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

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, is responding to the release of a so-called research study which purports to show significant differences between children of gay parents and straight parents.

The "research" maligning gay and lesbian parents was released this week by the University of Texas at Austin's Mark Regnerus. Other scholars, family organizations, community advocacy groups and others have questioned the "study" and its several methodological flaws, as well as its funding sources. Regnerus received a $695,000 grant from the Witherspoon Institute, an organization with ties to far-right-wing organizations like the National Organization for Marriage and the Family Research Council, an organization certified as a hate group by the respected Southern Poverty Law Center.

"The University of Texas at Austin has undertaken many efforts over several years to make their campus safer and more inclusive for LGBT students, faculty and staff," said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. "We are disheartened by the university's decision to promote this ideologically-biased and dangerous study. We urge university administrators and staff to distance themselves from Regnerus' propaganda, to stop actively promoting his misguided work and to take steps to ensure that their academic and research staff are not unduly swayed by the subjective and politically-tilted motives of their research funders."

The University of Texas at Austin has a 4.5 star rating on the Campus Pride LGBT-Friendly Climate Index, with high assessments in the areas of LGBT Support & Institutional Commitment, LGBT Student Life, LGBT Housing & Residence Life, LGBT Campus Safety and LGBT Counseling & Health. The campus rated poorly in areas of LGBT Acadmic Life, with no LGBT studies program and no faculty and staff training opportunities on sexual orientation and gender identity issues.

Other organizations have released statements calling into question the study's accuracy and objectivity. The Family Equality Council, Freedom to Marry, the Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD released a joint statement on Tuesday, June 12. Among the methodological flaws of the study the groups address:

• The paper is fundamentally flawed and intentionally misleading. It doesn’t even measure what it claims to be measuring. Most of the children examined in the paper were not being raised by parents in a committed same-sex relationship—whereas the other children in the study were being raised in two-parent homes with straight parents.
• Given its fundamental flaws and ideological agenda, it’s not surprising that the paper doesn’t match the 30 years of solid scientific research on gay and lesbian parents and families. That research has been reviewed by child welfare organizations like the Child Welfare League of America, the National Adoption Center, the National Association of Social Workers and others whose only priority is the health and welfare of children and that research has led them to strongly support adoption by lesbian and gay parents.
• In addition, the paper’s flaws highlight the disconnect between its claims about gay parents and the lived experiences of 2 million children in this country being raised by LGBT parents. Americans know that their LGBT friends, family members and neighbors are wonderful parents and are providing loving and happy homes to children.
• The paper fails to consider the impact of family arrangement or family transitions on children, invalidating any attempt on its part to assess the impact of sexual orientation on parenting. The paper inappropriately compares children raised by two heterosexual parents for 18 years with children who experience family transitions – like foster care – or who live with single or divorced parents, or in blended families. Moreover, the limited number of respondents arbitrarily classified as having a gay or lesbian parent are combined regardless of their experiences of family instability.

Campus Pride urges the University of Texas at Austin to remain true to its long-standing support and inclusion of LGBT students, faculty and staff. Distancing itself from propaganda masquerading as "research" is the absolute right step to take in fulfilling their obligation and responsibility in providing fair, inclusive and objective treatment for LGBT people on their campus and in their community.

Campus Pride Executive Director Shane Windmeyer, board member Brian Sims, non-profit partner Ben Cohen and others will be on-deck tonight as Atlanta Pride, Out on Film and the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation team up to present the Atlanta premiere of "Legalize Gay: The Civil Rights Movement of a Generation," a new documentary film by Christopher Hines.

Campus Pride has worked closely with the documentary's filmmaker, Christopher Hines, in order to raise awareness about the film and the important topics it discusses. The film sheds new light on the continued movement for LGBT equality and justice, highlighting the courage and conviction of a new generation of activists determined to close the deal on full equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Windmeyer, Cohen and Sims are also featured in the film. They will participate in a panel discussion following the film screening.

Campus Pride's annual summer leadership development program for student leaders, Camp Pride, is featured in the film, along with five student leaders from across the country, including Amy Sanders (Vanderbilt University), Mark Rivera (William Paterson University), Kelly Neufell (Bridgewater State University), Kevin Cruz (University of Rhode Island) and Karl Abad (University of Notre Dame).

The film will screen tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, 931 Monroe Drive NE, Atlanta, GA, United States, 30308. For more information, visit atlantapride.org/single-event/legalize-gay-screening.

From Cyd Zeigler, Jr., at OutSports....

It was an honor to speak at the Celebration of LGBT Athletes at Stanford University last week, in recognition of the school’s placement on Campus Pride’s Out To Play Project list. Stanford Senior Associate Athletic Director Earl Koberlein was on hand to accept the Campus Pride award.

The event was organized by some fantastic alumni, students and Stanford staff members including Kathy Levinson, Holly Fetter, Tina Syer and Inge Margrethe Hansen. While the athletic department did send Koberlein as a representative, they did not actively participate in the organizing of the event.

