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Sports Equality Foundation launches to help gay athletes, coaches come out – USA TODAY

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Scott Gleeson, USA TODAY Sports 11:50 a.m. EST January 20, 2016

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USA TODAY Sports’ Scott Gleeson with the exclusive story of Bryant University’s Chris Burns, the first openly gay Division I men’s basketball coach.
USA TODAY Sports

Sports Equality Foundation, an organization focused on empowering athletes and coaches to publicly come out, launched on Wednesday. The foundation branched off of the work of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, which has focused on anti-bullying to the LGBT community for the last five years in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

While similar groups are focused on speeches and sensitivity training, Outsports.com co-founder Cyd Zeigler told USA TODAY Sports “we believe the singular most important tool to changing sports is people coming out.” Ziegler will serve on the foundation’s advisory board. Joining him will be Jason Collins, the first out NBA player, and Billy Bean, an openly gay former MLB player who serves as the league’s ambassador for inclusion, among others.

USA TODAY

Coaches and coming out

Patrick Davis, co-chair of the foundation board and co-founder of StandUp, said: “We have heard from countless athletes and coaches that there is a powerful need for stronger support around the coming-out process in sports, and that coming out is what drives the change. The foundation will fuel that process, and give those who may suffer from bullying role models to look up to. It’s a natural evolution to solving the problem.”

In an effort to help closeted sports figures feel safe and comfortable to come out to the world, the foundation will focus on providing necessary resources and utilize a growing number of public role models. The foundation launches with a $100,000 commitment from the board.

USA TODAY

Catch-22: Coming out can quell gay slurs, but fear of homophobia hinders closeted athletes

“If we change culture, we change popular culture,” added board co-chair Kathleen Hatch, the former president of NIRSA: Leaders in Collegiate Recreation. “Sports is an important key to unlocking minds and hearts in our shifting culture. The coming-out cycle perpetuates itself and drives that broader cultural change. We have a deep belief in the incredible power of the individual.”

The foundation’s initiative is not just focused on closeted athletes. Also on the board are out coaches Anthony Nicodemo, an openly gay high school basketball coach in New York, and Kirk Walker, an openly gay softball coach at UCLA. In a story with USA TODAY Sports on the chronicling of Bryant assistant men’s basketball coach Chris Burns becoming the first openly gay coach in a top-four sport, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of coaches coming out: “This is a part of life that should be celebrated. …This is part of the solution. This is about being a good human being. We should embrace this. It’s a positive part of our society.”