evidence of his allegiance to the LGBT community came this week in an interview with ESPN. 

Keeping the focus on the athletic figure (of course), ESPN Magazine has unveiled its new Body Issue...where a bunch of athletes just happen to be posing in the buff.

There’s a huge cross section of sports represented this year, including soccer’s Tim Howard (seen on the cover above and below), as well as figure skater Evan Lysacek (last image), the entire women’s U.S. water polo team and more. Bottom line, maybe we should be watching more sports...

You can check out more of the Body Issue, including behind the scenes video, here.

We have noticed a new trend taking over pop culture (one that’s far sexier than other trends like pastel-colored crotch-tight skinny jeans, MC Hammer pants, gravity-defying shoulder pads or Muppets-as-fashion): naked jocks. That’s right, no longer are hot slabs of athletic meat baring it all limited to voyeurs in Europe; Americans too now have naked sports stars in the form of ESPN Magazine’s body issue and the plethora of naked rugby player calendars hitting the market. We'll start with ESPN's upcoming issue featuring a few worthwhile jocks who are causing more than just their stars to rise.

Check out all of the hot NSFW images after the jump!

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

Shane Proctor, bull rider

The Edmonton Oilers