Sports advocacy gets hit hard

Two high-profile positions are abolished

The future of advocating for LGBT equality in sports looks uncertain these days after the recent elimination of two sports-advocacy-specific programs. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) shelved its sports desk in January and the nonprofit Women’s Sports Foundation eliminated the It Takes A Team Education Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Sports this past December.

Ted Rybka, former director of sports media at GLAAD, saw his position slowly eliminated over the past 14 months. In November 2008, GLAAD reorganized, eliminated several positions, and asked Rybka to “split his time” between sports and communications/publications, even though it had not budgeted money for any sports advocacy efforts.

And with Rybka estimating that removing homophobia from sports will take 20-plus years, and that’s with people in positions to actually advocate on behalf of LGBT athletes, he quipped, now is not the time to sit back and take stock.
“If you think about it, GLAAD was started in the 1980s in large part as a response to the horrendous coverage of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. And 20 years later, journalists are doing a better job. However, every day there are incident reports at the local, regional, and national level. And that’s with a slew of people working on ensuring fair, accurate, and inclusive coverage of LGBT people,” said Rybka. “Sports (advocacy) was just getting started. This [the elimination of his and Griffin’s positions] will definitely set the movement back.”

The tightening of nonprofit organization budgets may very well set back efforts, but Pat Griffin said she’s not down for the count. With or without the national platform It Takes A Team gave her, Griffin plans to continue her sports advocacy, just maybe for a while with a quieter voice. She’ll continue blogging (ittakesateam.blogspot.com) and later this year she and Helen Carroll, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Sports Project Director, will release the findings of a think tank on equal opportunities for transgender student-athletes.
“I’m not done. I’ll find another venue to continue the work that I’m doing,” said Griffin. “There are still so many things left undone in LGBT sports advocacy.”

She points to the recommendations stemming from that think tank as proof positive that there is still work to be done that someone will have to do.
Outsports co-founder Cyd Zeigler has pledged to “take up the slack,” as has Carroll.
“Once you get a little crack in that armor,” said Carroll of what Rybka and Griffin have separately accomplished on behalf of LGBT athletes, “that’s when you want to get in and say this is what you can do.”

GLAAD, for its part, plans to roll Rybka’s former responsibilities into the job functions of other employees.
“Our other program staff members will continue to monitor the sports world for instances of anti-gay defamation and demand action,” said GLAAD in a statement. “GLAAD’s programs team will also continue to proactively meet with sports leagues to advocate for LGBT inclusion and address topics related to sports on our blog.”
But Zeigler calls GLAAD’s decision “disappointing.”
“The decision they made to eliminate the sports desk does send a message that they are putting less of an emphasis on sports,” said Zeigler. “They had to eliminate something, and they chose their sports program.”
Which couldn’t come at a “worse time,” said Griffin.
“We need someone watching the sports media and monitoring the corporations and political organizations that sponsor sports in the media,” she said. “I hope GLAAD will see the importance of vigilance in this arena.”

Although the Women’s Sports Foundation did not comment before Compete’s print deadline, Carroll is hopeful that the Women’s Sports Foundation will “continue to collaborate on NCLR projects moving forward.
“We have progressed. We’re moving at a good clip. And we’re getting the atmosphere and climate better for LGBT people in sports,” said Carroll. “But we have a long way to go.”

Traversing that distance – whether it takes 20-plus years as Rybka believes or a shorter period of time – will take sports advocates working together, she said. “We need to get to the point where everyone believes that you need to bring your whole self to the game and not leave any part at the door,” said Carroll.

Rybka, who was still looking for a job at the time he spoke with Compete in February, is at least hopeful that even with him and Griffin out of the game (at least in an official capacity), LGBT sports advocacy efforts will continue and eventually succeed in removing homophobia from the game.
“I think the younger generation understands things better than their parents and grandparents. We are seeing more openly LGBT student-athletes and student-athlete groups on campuses. And we’re seeing a lot of straight allies stepping us,” said Rybka. “I really think that a combination of straight allies and younger LGBT student-athletes will change the course of history.”

Links from this article:
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
Women’s Sports Foundation
ittakesateam.blogspot.com
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) Sports Project
Outsports