2011 was a watershed year in the fight to end homophobia and transphobia in sports. We have finally reached a tipping point when anti-gay slurs, silence and discrimination are no longer the accepted norms in sports. Increasing numbers of LGBT athletes are coming out, and many more straight allies are speaking up to support them. Joining established athletics-focused groups like NCLR sports project and Outsports.com, LGBT advocacy groups like GLSEN, It Gets Better and GLAAD are widening their focus to include sports. It seems as though more new organizations are also coming forward to fight discrimination in sports every few weeks. Each organization is doing something pivotal in this fight. Many work with high school sports, college althetics or professional sports; Furthermore focus is put on legal advocacy, outreach, and media.

However, homophobia and transphobia are persistent problems in sports that have silenced gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes and coaches for much of the last century. Thanks to pioneers like former NFL player Dave Kopay, tennis great Martina Navartilova, and transgender professional tennis player Renee Richards, the climate for LGBT athletes and coaches began to shift three decades ago, unfortunately only marginally.

The current changes are riveting and reflect a shift in the culture of sports. Once dominated by discrimination and silence, a new climate of support and openness for LGBT athletes is emerging. The increasing numbers of groups focused on making sports a positive environment for everyone who wants to play or coach are catalysts in the pace of this ever-changing problem. However, our effectiveness in ending homophobia in sports has been limited because we are not working together efficiently. Despite being led by athletes and coaches whose success is built on communication and teamwork, most of these advocacy groups are not talking to one another. We all share the same goal, but we have not been playing like a team.

On June 14 in Braverton, Oregon, that will change. Thirty leaders who are actively advocating for LGBT equality in sports will come together at Nike LGBT Sports Summit. The goal of this ground-breaking event is to create a team game plan for ending homophobia and transphobia in sport that takes advantage of the strengths in each organization. The aim is to increase our ability to collaborate on bringing about the change we all are committed to.

To maximize the outcome of our collaborative efforts, we envision this summit as the first of an annual event. Our intention is to include other organizations and individuals who share our goals as we extend our network over the coming year. The 2013 summit will be open to everyone who is dedicated to the end of homophobia and transphobia in sports.

For the better part of three days, summit participants will identify and commit to completing specific action plans toward ending anti-LGBT discrimmination in sports. They will also forge inter-group relationships to carry out these action plans. The organizations involved with this inaugural summit include the American Alliance for Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance, Athlete Ally, Br{ach the Silence, Campus Pride, ESPN, Fearless campaign, Federation of Gay Games, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), It Gets Better campaign, National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Nike, Our Group, Outsports, Standup Foundation, and You Can Play project.

Thanks to Nike's commitment to making sports a respectful and inclusive experience for LGBT athletes, we have an opportunity to make the next 12 months an even more amazing year of progress for LGBT athletes and coaches at all levels of sports. We're also blessed to have the support of online sports leader SB Nation and worldwide tech leader Microsoft. The dedication of these companies, along with the organizations involved, opens an opportunity like never before to lake equality in sports a reality for all.

We hope that pioneers of our movement will be proud to see the progress we are forging in the foundation of their courage and determination. Together, we will end homophobia and transphobia in sports. We hope you will join us in the coming year.

Compiled from release

Newly-installed Campus Pride Board member Brian Sims is available for speaking engagements and other events on your college and university campus.

Brian Sims, the newly-elected Democratic nominee for the 182nd District of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, is known nationally for his outspoken work in the field of LGBT legal and social equality. His victory in the recent 182nd House Democratic will make him Pennsylvania’s first and only openly gay state legislator.

Sims has distinguished himself as an attorney and civil rights advocate in Philadelphia and served as the staff counsel for policy and planning at the Philadelphia Bar Association. He recently stepped down as president of the Equality Pennsylvania Board of Directors and as chairman of GALLOP (Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia).

In 2000, Sims, the son of two retired Army lieutenant colonels, came out to his college football team after leading them to the Division II National Championship game as their captain. He remains the only former NCAA football captain to have ever come out, and is one of the most notable collegiate athletes to do so in any sport.

In the last three years, Sims has been named one of the nation’s Top 40 LGBT Attorneys Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association – ABA and one of the of the Top 40 Most Influential LGBT People Under 40 by The Advocate. Sims is currently on Campus Pride’s annual “Hot List” of the best LGBT ally educators, artists and entertainers for college campuses.

Sims holds a Bachelors of Science degree from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania and a Juris Doctor degree in International & Comparative Law from Michigan State University College of Law.

Sims’ speaking engagements are managed by Campus Pride staff. A portion of those proceeds will directly benefit Campus Pride and support its work with LGBT and ally students across the nation. Those interested in learning more about Sims’ available speaking dates, booking information and prices or other general questions can contact Campus Pride at 704-277-6710 or email [email protected].

Campus Pride’s ‘Out to Play Project” in partnership with Compete Magazine presents the top 10 “Best of the Best” athletic programs working to ensure LGBT inclusion on the field

Campus Pride, the nation’s leading educational organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, announced today the first resource of its new “Out to Play Project” (www.campuspride.org/outtoplay), which aims to begin the dialogue of LGBT safety and inclusion in college athletics and to provide the necessary research to broaden efforts to combat anti-LGBT conduct, bias and slurs in sports.

In partnership with Compete Magazine, Campus Pride’s “Out to Play List” is a compilation of the 10 “Best of the Best” LGBT-friendly athletics programs at colleges and universities across the country. The list was compiled from nominations received nationwide, with each reviewed for its LGBT-inclusion efforts, practices and policy implementation. The list is published in the magazine’s May 1 print issue and online at www.campuspride.org/outtoplay.

