athlete ally Archives - Athletes for Hope

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Supporting The LGBTQ+ Sports Community Year-Round

Pride 2023 was one for the books! Athletes for Hope had so much fun this year celebrating with LGBTQ+ athletes, allies and organizations.

As Pride 2023 comes to a close, the fight for equality and inclusion in sports doesn’t stop. We have rounded up five organizations and programs that were founded for the LGBTQ+ sports community and its allies that you can support all year long.

No matter where you are at in your journey, there is education, resources, and advocacy work for all!

Athlete Ally

Athlete Ally believes that everyone should have equal access, opportunity, and experience in sports — regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. 

Their mission is to end homophobia and transphobia in sport and to activate the athletic community to exercise their leadership to champion LGBTQI+ equality.

Website: https://www.athleteally.org

NCLR – Sports Project

The National Center for Lesbian Rights “Sports Project” aims to ensure that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender players, coaches, and administrators receive fair and equal treatment—free of discrimination.

Founded in 2001, the Sports Project has litigated cases on behalf of LGBTQ athletes and coaches, advised schools and athletic associations, and convened key coalitions to combat homophobia and transphobia in sports.

Website: https://www.nclrights.org/our-work/discrimination/sports/

You Can Play Project

The You Can Play Project works to ensure the safety and inclusion for all who participate in sports, including LGBTQ+ athletes, coaches, and fans. This becomes possible when sports teams sharpen the focus on the person’s skills, work ethic, and competitive spirit, not their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression.

You Can Play seeks to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by developing a culture of respect, in every player, coach, and fan.

Website: https://www.youcanplayproject.org

GLESN- Changing the Game

The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network’s “Changing the Game” is a groundbreaking program that started in 2011 to give resources to educators and students to ensure that physical education classes and athletics are inclusive for LGBTQ+ individuals

LGBTQ+ affirming athletic policies can make a difference in students’ lives. When LGBTQ+ students are able to play sports and are accepted as classmates, teammates, and competitors, they gain access to the same physical, social, and emotional benefits extended to all who participate in sports.

Website: https://www.glsen.org/changing-the-game

Campus Pride

Campus Pride serves LGBTQ and ally student leaders and campus organizations in the areas of leadership development, support programs and services to create safer, more inclusive LGBTQ-friendly colleges and universities. It exists to develop, support and give “voice and action” in building future LGBTQ and ally student leaders.

Campus Pride envisions campuses and a society free of anti-LGBTQ prejudice, bigotry and hate. It works to develop student leaders, campus networks, and future actions to create such positive change.

Website: https://www.campuspride.org

Pride Month Athlete Spotlight

Erin McLeod on Pride & Athlete Ally

Erin McLeod is a goalkeeper for the NWSL’s Orlando Pride and Canadian national team. She is a 2020 Olympic Gold Medalist. Along with many of her teammates, Erin joined athletes all over the country by supporting Playing for Pride throughout the month of June (and beyond!) to benefit Athlete Ally.

Why did you decide to support Athlete Ally’s Playing for Pride campaign this year?

This year – more than any year, for sure – there has been an attack on trans youth. It’s a scary time in the U.S for a lot of reasons, but I think it’s really important for young people to see people who are like them, whether that’s on TV or [elsewhere]. Representation is huge and visibility is massive and I think as professional athletes, especially female professional athletes or trans athletes, we have this opportunity to be visible to be relatable, to be reachable. At a lot of professional sports games you get to actually meet the players and that’s kind of a unique situation. So I always think that it is important for people to see someone who is like them. It means that anything is possible, that they can be authentically themselves. [Things like sexual orientation and gender] can be challenging and fragile, and there’s a lot of pressures from society, so I think as professional athletes we have this opportunity to stand up for what we believe in and for young people to see that they are not alone is incredibly important. 

Erin McLeod faces the camera cheering with her arms open and Olympic gold medal around her neck.

Representation is huge and visibility is massive and I think as professional athletes, especially female professional athletes or trans athletes, we have this opportunity to be visible to be relatable, to be reachable.

Erin McLeod

Why is it important to celebrate Pride?

Kind of along those same lines! For me, the first time I went to a Pride parade was in Toronto a million years ago. When I was first struggling with my sexual orientation I was worried because I had pictured having this family and children and I thought that if I didn’t end up with a man that I would have to sacrifice all of that. I remember watching that Pride parade and there was a section of families. Two moms, two dads and for the first time I felt this sense of relief that I could live an authentic life, be true to who I am and also have a family. So that was a huge moment. That visibility I think is incredibly powerful. More than anything, I think in life sometimes the hardest thing is to be who you are. So if you can just be that and love who you want I think that is powerful and something to really celebrate. 

Why is it important to support the LGBTQ+ community?

As I mentioned before, trans youth is getting hammered. There are so many politicians that are trying to create a lot of laws and limitations on trans youth, and trans people in general. It’s hard enough to be who you are even if you’re straight! So to be who you are and to figure out how you identify, your gender expression, your gender identity, to find out your sexual orientation, all of these things, it is a process. Straight people are still not coming out to their parents and until that happens, it is still not the norm of society so I think it’s important to help those people feel loved for being who they are. Love is really the most important thing in the world. And the way I see love is it’s unconditional and it doesn’t discriminate. So why should we?

Erin McLeod standing in front of a gay pride flag and smiling

Love is really the most important thing in the world. And the way I see love is it’s unconditional and it doesn’t discriminate. So why should we?

Erin McLeod

Why is it important to use your platform to support and uplift LGBTQ+ rights?

As someone who identifies as a gay cisgender woman, I think it’s important to be who I am and not have to hide any part of me because in life we can choose to live a life of love and abundance or fear and scarcity and I think a lot of times, right now anyways, society is making people feel afraid to be who they are and I feel like real happiness is only reached when you are authentic. So it’s important to speak for those who don’t feel comfortable speaking and I also think it’s important for people to understand that all of these labels are labels and at the end of the day we are just dealing with human beings. The end of ignorance is education and for people like myself to use our platform to educate.

Erin McLeod wearing her Team Canada warm up gear, kneeling on a soccer fie.d

The end of ignorance is education and for people like myself to use our platform to educate.

Erin McLeod

About Athlete Ally

Athlete Ally is a nonprofit organization that uses the power of sport to uplift and end discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community. The organization believes that everyone should have equal access, opportunity, and experience in sports — regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Their mission is to end the rampant homophobia and transphobia in sport and to activate the athletic community to exercise their leadership to champion LGBTQI+ equality. Learn more about Athlete Ally and how to support their incredible work here.