Like many, I watched the recently aired video of Coach Mike Rice and the Rutgers University’s Men’s Basketball team in disbelief. Of course this was not the first piece of evidence that suggested to me that there is much work to be done in combating anti-LGBT attitudes and behavior in sports, but this perhaps more than other examples showed just how pervasive the culture of dis-respect in sports is and how casually common anti-LGBT language is hurled around on courts and fields and in locker rooms and arenas, including those in K-12 settings.

Findings from GLSEN’s 2011 National School Climate Survey confirm that LGBT students experience discrimination and harassment in school sports. Over a quarter of LGBT student athletes reported having ever been harassed or assaulted while playing on a school sports team because of their sexual orientation or gender expression.  What’s worse is that they and their teammates experience that this is okay (and in the case of Coach Rice may even be rewarded with coaching positions in big-time college sports programs).

Watching a local news channel interview a former RU player who dismissed the coaches’ behavior as nothing out of the ordinary made me refocus my gaze as I watched the video footage again – this time focusing less on the coach but more on the team members and their reactions (or non-reactions). They seemed to respond in a way that said to me that this was not new to them (from this or other coaches they had played under).

As we do at GLSEN, my thoughts then turned to K-12 school sports as I imagined these players first as student athletes learning to accept or even expect such treatment from their coaches and then as current or future coaches of youth sports themselves either replicating that behavior or choosing something better for their athletes. I wondered if they, and the hundreds of other players Coach Rice has had the opportunity to model appropriate coaching behavior for over the years, would choose to coach differently.  I hoped that they would instead of choosing to follow in Coach Rice’s footsteps they would instead choose to use the tools that GLSEN has created for just this purpose as part of Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project. I hoped that they would take to heart the first recommendation from the Game Plan for Coaches that Coach Rice seems to have missed in his training which is “Be a visible and active role model of respect and fairness for your team.”  This is how the coach of a winning team behaves.

Robert McGarry, Ed.D., Director of Education

Walter Johnson High School in Bethesda, Maryland is aiming to be the first high school in country to have every team, take the Team Respect Challenge.

What Does It Mean To Take The Team Respect Challenge?

• Making a strong public team commitment to live the values of respect and inclusion for all team members, across differences such as race, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or religion.
• Taking the Team Respect Challenge requires leadership and commitment from everyone on the team.
• Believing that Team Respect is a winning strategy: When all team members are respected, they perform to their highest potential.
• Avoiding language that puts someone down because of differences such as race, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or religion.
• Reminding teammates that name-calling and bullying are “not OK on our team.”
• Setting an example of Team Respect for opposing teams, fans and other students in your school

Learn how your team can take the Team Respect Challenge

You’d be hard-pressed to name two people who have collectively had a stronger impact on the gay-sports movement than Pat Griffin and Helen Carroll. These two pioneers have been working toward equality for the better part of 30 years. They’ve visited high schools. They’ve talked to colleges. They’ve waged legal campaigns. They’ve educated educators. And with more incredible work in 2011, our readers have named these two women our “Persons of the Year.”

For more check out:

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog/2012/01/05/outsports-persons-of-the-year-pat-griffin-and-helen-carroll/

NASPE is part of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) which is the largest organization of professionals supporting and assisting professionals involved in physical education, recreation, fitness, sport and coaching, dance, health education and promotion, and all specialties related to achieving a healthy and active lifestyle.

AAHPERD is an alliance of five national associations, six district associations, and a research consortium that is designed to provide members with a comprehensive and coordinated array of resources on both the national and local level, support, and programs to help practitioners improve their skills and so further the health and well-being of the American public.

May 2011 was an incredible month for gay athletes. We saw people coming out at all level of sports, like president of the Phoenix Suns Rick Welts, a former college basketball player and even the Pro Bowlers Association rookie of the year! We also had an array of pro athletes say it’s OK to be gay in sports.

While the reaction in the media reflected a sense of shock that so many people in sports would advocate for gay equality, many of us were left saying, “We’ve been saying this for years.” The fact is that while many straight athletes have been afraid to offer their support of gay people publicly, they’ve been doing so privately for a long time.

