With all the political and social insanity in this country over the past year or so, one of the things that hasn't gotten as much attention as it probably should have, given the prevalence of sports culture in our country, is a series of rather remarkable strides in the sports world for LGBT equality.
Just last week, another blow was struck for LGBT equality in sports, when the San Francisco Giants released an "It Gets Better" video—part of Dan Savage's It Gets Better project encouraging bullied LGBT kids to keep hoping for a better world when it seems like there's no hope, and encouraging everyone else to stand up for the right of LGBT kids (or really anyone) not to be bullied in school.
And now, thanks in part to online petitions on change.org, the Cubs and Red Sox have announced that they're going to join the Giants in releasing "It Gets Better" videos.
The entire last year, actually, has seen a series of remarkable strides for LGBT acceptance and equality in one of the major bulwarks of masculinity in our culture: the sports world.
With the full blessing of the NHL and the Chicago Blackhawks, Hawks forward Brent Sopel took the Stanley Cup through Chicago's Pride parade—a parade that also featured a Cubs float with "Mr. Cub" himself, Ernie Banks, and Cubs co-owner Laura Ricketts, who is the first openly-gay team owner in MLB history. More recently, New York Rangers pest Sean Avery stated his support for equal marriage, and ESPN's Jared Max and Phoenix Suns president Rick Welts came out of the closet. And even though there's been some ugly language in the NBA from Kobe Bryant and Joakim Noah, the NBA has come down hard on them—fining them $100,000 and $50,000 respectively—when I'm sure NBA players have been calling folks "f****t" for years previously without the NBA blinking an eye.
But the Giants' release of an "It Gets Better" video—with the full blessing of the team organization—is now turning into a bit of a trend-setter, with two more MLB teams signing on board within days of the Giants' video release. Could more teams be far behind? Could we see these videos from not just baseball teams, but also from teams in the other three major US sports—hockey, football, and basketball—as well?
Here's the Giants' "It Gets Better" video, featuring Barry Zito, Sergio Romo, Matt Cain, Hensley Meulens and Andres Torres.
"Hi. I'm Barry Zito of the World Champion San Francisco Giants. We all know how difficult life can be as a teenager."
"We've all been there and had to deal with the pressure to fit in and be accepted by our peers."
"It's particularly challenging for LGBT teens who face adversity and intolerance in their daily lives."
"We speak for the entire Giants organization when we say there's no place in society for hatred and bullying against anyone."
"There's no place for children and teenagers to feel isolated and like they have to end their own lives."
"To all the kids out there who are struggling..."
"...and we know it may seem hopeless right now..."
"...but please know that you have an amazing future in front of you..."
"...and an entire community in your corner."
"We promise you: It gets better."
"It gets better."
("it gets better" in Spanish)
("it gets better" in Japanese)
"We promise you, it does get better. Please visit itgetsbetter.org for more information."
It's time to double down; momentum is slowly shifting our way, and it's time to put more energy behind this. As I mentioned above, the videos were made because of fan pressure on petition site change.org—which now features more and more petitions from fans asking their favorite teams to make videos.
Here's a partial list of some of the petitions you can sign:
MLB
Cleveland Indians
New York Yankees
Texas Rangers
New York Mets (another one)
Toronto Blue Jays
St. Louis Cardinals
Minnesota Twins
Seattle Mariners
Atlanta Braves
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
Anaheim Angels
NFL
New England Patriots
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Houston Texans
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
NHL
Philadelphia Flyers
Toronto Maple Leafs
NBA
Portland Trail Blazers
Phoenix Suns
Oklahoma City Thunder
Soccer
Manchester United
Seattle Sounders
College Sports
Arkansas Razorbacks
University of Florida
University of Alabama
If your favorite team isn't listed here, you can search change.org—and, if you don't see your team in the search, start your own petition.
The tide is turning; we need to put more pressure on sports teams to stand up for equality and acceptance. If a gay teen sees his favorite sports hero telling him "it gets better," maybe that'll be the difference between life and death; if the "guys' guys" see their sports stars telling them that anti-LGBT attitudes aren't acceptable, it might just change some hearts.
Professional sports was once ahead of the curve when it came to recognizing that talent, athleticism, and character—not extraneous factors like skin color or sexual orientation—are what make champions; perhaps, even as many other parts of society have moved ahead on LGBT equality, sports can again play a crucial role, this time in bringing more and more of the stragglers along for the ride.
Let's work to help this spread.
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