What Can You Do to Eliminate Homophobia in Sports?

There can be no question that we have seen great progress in advancing respect and inclusion for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender athletes in the last year. Increasingly, college athletes are feeling more comfortable coming out, homophobic language is becoming less commonplace on and off the playing field, and society has taken an interest in this area like never before.

Although there are many things to be proud of and hopeful for, if we are going to completely eliminate homophobia in sports, we are going to have to stay diligent and fix the remaining problems in a systematic and collective way.

What we have to remain cognizant of is the fact that the athletic community consists of multiple layers that operate independently of one another. For example, educating and empowering athletes may have a huge impact on eliminating homophobia in the locker room and on playing fields, but that does not mean that fans or coaches or administrators or policies are where they need to be. So as we outline our action steps, remember that some solutions may be harder to accomplish than others.

So where do we begin?

The first thing you can do is sign the Athlete Ally Pledge or create your own pledge. This is a personal commitment you can make to be conscious of the words you use and make other people conscious of theirs.

Next, organize collective action. If you are an athlete, get your entire team to sign the pledge. If you are a coach, reach out to the other coaches. A fan, get other fans to step up. The quickest way to create a cultural shift in your community is by getting entire groups to call themselves allies.

This can be accomplished by making a direct appeal to those who have the ear of a larger group. If it is student athletes you want to reach, set up a meeting with the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). If it is the athletic department, reach out to the athletic director in charge of your sport. In short, find the key people on your campus or in your community who have the ability to make others listen.

Once they are on board, contact your school newspaper. If your university covers a mass pledge signing it will both set the standard for how athletes should act and help encourage teams and athletic departments at rivaling schools to do the same.

In addition to creating and signing pledges, we need to also be aware of the policies that shape the experiences of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender athletes, coaches, fans, and administrators.

Look into your school's fan code of conduct, coaches code of conduct, or any other policies that will help to eliminate homophobia and transphobia from athletics. If the policies you find are not as inclusive or respectful as we know they can be, it is time to create language that is and get your community to sign on in support of the change.

Lastly, wear your beliefs on your sleeve and get others to do the same. In addition to mobilizing teams and coaches and fans around pledge signing, work to organize a large group of people to wear "LGBT Ally" t-shirts. Wouldn't it be an incredibly powerful statement if the entire fan section at the next football game had an "Ally Out" instead of a "white out"?

Whether or not your athletic department wants to get on board two things are certain. First, they can get behind your efforts and make an amazing first step for other universities. Or, they can push back, giving you all the fuel you will ever need to get support from students and the media.

In sum, everyone has the ability to make a lasting impact on your campus. If we can mobilize enough people around the right efforts, we can dramatically change our athletic communities forever. So get out there and start organizing!