In 11 years of running Outsports.com, we’ve never heard a single negative story of a male athlete coming out publicly (strangely, we have heard several negative stories of women coming out; luckily we have the National Center for Lesbian Rights to take care of the bad guys). Why have so many in sports been able to come out at every level with ease for the last decade? Because sports are focused on one thing and one thing alone: Winning.

Like Charles Barkley said: If you can shoot the basketball, no one cares if you’re gay. We’ve heard this sentiment for years. If you are focused on that one goal, and you’re doing everything you can to help your team win, teammates and coaches are almost always OK with gay people. They many not ask for a gay teammate. They may not prefer to have one. But if you’re a good teammate, they will continue to embrace you and your contributions to the team.

One of the tenets of Changing The Game is allowing LGBT athletes to offer their full contributions on the court, field, pitch and ice. It’s refreshing that after years of quietly accepting gay teammates, so many straight allies are finally coming out publicly with their support.

Cyd Zeigler, CTG Advisory Group, Outsports.com

Kobe Bryant made national news on April 12 when he decried a referee as a “faggot” during a basketball game. He apologized, was fined $100,000 by the NBA, yet now pledges to appeal that fine. My reaction to the incident came in waves. At first, I was offended by Kobe’s use of the antigay slur and then more so by his refusal to accept the fine. Then, I felt Kobe should know better because he is African American, and surely must understand the power a hateful word can hold. But later I felt childhood pangs of pain – from being picked on while on the playground and being picked last (or close to last) for sports teams. While pundits debate what sanction is appropriate for Kobe and implications for the NBA’s playoff season, for me, it is this playground pain which provides the key lesson. We must move from a nation where LGBT youth are picked on while at the playground, to a world where they are actually picked to be on teams in the playground.

Like many gay men, I was not very athletic as a child. I was small, skinny and shy. That made the school playground my arch-nemesis. My ability to throw a ball paled in comparison to my song-and-dance prowess as Linus in an elementary school production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

Nor was I particularly interested in team sports that required me to play with other boys . I’m sure many of you have been there. You are not wanted on teams because you’re not athletic, because you’re awkward, or because the other kids think you’re gay. Or all of the above. So I always dreaded that inglorious moment. Kids are lined up to pick teams for handball. Popular jocks self-select as team captains and choose from the lineup. Invariably, I stood there sheepishly until I was picked last. . . or close to last. I wish no child (gay, straight or anywhere in between) has to endure the anguish of standing on the sidelines while everyone else is picked, until you are the “leftover.”

I also dreaded those occasions during P.E. class when the week’s sport activity was announced. “Please, no flag football this week.” “Good lord, just let us just run track today so I don’t have to interact with anyone.” These pleas raced across my internal thought bubbles. I was the child who would rather go play tennis with my sister so I did not have to deal with other kids from school. (Looking back now, the inclination to play tennis with my sister should have been an early sign of my budding gayness. Oh yeah, there was also that propensity to sing with a blanket as Linus in a musical.)

In addition to being a bottom rung sports pick, I was also picked on. In classrooms, it’s harder to bully. But once kids run to the playground for recess and P.E. class, watch out. With limited teacher supervision, there’s far more opportunity for anti-gay taunting. Add to that inability to throw a ball correctly, and many gay youth experience cries of “sissy” and the anti-gay f-word on the playground.

For the most part, I have gotten over these childhood pangs. Today, I even fancy myself as somewhat athletic and a dedicated fitness buff. But those pangs from the childhood playground never quite go away, just as I’m sure they don’t entirely disappear for other LGBT adults.

That’s why the Kobe Bryant situation was so jarring. It wasn’t just that Kobe used the reprehensible word “faggot.” Far more powerfully, his use of the slur is a sad reminder that playgrounds – whether in school or in professional sports – remain a breeding ground for homophobia and intolerance. Most male sports are all about being masculine; apparently to Kobe (and I’m sure to many other pro athletes), being gay is “lesser than” and something that can be demeaned on court.

