Ben Cohen Drinks for Equality

Rugby superstar Ben Cohen, a longtime opponent of homophobia in sports, has a novel way to promote equality on the playing field, and he's going on a personal appearance tour.

Cohen has teamed up with the Village Spartans Rugby Club in Manchester (April 7) and the Kings Cross Steelers in London (April 20) to hold "Beer with Ben" evenings to raise awareness and funds for the upcoming U.S. tour. Cohen will team with gay and gay-friendly rugby clubs in the U.K. and U.S. and headline a variety of events to raise money and awareness.

The Ben Cohen Acceptance Tour will visit Atlanta, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., in May to raise awareness and funds, and encourage people to stand up against homophobia, bullying and standing up for equality, tolerance and mutual respect. The Acceptance Tour 2011 will aid the activities of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network.

"I am looking forward to coming along to meet everyone," Cohen says in statement. "I have already met quite a few of the Village Spartan guys when I got involved with their successful bid for the Bingham Cup to be held next year. It should be a fun evening. I will be bringing along some auction items, updating everyone on the Acceptance Tour details and speaking about my rugby career. I have heard also that one of the clubs will be auctioning off their club kit as well. That's a bit different!"

For more information visit Cohen's site here.