Athlete Acceptance Seminar
Goal: Encourage athletes to accept their teammates no matter what their sexual orientation may be and establish a consequence policy for athletes who may be discriminating or bullying a teammate.
Audience: Athletes, Coaches, Parents
Examples: Chris Kluwe, Jonathan Martin
In recent years we've seen an outpouring of openly gay professional and collegiate athletes. Because of this the problem of bullying in sports has risen. One of the biggest cases for this was last season in the NFL when Miami Dolphins’ teammates Jonathan Martin and Richie incognito had a falling out due to accusations of Martin being gay. Incognito was accused of bullying Martin and it was suspected that the bullying was occurring because many of their teammates thought that Martin was gay. The NFL took this case very seriously and suspended incognito indefinitely. Martin has since then been traded to another team away from incognito and other teammates who may have been involved.
Another case regarding acceptance came from the Minnesota Vikings organization when punter, Chris Kluwe, was being discriminated against and targeted for advocating for gay rights. In this case it wasn't his teammates that were targeting him but the organization as a whole. The ordeal began when Kluwe wrote a controversial letter to a politician who was offended by an NFL player supporting gay rights. After the letter surfaced Kluwe faced. However before this, Kluwe had cleared it with the team to advocate with the Minnesotans for Marriage Equality as a private citizen and not a spokesperson for the Vikings. Not long after sending the letter, it went viral and Kluwe was sure he'd face consequences for it. Sure enough, later in the week, Kluwe was called in by the head coach, Leslie Frazier, who told him that he "needed to stop speaking out on this stuff and to be quiet". Kluwe however kept his stance and said it was the right thing to do and that he felt he needed to continue to do it. Throughout these months of Kluwe's appearances and advocating, the teams coordinator, Mike Priefer, who was directly responsible for reviewing Kluwe's job performance, would use homophobic language in Kluwe's presence which he had not done in minicamps or in previous seasons. Although this made Kluwe feel uncomfortable he restrained from starting yelling matches about human rights as he knew it could diminish his chances of remaining employed. Priefer began saying less and less to Kluwe and their interactions were stilted. Kluwe was then genuinely concerned that his job was in jeopardy, as he had seen this pattern before toward other players who had been cut or released. The 2012 season then concluded and Kluwe was told that the team would be exploring options for competition. By the end of April, Kluwe knew that the Vikings were going to replace him, though they hadn’t said those exact words, but they signed another punter and were thinking of using their fifth round draft pick for a punter. Kluwe's first day back in the facility after the draft he met with Rick Spielman The team’s general manager, Spielman clarified that the meeting was solely about competition and had nothing to do with his views, however Kluwe did not believe he was telling the truth. That was on April 29 andon May 6 Kluwe had another meeting with Spielman who then told him that the team would be releasing him. It can't be proven that the team released Kluwe for his views or his activism in the LGBT community, but his statistics from his eight years with the Vikings give no good evidence to release him.
Another case regarding acceptance came from the Minnesota Vikings organization when punter, Chris Kluwe, was being discriminated against and targeted for advocating for gay rights. In this case it wasn't his teammates that were targeting him but the organization as a whole. The ordeal began when Kluwe wrote a controversial letter to a politician who was offended by an NFL player supporting gay rights. After the letter surfaced Kluwe faced. However before this, Kluwe had cleared it with the team to advocate with the Minnesotans for Marriage Equality as a private citizen and not a spokesperson for the Vikings. Not long after sending the letter, it went viral and Kluwe was sure he'd face consequences for it. Sure enough, later in the week, Kluwe was called in by the head coach, Leslie Frazier, who told him that he "needed to stop speaking out on this stuff and to be quiet". Kluwe however kept his stance and said it was the right thing to do and that he felt he needed to continue to do it. Throughout these months of Kluwe's appearances and advocating, the teams coordinator, Mike Priefer, who was directly responsible for reviewing Kluwe's job performance, would use homophobic language in Kluwe's presence which he had not done in minicamps or in previous seasons. Although this made Kluwe feel uncomfortable he restrained from starting yelling matches about human rights as he knew it could diminish his chances of remaining employed. Priefer began saying less and less to Kluwe and their interactions were stilted. Kluwe was then genuinely concerned that his job was in jeopardy, as he had seen this pattern before toward other players who had been cut or released. The 2012 season then concluded and Kluwe was told that the team would be exploring options for competition. By the end of April, Kluwe knew that the Vikings were going to replace him, though they hadn’t said those exact words, but they signed another punter and were thinking of using their fifth round draft pick for a punter. Kluwe's first day back in the facility after the draft he met with Rick Spielman The team’s general manager, Spielman clarified that the meeting was solely about competition and had nothing to do with his views, however Kluwe did not believe he was telling the truth. That was on April 29 andon May 6 Kluwe had another meeting with Spielman who then told him that the team would be releasing him. It can't be proven that the team released Kluwe for his views or his activism in the LGBT community, but his statistics from his eight years with the Vikings give no good evidence to release him.
