On The Road Yet Again!

I’m off to VA, DC and MD tomorrow and will not be blogging again until next week. I’m the keynote speaker for the National Education Association LGBT Caucus dinner in DC on Saturday evening. They have confirmed 700 tickets sold for the dinner and dance to follow. I wish I could claim that these 700 people bought their tickets to hear what I have to say, but, alas, no. The main attraction is the dinner and dancing. I play a small part in the evening.

My goal, however, is to be as entertaining as I can be in about 15-20 minutes as I provide them with some information about homophobia in school sports, the fab resources we have at www.ItTakesATeam.org and the roles they can play to make athletics a safe and respectful place for LGBT students in their school.

I’ll talk to you next week. In the meantime, I hope your July 4th is safe and fun.

Dreams of A Techno-Challenged Homophobia in Sport Educator

A Sociology of Gender class at Penn State University has posted several public service announcements on YouTube that are very interesting. I found one about homophobia in sport featuring several male athletes at Penn State talking about their reactions to having a gay teammate.





Short clips like this with actual athletes talking about their attitudes are great educational tools. I’ve been thinking of doing something like this myself but am held back by my marginal technical skills. I am working on this and hope to be able to create and post similar clips on YouTube and the It Takes A Team web site soon. It would be a great way to spark conversations with coaches and athletes about LGBT issues in sport as well as a great way to educate the public. I’d like to feature men and women, gay and straight, athletes and coaches talking about specific issues within the broad topic of homophobia in sport: relationships on teams, Christian athletes and lesbian and gay athletes on teams, anti-gay name-calling, stereotypes of lesbian and gay athletes, negative recruiting, inclusion of trans athletes, issues LGBT athletes of color face…the list of ideas is endless.

I see a summer project developing…You, dear blog reader, can help me out. What kind of topics would you like to see addressed in a series of PSAs on LGBT issues in sport?

On The Road Again

I’m on the road this week and probably won’t post anything until next week. I was in Boston this weekend attending the Center for the Study of Sport and Society’s Power of Sport Summit. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet with other activists, educators and scholars from around the USA who are committed to social justice in sport. I got home yesterday just in time to pack some fresh clothes and I’m off to New York for a meeting at the Women’s Sports Foundation today and then participate in a panel sponsored by the Out Professionals on Celebrating 25 years of LGBT Sports History on Wednesday. Have a great week.

Washington State Adopts Policy on Transgender High School Athletes

Stepping in where no interscholastic or intercollegiate sport governing body has yet to tread, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) has developed the first in the nation policy governing the participation of transgender athletes in high school sports. Kudos to the WIAA and the many consulting organizations who worked on this ground-breaking policy. We plan to post the policy on the It Takes A Team! web site as soon as we get all the bugs out of our new web site format (I debated with myself and decided to go ahead and blog about this even though I know it might be frustrating to not actually see the policy). You can check out the It Takes A Team! resource on including transgender athletes in the meantime.

Though the International Olympic Committee, in 2003, adopted the first ever policy establishing criteria for transsexual athletes to participate in the Olympics, the policy has been widely criticized by athletes like Canadian Olympic hopeful, Kristen Worley and professional golfer Mianne Bagger as well as others in the transgender rights movement.

The IOC policy, known as the Stockholm Consensus, is focused primarily on male to female transitions and focuses on completing a surgical transition as a criterion for participation. Even so, the United State Golf Association and USA Track & Field have adopted the IOC policy . The Gay Games Federation and the Gay and Lesbian International Sport Association (GLISA) have also adopted policies enabling transgender/transitioned athletes to compete in the Gay Games and the OutGames.

The NCAA, unfortunately, has stuck to their position that athletes must compete in the gender indicated on their official documents: Driver’s license, birth certificate, or passport). This policy has many problems and is one lawsuit away from disaster in my opinion. It’s disappointing that the NCAA appears to be taking a reactive rather a proactive stance on this issue.

Because interscholastic and intercollegiate athletics have eligibility limits, unlike Olympic or professional athletes, school policy governing the participation of transgender athletes needs to be different. Plus, the short-comings of the IOC policy in general call out for a more thoughtful and practical second try at policy development, especially one that applies to high school and college athletics.
Enter the WIAA. It is notable and impressive that this state association has taken on the task of developing a policy that will serve as a model for, not only other state high school athletic associations, but for collegiate athletics as well.

The WIAA worked with several groups and individuals over several months to develop and revise this policy including the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Washington State Human Rights Commission, the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, Advocates for Informed Choice and the Colorado High School Activities Association.

