It’s Not Whether You’re Gay or Straight, It’s How You Play The Game

This is the title of a panel held at Penn on February 18th. The panel was sponsored by PATH (Penn Athletes and Allies Tackling Homophobia). PATH is a group of Penn Athletes who are committed to making athletics at Penn a safe sport environment for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. The group has also applied for funding from the campus Student Activities Council.

I met PATH co-chair, Anna Aagenes, a junior on the cross country team at Penn, in Denver at the Creating Change conference last month. I was excited to learn from her that PATH has grown and is thriving so much that they have applied for official recognition and funding on campus.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the actions of a new generation of athletes, like the members of PATH at Penn will be the driving force behind making athletics a safe environment for LGBT athletes. In most schools I work with, the athletes are way ahead of the coaches in terms of their comfort with LGBT teammates. Campus-based groups of student-athletes like PATH and national networks like Our Group are playing an integral role in making athletics a welcoming climate for all. Much like the Gay Straight Alliance movement in high schools across the USA, these student-athlete groups empower members to speak out about social justice issues in sport and educate their teammates and coaches about the importance of dispelling stereotypes and creating space for athletes of all sexual orientations and gender identities to bring all of who they are to the game.

I guess you could say Penn is on the right PATH.
l