“For far too long, no one has known the score when it comes to LGBT-inclusion and friendliness in collegiate sports programs – that changes today,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “LGBT students today are more out and vocal than ever before and those who are also athletes deserve to know which schools and which athletics programs will respect them for who they are. All students deserve the assurance of safety and inclusion both in the classroom and on the field.”

The schools included in the Out to Play List include (alphabetically): Bates College, Bowdoin College, Bucknell University, Columbia University, Indiana University, Ithaca College, Kennesaw State University, New York University, Stanford University and Whitman College.

A full breakdown of the schools’ individual programs can be found in the Compete Magazine feature and online at www.campuspride.org/outtoplay.

Eric Carlyle, CEO, Compete Sports Media and Rebound Sports Media, said his company has been proud to partner with the Out to Play List’s release, noting that college sports is an important segment of the larger athletic community.

“With a mission of uniting the gay and straight communities through sports, we know that supporting a positive campus-wide attitude of diversity and inclusion is critical to achieving that mission,” Carlyle said, adding that inclusive collegiate sports programs have a “trickle-down effect” by influencing younger high school athletes, their friends and their families.

The Out to Play Project and its “best of the best” list are also being hailed by nationally-respected figures in the athletic world.

Esera Tuaolo is an openly gay, former NFL football player with the Green Bay Packers (1991–1992), Minnesota Vikings (1992–1996), Jacksonville Jaguars (1997), Atlanta Falcons (1998) and Carolina Panthers (1999). He said his time as a closeted professional athlete negatively affected his performance.

“I am extremely glad to see this effort from Campus Pride to highlight the top 10 athletic LGBT-friendly schools come to life and I strongly support it,” Tuaolo said. “I wish I had played football in an environment that supports gay players like myself, where people can freely be who they are without hiding anything, and teammates respecting that. The sky would have been the limit!”

The top 10 list is the first resource in Campus Pride’s ongoing Out to Play Project. This fall, the organization will release the most comprehensive national collegiate research report sharing the experiences of nearly 500 self-identified LGBT athletes and providing necessary resources for further progress on LGBT issues in college athletics.

More information about the Out to Play List and continuing efforts of the Out to Play Project can be found online at www.campuspride.org/outtoplay. Those interested in supporting the project and these unique national efforts can contribute at www.campuspride.org/donate.asp.

Another year. Another Creating Change. And, as always, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force never seems to amaze.

I was honored to attend Creating Change in Baltimore for my second time ever last weekend. This year, I went with a new role and new title at a new organization. Working with and meeting some of the brilliantly talented and engaged college student leaders who attended Campus Pride's day-long Queer It Up Young Adult Leadership Institute was definitely the highlight of my experience. I'm pretty sure our executive director, Shane Windmeyer, our board member, Nikita Burks, and phenom volunteer Ted Lewis would say the same.

(Pictured right: Forty students from across the nation attended the Campus Pride day-long Queer It Up Young Adult Leadership Institute at Creating Change, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012.)

Just about 40 students attended the day-long institute, engaging in conversations on what it meant to be a student leader on campus and a leader in their greater communities. They delved into the types of characteristics that make up for a good leader, among them fairness, honesty, trustworthiness, communicativeness, understanding, approachableness and passion.

"A leader should feel empowered to act when others can't, won't or are uncomfortable," said one student leader.

I couldn't agree more. But being a leader doesn't always mean speaking out. It certainly has nothing to do with "power" or privilege. Leadership comes in all sorts of forms and requires, first and foremost, the about to connect with others, working with others and empowering others. It sounds so cliche, but it is true: Teamwork makes the dreamwork.

Official Call for Nominations announced today to profile LGBT progressive NCAA or NJCA collegiate athletic programs at colleges and universities across the country

Nobody knows the score when it comes to collegiate athletic programs and where they stand on inclusion and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) players, coaches and staff. For the first-time ever, Campus Pride, in partnership with Compete Magazine, plans to find out who the winners are for LGBT-inclusiveness in college sports -- and, ultimately, whether out LGBT athletes, coaches and staff are welcome.

Today Campus Pride launches its newly formed “Out to Play Project” which is designed to address anti-LGBT slurs, bias and conduct in college sports. As part of the national project, both Compete Magazine and Campus Pride will spend from March until June reviewing nominations of colleges and universities for the “Out To Play List.” The LGBT-friendly listing will be published in a special edition of Compete Magazine and online at CampusPride.org profiling the “Best” in LGBT-inclusivity and college sports.

The official call for nominations starts today, March 1. To be eligible, the athletic program must be part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I, II and III, or the National Junior College Athletic Association. Former or current out LGBT and ally athletes, coaches, fans and, or campus staff are encouraged to nominate a college or university. Anyone can nominate a LGBT-friendly college athletic program online at www.campuspride.org/outtoplay.

“Anti-LGBT attitudes and behaviors are prevalent, if not pervasive, in the world of sports. ’Out To Play’ can change all that – by starting in college and setting the standard. The ‘Best of the Best’ listing will highlight college athletic programs that have demonstrated LGBT-inclusion in policy and practice,” said Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director of Campus Pride. “If we know the score, everyone will be motivated to play harder – even those farthest behind.”

Windmeyer, also the author of The Advocate College Guide for LGBT Students, will lead the nomination review team which will partly consist of select individuals who are current and former out LGBT athletes as well as researchers in the field of higher education. Once nominations have been received, the review team will contact college sports program to undergo a further review. The review will consist of a series of LGBT-inclusive athletic questions as well as an assessment of the entire campus community through Campus Pride’s LGBT-Friendly Campus Climate Index (www.campusclimateindex.org).