Ah, the drama behind the scenes of NBA and MLB contracts. I've written an extensive article on how the major sports franchises are dealing with sexual orientation in their new contract negotiations.  At the time I had to send the article to the publisher, I had not heard back from the MLB.  I included the fact the San Francisco Giants became the first MLB team to offer domestic partnerships and protections for LGBT employees because San Francisco had passed legislations any company doing business with the City had to reflect their values on equality.

 Now I can bring you "the rest of the story." The good news after the NFL recently made headlines for protecting gay players the--MLB has added sexual orientation as a protected class in terms of employment. One of the most vocal advocates for equal opportunity employment has been Rafael McDonnell, the Communications and Advocacy Manager for Resource Center Dallas, the city's Gay and Lesbian Center.  After reading about the NFL inclusionary CBA language, he contacted both the NBA and the MLB to see if they would include the changes as well.   I'm including a detailed  time line of his experiences as well as one of the letters he received in response. 

Here's the official language for the Major League Baseball changes, as reported by the NY Daily News: The new Collective Bargaining Agreement adds "sexual orientation" to its section on discrimination...

Article XV, Section A of the MLB's expiring Basic Agreement, in effect from 2006-2011, states: "The provisions of this Agreement shall be applied to all Players covered by this Agreement without regard to race, color, religion or national origin."

In the new agreement... the words "sexual orientation" will be added to the equivalent section.

This decision follows that National Football League, which did the same in their CBA this year. Baseball officials familiar with the process describe the mention of "sexual orientation" as not necessarily related to the NFL, and as a provision readily agreed upon by both union and league negotiators.

The change in wording comes at the end of a significant year for gay rights issues. The military abolished its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, and same-sex marriage became legal in New York state. In baseball, several teams filmed an "It Gets Better Video," an anti-bullying effort aimed at Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender youth.

When I first contacted Rafael, I asked him why someone in Dallas was attempting to do advocacy on a national level, when national LGBT organizations were not publically attempting to do so.  He explained the Resouce Center Dallas where he works, has a long history of advocating on behalf of LGBT employment, and had been successful in doing so with the Dallas School District and the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport.  Doing the same with the NBA and the MLB just seemed a natural progression.

NBA/MLB timeline and Rafael McDonnell

September 29: Rafael sends original let
ter on behalf of the Center to NBA Commissioner Stern and NBPA Executive Director Hunter advocating for sexual orientation nondiscrimination protections to be added to the new players' CBA. Letter sent via fax, email, Twitter link and conventional mail. No response, though NBPA did tag Center's direct Tweet to them on this as a "top tweet" for several days. Letter also forwarded to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban for his support and so he would be aware; no response. Story covered in Dallas Voice and Outsports. Rafael was interviewed by Compete magazine for the November/December issue.

October 3: Rafael received form-generated response from the NBA; did not address specifics of letter.

October 21: Rafael wrote Rick Welts of the Golden State Warriors, who came out earlier this year while working for the Phoenix Suns and is currently the only openly LGBT executive in pro sports. Sent him a copy of the Stern/Hunter letter, mentioned that both Rafael and he would be attending the annual Out and Equal Workplace Advocates conference in Dallas the following week and hoped they could meet in person. Welts thanked Rafael in an e-mail.

October 26: Rafael met Rick Welts after a plenary session at O&E (see photo). Rafael discussed the letter briefly in general terms, but Welts couldn't say much because Commissioner Stern specifically told team management they could not publicly talk about contract issues. Rafael said that he hoped the league would respond appropriately, and that he planned to send a similar letter to MLB once the World Series ended. Welts mentioned that Mark Cuban was a good friend of his, and that they corresponded via phone or email several times a week.

October 28-31: Rafael sends original letter on behalf of the Center to MLB Commissioner Selig and MLBPA Executive Director Michael Weiner asking them to add sexual orientation nondiscrimination protections to the new CBA, and encouraging all 30 team owners who had not done so to add sexual orientation and gender identity/expression protections to the discrimination policies covering non-player team personnel.

November 3: Rafael sent a second email to Commissioner Stern, mentioning that he had met Rick Welts and that Raphael had sent the letter to MLB/MLNPA. No response.

November 7: Rafael received letter from MLB's chief negotiator Robert Manfred indicating that sexual orientation protections would be in new labor deal, without directly saying it.

November 10: Rafael ent direct Tweet to NBA/NBPA with link back to original letter as both sides conducted marathon negotiations over owners "final contract offer" to players.

November 13: Rafael sent the specific question on nondiscrimination policy to Commissioner Stern's @NBALabor Twitter news conference; several friends of his friends in North Texas also re-Tweeted the question. It was never answered.

November 14: Rafael received letter from MLB Commissioner Selig thanking him for his "thoughtful comments" that he also described as "very constructive." NBA negotiations collapsed and union files disclaimer of interest notice; players hire David Boies (of Perry v. Schwarzenegger) to represent them in anti-trust suit. Rafael wrote Boies on behalf of Center and sent him the original letter as well. No response.

November 22: MLB and MLBPA sign new contract, with sexual orientation nondiscrimination protections added.

November 26: NBA and players' trade group announce new tentative deal. Reports indicate several pages of "B-level" issues remain to be worked out. Does that include expanding nondiscrimination protections, or has that been settled?

Compete will keep you informed on any additional changes.