The collaborative process of developing the policy and the actual policy itself are models for other interscholastic and intercollegiate athletic associations to follow. Thank you, Washington State, for your leadership in addressing this emergent social justice issue in sport.

What policy does your school have governing the participation of transgender/transitioned athletes?

Lesbian Baseball Fans Kissing Blamed for Onset of Little Known Anxiety Disorder

Seattle - Last week a mother attending a Seattle Mariners game at Safeco Field had an apparent attack of “Lesbian Public Display of Affection Hypersensitivity Disorder” (LPDAHD) when she witnessed two lesbian fans “kissing and groping” (her description) in the stands. Her attack led her to complain to a Mariners “seating host” about the PDA that brought on her attack because she said she did not know how to explain it to her son who was also at the game. I should explain here that one of the most common side effects of LPDAHD is disorientation that results in a sudden inability to answer children’s questions about why on earth two people would kiss in public.


Unfortunately the “seating host” was also a LPDAHD sufferer who immediately sought relief by telling the offending sapphites to stop kissing because their untoward behavior was bringing on allergic reactions from other fans who struggle with LPDAHD. Imagine the outrage when the lesbians were insensitive enough to insist that, a) the PDA was only a “peck on the check” not “groping,” b) many other heterosexual couples at the game were engaging in similar public displays of affection and they were not asked to stop, and c) they would not stop even though their behavior was causing emotional distress for the lesbian-challenged mom.


A recent study by a respected medical doctor shows that LPDAHD sufferers have a tendency to amplify or exaggerate their perceptions of PDAs when they witness these activities among women. This doctor has developed the “PDA Conversion Scale” to help LPDAHD sufferers understand their warped perceptions when in the throes of a full blown LPDAHD attack. I present it here for you now:


Two lesbians sitting close together = A heterosexual couple holding hands

Two lesbians pecking each other on the cheek = A heterosexual couple tonsil tickling
with their tongues

Two lesbians with their arms around each other = A heterosexual couple groping and
fondling

Two lesbians kissing passionately = A heterosexual couple having sex in public


It is commonly understood by many medical authorities that attendance at athletic contests is likely to precipitate another more prevalent anxiety disorder, Homophobic Tourette’s Syndrome (HTS). HTS is more common among heterosexual men and is likely related to testosterone poisoning which is brought on by being in close proximity to large groups of other heterosexual men, such as is the case at athletic contests. Sufferers of HTS are prone to blurting out words like “homo” or “faggot” at sporting events when referring to members of the opposing team.


Whereas LPDAHD has been considered serious enough that the lesbian PDAs provoking the onset of LPDAHD at sports arenas must be stopped immediately, HTS is generally more tolerated by other fans and sports arena personnel and no known cure exists.


The next time you are attending a sporting event and find yourself hyperventilating at the sight of two lesbians kissing or holding hands, maybe you should ask your doctor if “Get a Life” is right for you.

LGBTQ Athletes Are Doin’ It For Themselves

It seems like forming LGBT student-athlete groups is an idea whose time has finally come. Times have changed enough and there are enough openly gay collegiate athletes so that groups are beginning to spring up at schools around the country.

I tried to start one at UMass back in the 80’s. It was all women. We met in the basement of my house around a wood stove and ate cookies and drank coke while everyone talked about what it was like for them to be a lesbian on their teams. None of them were publicly out and none of them were interested in being publicly out at that point in their lives. We were strictly a support group. We met a few times and then the school year ended and so did the group. What I learned was that the lesbian athletes had their own closeted social network within athletics with athletes from several teams, plus non-athlete friends who all partied together. They were not ready for activism or challenging homophobia in the athletic department.

I worked with some other UMass staff and an athlete again about five years ago to start another group, which we called a gay-straight athlete alliance. We had a web site and everything. We met a few times and then the school year ended, the athlete who was the driving force behind the group graduated and the group stopped meeting.


In 2002 two student-athletes at the University of Pennsylvania, Paul Farber (track) and Karrie Moore (lacrosse)started a group called PATH - Penn Athletes and Allies Tackling Homophobia. This group is still active as far as I know. It is listed as a resource on the Penn LGBT center web page. They sponsor discussions, panels, social events for LGBT athletes and allies. PATH was a student-athlete initiated group that has had some good success on their campus.


I know of similar groups recently organizing at Vassar College and Purdue University. It makes sense. More LGBTQ athletes are out and looking for support, resources and ways to challenge homophobia in athletics. I’ve learned by working with athletes and coaches that the athletes are waaay ahead of their coaches on this topic. I believe that LGBTQ student-athletes and their straight teammates who are allies are the ones who will change sport more than one or two professional athletes coming out ever can.