My remarks focused on two aspects of Stanford’s community. First was the change in culture on campus. When I was there from 1991-’95,several varsity athletes brutally defaced a “Gay Liberation” statue on campus. After I came out, fraternity brothers of mine (who were on the varsity wrestling team) refused to even shake my hand. Talking to several out gay students, they said those actions were unfathomable on campus now.

Read Cyd's full report and see more photos at the JockTalk blog...

Last week the Human Rights Campaign released a report titled “Growing Up LGBT in America” based on survey responses from over 10,000 youth ages 13 to 17. This is the largest survey of its kind to date and serves as a useful reference for individuals and organizations working with LGBT youth.

Some notable statistics from the report include the following: 75% of LGBT youth respondents say that most of their peers do not have a problem with their identity as LGBT; 9 out of 10 are out to their close friends and 64% are out to their classmates; 56% are out to their immediate family and 25% are out to their extended family. Still, 47% say they do not "fit in" in their community, whereas only 16% of the non-LGBT youth sampled feel that way. Additionally, LGBT respondents were twice as likely as non-LGBT respondents to have been physically assaulted, kicked, or shoved at school.

HRC intends to release further reports on subtopics within the survey, including the experiences of youth of color and transgender youth, as well as issues such as home and family, school and peers, community and culture, and religion and faith. HRC plans to partner with local and national organizations in order to increase awareness of these issues and address the problems and concerns described by youth.

Campus Pride looks forward to these collaborations and encourages HRC to work with organizations that have a long-standing commitment to LGBT youth, including The Trevor Project (with whom HRC collaborated to promote the report), Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Network, Family Acceptance Project, Family Equality Council, and Campus Pride, as well as the many local LGBT youth organizations across the country. In addition, individuals and organizations interested in prior research on the experiences of LGBT youth should look to these organizations for additional studies and reports.

Shop for Cool Stuff and Give Back -- All at the same time! Support LGBT Youth with Campus Pride through Gay It Forward (GIF) Coupon

Campus Pride is pleased to announce that we have been selected to be a recipient of the Gay It Forward Coupon (GIF) donor program.

Gay It Forward Coupon (GIF) is a new way to find out about great businesses in the Charlotte region and receive huge discounts on the services they provide. GIF brings together the purchasing power of the LGBT community, in conjunction with our straight allies, to support local merchants who value our business and support our causes.

GIF offers weekly deals will be offered through five savings categories: Dining, Shopping for You, Shopping for Home, Entertainment and Travel.

What is the big difference in GIF that other coupon sites? Ten percent of each purchase is donated back to a non-profit organization that supports the LGBT community. Watch for special deals where 10% is donated back to the non-profits! Businesses that participate in GIF are LGBT friendly or gay owned and want to support our community.

Here’s where we need your help: Sign up for GIF at www.GayItForwardCoupon.com, become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gayitforwardcoupon, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/gifcoupon or click on the link from our web page www.campuspride.org.

Then support local business and get a great deal, but don’t forget, at checkout you have the ability to direct where you want your proceeds to go. All we ask is that you select Campus Pride!

Kick-off to first-ever Queen’s Fab Fest comes on heels of Amendment One vote and divisive months-long campaign pitting ‘traditional values’ against diverse and LGBT families

CHARLOTTE – Twenty years after its acclaimed and award-winning Broadway debut, the musical, “Falsettos,” makes a return to the stage in Charlotte to kick-off a week-long series of events presented by Queen City Theatre Company (www.queencitytheatre.com) and benefiting the Charlotte-based Campus Pride (www.campuspride.org), 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.

“Falsettos,” which made its Broadway debut in 1992, was nominated for several Tony Awards and other honors ultimately winning Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. The musical, written by James Lapine and William Finn, tells the story of a Jewish boy and his family who are preparing for the young man’s bar mitzvah. The son’s father, a gay man, has come out and separated from his wife, living with a partner who is suffering from AIDS.

“When ‘Falsettos’ first debuted on stage, the nation was still grappling with the 1980s’ AIDS Crisis and the LGBT community found itself the target of anti-gay, ‘traditional values’ political campaigns,” said Shane Windmeyer, executive director of Campus Pride. “Two decades later, North Carolina’s LGBT and straight ally communities have experienced a months-long campaign that pitted so-called ‘family values’ proponents against LGBT-led families and youth. The poignant message contained in ‘Falsettos’ – that out of challenge and diversity rise strength, love and unity – is a message all North Carolinians need to hear, especially our young people.”

The stunning passage of North Carolina’s Amendment One, the anti-LGBT state constitutional amendment approved by 61 percent of voters on May 8, has put the local and state LGBT community and its families in the spotlight. The divisive and often hostile campaigning has led to outspoken support for LGBT youth, children and families, but more work is left to be done.

“Recent shocking examples of anti-LGBT hatred, like that of Maiden, N.C., Pastor Charles Worley, are reminders that LGBT families and young people still live in a hostile world,” said Kristian Wedolowski, Queen City Theatre Company’s managing director. “Queen City Theatre is proud to support the important work of Campus Pride and the role it has in shaping the leadership skills of LGBT and straight ally students, who will become future leaders and the backbones of their communities, locally, statewide and nationally.”