This attitude will not change any time soon. That is why there is such a dearth of openly gay athletes — especially in team sports. Occasionally, a star openly gay or lesbian athlete emerges in individual sports. Witness Olympic champion diver Greg Louganis or tennis icon Martina Navratilova. But in team sports, the straight kids just don’t want to play with us. That creates a spiraling cycle, where athletically-talented LGBT youth may not feel comfortable pursuing college or professional careers in sports. In turn, fewer gays and lesbians become well-known athletes and role models.

The LGBT community spends so much time focused on advancing our political leverage and legal rights; we can overlook the need to advance culturally. Whether we gays like it or not, sports hold a profound influence in world culture. They make cultural heroes. And rightly or wrongly, they help define popularity and masculinity. One day, I hope for sports arenas to be places where gays and lesbians are welcomed with open arms, rather than places where we are derided.

How can we achieve that field of dreams? First, it begins on the school playgrounds where all kids play. Because of gay teen suicides, we are hearing much discourse about anti-bullying efforts. Let’s ask those anti-bullying campaigns to also teach tolerance in the gymnasium, not just in the classroom. And let’s hope they educate teachers and sport coaches, not just students. It is those supervising adults who are needed to crack down when kids taunt each other on the playground.

Second, school athletic teams can encourage a climate for LGBT youth to participate. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network has its eye on this. “Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project” seeks to assist K-12 schools create a sports and PE climate that is inclusive for LGBT kids. One thing I particularly like is its “Team Respect Challenge.” This encourages athletic squads to sign a “Team Respect Pledge,” committing to inclusion for all members of the team and school. Among other things, team members would vow to avoid name-calling and to treat other teammates with respect. By changing attitudes on academic sports teams, we slowly improve the whole sports culture.

Third, we need to fix the perception that being openly gay or lesbian in pro sports is bad. Certainly, it would be great for more LGBT pro athletes to come out. And it would be even more powerful for teams and sponsors to stand behind them. Short of that happening, people like Kobe Bryant really could help. Kobe has a moment now where he could convincingly tell the world that being gay is ok in the NBA and in any sport. More than just issuing his own apology, Kobe could gather his Lakers teammates to do the same. I would love to see him pledge GLSEN’s “Team Respect Challenge.” Better yet, the Lakers as a team could so. Or what if the NBA or other sports leagues asked all their teams to sign the “Team Respect Challenge”? What a powerful symbol that would be for today’s kids on the playground.

I’m not naïve. I don’t expect this all to happen overnight or perhaps ever. But I can certainly hope for my field of dreams. If Kobe Bryant’s outburst shows tolerance taking a step backward, it also presents an opportunity to take two steps forward to greater LGBT inclusion. If something good comes out of the scandal, it can be a gradual evolution of attitudes on the court, field or astroturf. I want to see the playground stop being a place where gay youth are picked on. I want the playground to evolve into a place where gay kids are picked to play.

Jimmy Nguyen is an award-winning lawyer, new media expert, LGBT leader and diversity advocate whose work appears on SDGLN. In 2008, Lawdragon named him one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America, and in 2010, the National LGBT Bar Association recognized him as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers under 40. Jimmy also blogs at JimmyWin.com or you can follow him on Facebook by clicking JimmyWin.

The problem is that, no matter what Kobe says, there is no excuse for his use of this kind of language. Period. He thinks his choice of words is of little significance and that we should give him a pass because he tells us his words don’t have anything to do with his attitude toward LGBT people. I think his reactions to the fine and negative feedback he is getting is a reflection of his failure to understand the serious consequences of hate language and of his role as a highly visible athlete role model for many young people.

We only have to go back a few months to remember several young people who took their lives because they were called names like the one that rolled so casually off Kobe’s tongue on Tuesday night. Words matter, Kobe. Sometimes they can be deadly.

Kobe is a role model. He has no choice about that. His enormous athletic talents and high media visibility make him one by definition. Young people notice what he says and does. He does have a choice whether to be a good or bad role model. Unfortunately, right now, his actions and responses to the criticism he has received about his actions are sending the wrong message.

A mother of a 14 year old boy said, with a great deal of exasperation: Thanks, Kobe, in two seconds you have undone two years of work I have done with my son to teach him not to use anti-gay slurs. He looks up to you and thinks that, if Kobe does it, it must be ok.

