The athletics department launched a video today that supports inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender athletes in the University’s 23 varsity sports and its other athletics and recreation programs.
The video is linked to the You Can Play Project, a national effort that advocates for equality, respect and safety for all athletes, regardless of sexual orientation. It “seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by focusing only on an athlete’s skills, work ethic and competitive spirit,” according to the campaign’s website.
GW joins Princeton, UCLA, the University of Denver, Northeastern, the University of Ottawa and UConn in making video messages that seek to fight discrimination in sports.
“We are committed to celebrating and supporting LGBT student-athletes,” Nero said in a release. “Our student-athletes will be judged by the spirit they bring to the game, their support of the teammates and their dedication to GW, not by sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. At GW, if you can play, you can play.”
GW’s video features 18 University student-athletes and athletic director Patrick Nero. It comes two years after former women’s basketball player Colonial Kye Allums came out as the first transgender player in NCAA Division I history. Allums later left the team and told Sports Illustrated that he didn’t feel supported by the University after his decision to come out.
The You Can Play campaign was initially launched by Patrick Burke, a scout for the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers, Brian Kitts, a former marketing official for the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and Glen Witman, founder of Gforcesports.org.
Burke’s brother, Brendan Burke, was a collegiate goaltender for Miami University’s hockey team who came out as gay before being killed in a car accident two months later. The campaign is at the forefront of the Burke family’s efforts to end discrimination in sports in memory of Brendan Burke, whose father, Brian Burke, is the general manager of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.