The Saturday, June 23 performance of “Falsettos” at Spirit Square’s McGlohon Theatre, 345 N. College St., is the first in a week-long series of events in Campus Pride’s and Queen City Theatre Company’s first annual Queen’s Fab Fest. The event seeks to raise awareness and funds for Campus Pride and their national services for LGBT youth and college students. Other events during the Queen’s Fab Fest include performances by Coco Peru and Pandora Boxx both nationally-known drag queen and comedy celebrities, a “Twisted Broadway” cabaret and a “Wizard of Oz” sing-a-long.

VIP Priority Reserved Tickets and General Admission tickets are available and are on sale now for as low as $15 at www.queencitytheatre.com. A special bundle package for all five performances is on sale for $100; patrons who purchase the package get reserved seating. Attendees at the events will have the chance to enter into a drawing for a pair of premium tickets to Madonna’s Charlotte concert in November.

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].

Five events feature ‘Falsettos’ performance, national acts with Miss Coco Peru and Pandora Boxx and ‘Wizard of Oz’ sing-a-long with tickets as low as $15

Charlotte's Queen City Theatre Company will present the first annual Queen’s Fab Fest, a week-long series of five events raising funds and awareness for Campus Pride (www.campuspride.org), the Charlotte-based leading national educational organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. VIP Priority Reserved Tickets and General Admission tickets are available and are on sale now for as low as $15 at www.queencitytheatre.com. A special bundle package for all five performances is on sale for $100; patrons who purchase the package get reserved seating. Attendees at the events will have the chance to enter into a drawing for a pair of premium tickets to Madonna’s Charlotte concert in November.

Falsettos In Concert – A Theatre Gala
Saturday, June 23, 8 p.m., McGlohon Theatre, 345 N. College St.

There Comes a Time – Miss Coco Peru is Back!
Wednesday, June 27, 8 p.m., Duke Energy Theatre, 345 N. College St.

Outside the BOXX – An Evening with Pandora Boxx
Thursday June 28, 8 p.m., Duke Energy Theatre, 345 N. College St.
With special opening act Trixie Zenyon

Twisted Broadway – A Broadway Cabaret
Friday, June 29, 8 p.m., Duke Energy Theatre, 345 N. College St.
Followed by After-Party and Drag Show at Hartigan’s Irish Pub, 601 S. Cedar St.

The Wizard of Oz – Buff Faye’s First Annual Sing-A-Long
Saturday, June 30, 8 p.m., Duke Energy Theatre, 345 N. College St.
Win over $500 in prizes for best costume!

The generous support of foundations, corporations and individuals makes the work of Campus Pride possible and makes waves of change on campuses across the country

Like Zach Wahls, we encourage you to support Campus Pride in our work to prepare young LGBT student leaders to step into their futures. Investing in our community's young people can ensure that the future we all dream of can be realized.

When you support Campus Pride, your generous contribution enables us to do work like:

• Stop The Hate Trainings: With several trainings across the country each year, Campus Pride reaches dozens of college and university faculty, staff and students, as well as general community members, and empowers them with the knowledge and skills to prevent bias-motivated crimes on their campuses and in their communities.
• LGBT film screenings: Through the spring semester, Campus Pride helped to facilitate 20 different showings of the new documentary film, "Legalize Gay: The Civil Rights Movement of a Generation," on college campuses and at LGBT student leadership conferences.
• Educating the educators: Each spring and fall, Campus Pride facilitates several online "webinar" sessions focusing on timely and relevant issues of concern to LGBT students, faculty and staff. College administrators, student life staffers, professors and others are given the opportunity to brush up on some of the many issues facing our young people on campuses today.
• Media Advocacy: At Campus Pride, we're proud to be able to utilize our media access in pushing the stories of LGBT students and young people to the fore. We did just that this year. When the national media was focusing on the trial of Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers student and roommate of Tyler Clementi, who died by suicide after being spied on by Ravi, Campus Pride leaped into action to ensure media outlets across the country included the all-too-important discussion of campus safety and inclusion for LGBT people. All told, millions of people heard our message of respect, inclusion and safety for LGBT students, in addition to our ability to shed light on other important topics, like the uphill battles being faced by LGBT students at Notre Dame and Pepperdine University and many other LGBT students at religiously-affiliated colleges across the country.

And, we can't forget...

Among our most important work is the continued support and development of our LGBT student leaders. Your support enables programs like our unique and one-of-a-kind Camp Pride, our summer leadership development program, to reach out to 60 students across the nation and provide them with the in-depth knowledge, skills and expertise to create real and lasting social justice change at their schools.

"Unless we are willing to take the time as a community to invest in our leaders and to invest in our young people to really prepare for that future, we might only be left with a glimpse of what the future could have been unless realizing what it actually can be. So I hope that you'll join me in supporting Campus Pride in preparing and working with our young leaders to actually make sure that the future we are all dreaming of is actually realized."
-- Zach Wahls

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