Ironically, on the same day that Kobe unleashed his anti-gay slur on a game official, Grant Hill was working with GLSEN to make a public service announcement about the importance of not using anti-gay slurs. These PSAs will be aired during the NBA finals. We can hope that they receive at least as much attention as Kobe’s use of anti-gay slurs has.

One of the best that could happen now would be for coaches who work with K-12 students to use Kobe’s actions as a teachable moment to raise the awareness of athletes on their teams about the effects of hate speech, name-calling and bullying.

What a great time to sit down with your team for a few minutes to talk. Use this unfortunate incident to start a conversation about the use of anti-gay slurs in the locker room, in games, on the practice field, in the school hallways. What kind of team climate does this create for everyone? What kind of team climate does it create for an LGBT member of the team? What does respect mean on a team? How do we convey respect to teammates, coaches, officials, opponents? What does it say about your team if anti-gay slurs are tolerated? Can every team member truly “bring it” when name-calling of any kind poisons team unity?

What a great time for a team to make a statement about themselves by taking the Changing the Game Team Respect Challenge. Take the pledge. Stand up for respect.

Sometimes it’s up to younger athletes to set an example for the older ones. Kobe, are you listening? Respect. Are You Bringin’ It?

We’ve been working since October on getting ready for the launch of Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project. We have a dynamite advisory group of people who have impressive track records of advocacy on behalf of LGBT people in sport. Their creativity, commitment and excitement have helped to shape the project and the resources we will have available on the website.

I’m also pleased that we have assembled an amazing All-Star Team of athletes, coaches and other sport leaders who support the GLSEN Sports Project mission.  The All-Star Team is made up of current and former professional and Olympic athletes, coaches and general managers. The All-Star Team, like every team, includes LGBT people and allies. All are committed to a future in which sports teams welcome participants of all sexual orientations and gender identities/expressions.

I’m really proud of the resources we will have on the web site. We will be adding new ones every month. So check back often. Our resources are intended to help coaches, physical education teachers, school and athletic administrators, students and parents work together to make K-12 athletics and physical education safe and respectful places for all students.

We have some special initiatives to help students be leaders in their schools to make athletics and physical education welcoming for all students. The Team Respect Challenge is an invitation to school sports teams to declare their teams “respect zones” where the entire team pledges to commit themselves to be examples and leaders in their school to stop bullying and name-calling.

In future months we will be adding our “Bring Your ‘A’ Game” Campaign to provide individual athletes who are allies (bringing their “A” game) with an opportunity to share their commitment to speak up and stand up for respect on their teams and in their schools.

Next month we will launch our Safe Sports Space campaign with stickers and a list of Safe Sports Space Rules you can post in your gym at school or ask your coaches and physical education teachers to post in their offices. You can put them in the locker room or on bulletin boards, anywhere you think they will help remind all students, teachers and coaches that respect is the name of the game at your school.

Also check out our Game Changer video project. Game Changers are athletes, coaches, teachers, parents, athletic directors or anyone in schools who has taken actions to make athletics or physical education safer, more respectful and inclusive places for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities. We want people who are Game Changers or who know a Game Changer to make a short video sharing their Game Changer experiences or talking about why being a Game Changer is important to them. We hope you will consider making a Game Changer video and sending it to us so we can post it on the GLSEN Sports Project website.

Our Changing the Game Blog will feature periodic posts written by me and other guest bloggers. Do you have something to say about LGBT issues in K-12 athletics or physical education? Send us a post. (sportsproject@glsen.org) You could be a guest blogger.

So, consider this an invitation – Explore the Changing the Game site.  Think about how you can use our resources, activities and projects to make your school athletic and physical education programs respectful, safe and inclusive for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Write to me and let me know what you’d like to see us add.  Tell your friends and colleagues about us.  Go forth and tweet about us, join the GLSEN Sports Project Facebook Page. Help us get the word out.

Playing sports and being physically active is good for all of us and it should be fun. Let’s work together to make sure that every K-12 student has the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of athletics and physical education programs where respect is the name of the game.

Respect. Are You Bringin’ It?

Pat Griffin
Project Director