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“Keighley is an old textile town, surrounded by the windswept moors of Yorkshire’s Brontë Country. The scars of postindustrial decay remain livid here: spectacular scenery that houses some of the most deprived areas in England. And the Cougars play Rugby League, an especially brutal iteration of a famously bruising discipline. Largely the exclusive preserve of old pit towns in northern England and northeastern Australia, Rugby League involves 26 musclebound players charging into each other at full speed for 80 minutes. Think N.F.L.-level collisions, but without all the helmets and padding. It is a tough game, played by tough people, in tough places. The plan hatched by Mr. Garcia and Mr. O’Neill, then — to arrange a Pride-themed day at Keighley’s stadium, and to employ a drag queen as the pregame entertainment — seemed ambitious.” Great story from Rory Smith the NYT (Gift Article): Can Pro Sports and Drag Queens Coexist? A Mill Town Finds Out.