Andrew Langenfeld is a swimmer on the Purdue team and he is gay. Andrew is not satisfied with just starting an LGBTQ student-athlete group at Purdue. He has a plan for developing a national network of LGBTQ athletes and hopes to organize a “summit” of interested athletes to develop this network. Andrew has contacted me, Mac Chinsomboon from the Gay and Lesbian Athletic Foundation, Ted Rybka from the GLAAD Sports Desk, among others, to seek advice and assistance with his vision. The page he has put up on Facebook for the group has already quadrupled in numbers. Andrew has organized a steering committee of men and women athletes who are working with him to make this network happen.


I think this is so cool. I’m getting to the age now where I sometimes feel like the student-athletes I talk to must look at me as if it’s their old dyke grandmother talking to them about homophobia. I guess this is not all bad, dyke grandmothers do have a long range perspective on things, but I think peer-initiated activism and leadership is so powerful and important. Andrew is taking that leadership and he has some incredible ideas. I just hope ol’ granny can help him to make them a reality.

Are you a coach, athlete or staff member in athletic department? Do you know of student-athletes who would be interested in working with Andrew or starting an LGBTQ student-athlete group at your school? If so, let me know, Granny Griffin can connect you with the resources and people to join a very exciting movement.

Another Title IX Retaliation Case With Homophobic Overtones

The NCLR Sports Project is representing the former head women’s basketball coach and her partner, the team director of operations, at Mesa Community College in San Diego. Lorri Sulpizio and Cathy Bass have been at Mesa for seven years. They allege that they have been subjected to hostile treatment because of their sexual orientation and that they were fired after coach Supizio complained about gender inequity in the athletic department. Is this starting to sound familiar?

The number of Title IX retaliation cases in which coaches and administrators who complain about gender inequity in the athletic department are fired seems to be growing. In almost all instances the firings occur despite outstanding performance records. These lawsuits indicate the continuing resistance among some male administrators to ethical and legal requirements that women and men should receive equitable treatment in athletics. These cases also highlight the stunning arrogance behind administrative decisions to fire coaches solely because they have the audacity to demand equality. How dare these uppity women challenge the status quo!

The interconnections between homophobia and sexism in these cases keep popping up too. The cases often include charges that administrators in these situations use the L-word to intimidate women coaches, regardless of their sexual orientation, create a hostile climate for lesbians or they accuse women coaches of “inappropriate relationships” with women athletes or student managers without credible evidence to back their charges. In the Mesa Community College case, the plaintiffs are lesbians and charge that they were fired in part because of their sexual orientation.

Here’s the Dishonor Roll of Title IX retaliation cases so far: Fresno State, University of California Berkeley, Feather River Community College, Florida Gulf Coast University, Montana State, University of Hawaii, and now, Mesa Community College. Jill Lieber of USA Today recently wrote a great article about these cases. The Title IX Blog is also an excellent place to visit if you want to keep up the most recent development on Title IX.

The good news is that coaches and administrators who choose to challenge Title IX retaliation, with or without a little homophobia thrown in for good measure, are winning big time in court or receiving settlements that should make other athletic departments sit up and take notice. “Should” is the operative word here. You’d think that the Fresno State jury awards to the coaches and administrators who filed lawsuits there would at least give other administrators pause. Unfortunately that has not been the case at Florida Gulf Coast University. The school and athletic administrators there seem determined to go down in flames rather than acknowledge that there are any problems at all with gender equity and homophobia in the athletic department. There are so many lawsuits filed and apt to be filed at FGCU that the lawyers will need to take a ticket to determine who gets to rake the school and athletic department over the coals first.

As activist and author Suzanne Pharr said, “homophobia is a weapon of sexism.” The truth of her statement is clear in the noxious mix of these two social diseases in many of these cases. It’s a good reminder that we cannot only fight sexism and we cannot only fight homophobia and heterosexism. Neither can we only fight racism or classism or only fight transgender oppression. They are all connected and grow from the same root: the desire to hoard power and resources for the few at the expense of the many.

Some schools and athletic departments have to learn the hard way that these inequities will no longer be tolerated. Coaches and administrators as well as athletes who experience discrimination because of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity are speaking up more often. They get lawyers. They sue. They often win. The old days when administrators and coaches who enforce discrimination could count on intimidation, submission and fear are gone.


It’s too bad really. Equality is not as painful as some folks apparently think it is. Surely it is not as painful as a public trial with multi-million dollar jury penalties or years of bad press and large financial settlements. Ask Fresno State. Ask Penn State. Unfortunately, I have a feeling you might be able to ask FGCU and Mesa CC about this too in the not to distant future.