So what does this show us? Should athletes of the LGBT community be worried that if they play sports that they’ll be bullied? Should athletes be concerned that a team won’t accept them for their views or their lifestyle choices? Should teams or organizations have policies in place that will address these types of situations? Keep in mind that Jonathan Martin is not gay, and neither is Chris Kluwe and they faced discrimation because of other peoples assumptions and their views. We know that many openly gay athletes are coined as “courageous” or “inspirational” for playing “even though they are gay”. Chris Kluwe was told by another NFL player that they were proud of what he was doing by advocating for it.
Athletic Encouragement Seminar
Goal: Let the LGBT community know that they can participate on athletic teams without facing bullying, threats, or discrimination and encouraging them to do so.
Audience: LGBT Community, Coaches, Parents
Examples: Jason Collins (NBA), Michael Sam (NCAA/NFL), Brittney Griner (WNBA), Robbie Rogers (MLS), Derrick Gordon (NCAA), Brendan Burke (You Can Play/NHL)
Athletics and healthy lifestyles have become very prominent in the American modern society. Groups like Boys and Girls Club', YMCAs, and the Play60 project have been big players in this movement. However most of these target preteens and teenagers. This can be argued as the most difficult time in a person's life as they are still discovering who they are. Because of this kids who may be questioning can become skeptical of playing sports. Openly gay athletes and advocates have made it their goal to make kids feel comfortable in their own skin and to make them feel comfortable about playing sports. Professional Athletes like Jason Collins, Brittney Griner, and Robbie Rogers all play in their respective sports as an openly gay athletes. Jason Collins of the Brooklyn Nets very recently came out via Twitter. Hundreds of fans, athletes, and other NBA players congratulated Collins and referred to him as courageous and an inspiration. Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury played all through college as an openly gay athlete however had to keep quiet about it due to a policy against homosexuality at Baylor University. Griner has now made it her mission to address closet culture in women's sports. Griner's sexuality was not the only thing she was taunted for, being 6'8 and female doesn't make life any easier. Robbie Rogers is a professional soccer player who plays for the LA galaxy in the MLS. Rogers came out as gay in February 2013 after posting a blog on his website. Rogers reasoning for coming out was he needed to be honest and to feel comfortable in his own skin. Two months later when NBA's Jason Collins came out he sought out Rogers for advice on dealing with the media. In February 2014 Michael Sam announced that he was gay in an interview on ESPN. Sam was a defensive end for the University of Missouri and is expected to be drafted in the fourth or fifth round in the 2014 NFL draft. If he is drafted or signed by an NFL team as an undrafted free-agent he could become the first active player who is publicly out in NFL history. Derek Gordon is the most recent to publicly come out as a gay athlete. On Wednesday, April 9 Gordon became the first player in the NCAA Division I men's basketball league to come out. He is a sophomore starter on the University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team and revealed that he was gay during interview with ESPN. Gordon explained that this was a huge weight that has been lifted off of his shoulders.
Many organizations have been formed in recent years to encourage the LGBT community that everyone can play in sports. These organizations are similar to things like The Trevor Project and The It Gets Better Project that are geared toward bullying whether it’s in the LGBT community or not. The most well known organization that is geared specifically towards gay athletes is The You Can Play Project. On March 4, 2012, the You Can Play Project released a video called "The Faceoff". In it, Patrick Burke and Brian Burke introduced the You Can Play Project, stating that their aim is to carry on Brendan Burke’s legacy, and ensure that LGBT athletes around the world are afforded equal opportunity; judged only by their talent, character, and work ethic in their sport. The video features appearances from prominent NHL players Rick Nash, Duncan Keith, Claude Giroux, Matt Moulson, Daniel Alfredsson, Corey Perry, Henrik Lundqvist, and other popular NHL players. Brendan Burke’s, son of Brian Burke, legacy was to eradicate homophobia in hockey. Brendan died in a car accident at the age of 21 in 2010. Before that, Brendan was an active advocate for this, as he was an openly gay college hockey player. He was able to target the NHL also because of his father’s influence in the league as The Anaheim Ducks’ General Manager. His father Brian is now the General Manger and President of Hockey Operations for the Calgary Flames while also working as a member of the Advisory board for YCP.
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