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.

On Friday, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) reached out to officials at Vanderbilt University after a University of Kentucky sports blog brought attention to anti-gay T-shirts allegedly being sold by Vanderbilt students.

The T-shirts, which said "UK2Gay" in reference to Kentucky's 2,000 basketball game victories, were on sale at CafePress.com. The storefront has since been taken down.

University officials have said the T-shirts were an apparent hoax and, according to GLAAD, there was no "evidence of a broad campaign among students to wear these shirts to Saturday's game."

Campus Pride commends GLAAD for their quick action in reaching out to Vanderbilt officials on Friday.

We also commend Vanderbilt for their quick response, as we know the school to be among some of our most LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. Campus Pride has a long relationship with Vanderbilt University, where we have hosted past Camp Pride Summer LGBT and Ally Leadership Programs. We will host Camp Pride there again this year in July.

Vanderbilt has also participated in our LGBT-Friendly College Fairs and volunteered to take our free assessment, the Campus Pride Index, on LGBT campus inclusion and safety. According to the assessment, Vanderbilt received four out of five stars for their work in LGBT Policy Inclusion (4.5/5), LGBT Support & Institutional Commitment (5/5), LGBT Academic Life (4.5/5), LGBT Student Life (5/5), LGBT Housing & Residence Life (3/5), LGBT Campus Safety (1/5), LGBT Counseling & Health (5/5) and LGBT Recruitment and Retention Efforts (4.5/5).

Individuals, Celebrities, Media Figures and Corporations Joining Forces
to Support LGBT Youth

Last fall, the nation mourned after the suicide deaths of more than a dozen young people who were LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) or perceived to be LGBT. These tragic losses and the reports that these youth were bullied because of their sexual orientation or gender identity sparked a nationwide conversation about bullying, especially with regard to LGBT young people. Their stories also inspired a movement toward encouragement, which included Spirit Day (10/20) and the "It Gets Better" Project.

Unfortunately, many LGBT young people continue to face bullying and harassment:

• A 14-year-old boy from Williamsville, NY, named Jamey Rodemeyer died by suicide last month. He endured near-constant anti-gay bullying at school and online.
• In early October, a teenager at Sequoyah High School in Madisonville, Tenn.,says he was physically assaulted by his own principal for wearing a shirt that supported the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance at the school.
• Last Friday, the LGBT teen son of a City Councilor in Ottawa, Ontario, died by suicide.
• Just this weekend, vandals spray-painted the words "F*GS BURN" and "DIE" on the entrance to the LGBT center at North Carolina State University.

These stories are why this year’s Spirit Day is just as important as last year’s.

Capitol Hill briefing, Thursday, Sept. 23

Tomorrow, Campus Pride will join Campus Progress and the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus for a special Capitol Hill briefing on our new report, The 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People.

Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Place: Capitol Visitor Center, Room 215
United States Capitol
E Capitol NE & 1st St NW
Washington, DC 20001

Members of the press must RSVP to attend this event. To RSVP, contact Katie Andriulli at [email protected] or 202-481-8238.

To receive information on the report or speak to experts, please contact Campus Pride at [email protected] or 704-277-6710.

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The Good and the Very Bad

The Advocate, Sept. 20, 2010
Campus Pride's Shane L. Windmeyer says his organization's State of Higher Education for LGBT People report finally gives a voice to the experiences of LGBT student, faculty, and staff. Read more...

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Study Reveals High Level of Hardships for LGBT Students, Faculty & Staff at U.S. Colleges & Universities

GLAAD Blog, Sept. 21, 2010
In The 2010 State of Higher Education for LGBT People, a landmark research study being released today, it is revealed that one-third of LGBT students, faculty, and staff seriously consider leaving institutions of higher learning due to a climate that interferes with their ability to successfully work, live, and learn on campus. Read more...

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LGBT harassment increases on campuses nationwide, survey finds

The Daily Free Press, Boston University, Sept. 22, 2010
About one-quarter of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students and university employees have been harassed on college campuses across the country because of their sexual orientations, according to a new survey. Read more...

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Virginia Tech LGBT campus climate reviewed

Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech, Sept. 21, 2010
Virginia Tech’s campus climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students was under review Tuesday as advocacy group Equality Virginia stopped in Blacksburg to discuss campus policies. ... Tech earned 3.5 out of five stars in the Campus Climate Index, a ranking system developed by Campus Pride, a national LGBT organization. The index ranks college campuses on the quality of life provided for LGBT students and helps set standards for LGBT-friendly policies. Read more...

Brüno: Satire, Humor and Stereotypes

[This op-ed originally appeared at The Huffington Post]

In April, when the first trailer for Sacha Baron Cohen's new movie Brüno debuted online, many of us in the LGBT community were cautiously optimistic about what we saw - and I was among them.

I first became familiar with Sacha Baron Cohen through his Da Ali G Show on HBO, where he played different characters who conducted squirm-inducing interviews with political leaders, media personalities and everyday Americans. The characters' clueless questions - and the actor's impressive ability to never break character - allowed them to call attention to people's hang-ups, biases and intolerance.

One of those characters, Brüno, was a flamboyant gay correspondent for the fictional Austrian TV show Funkyzeit mit Brüno -- itself a satire of programs that feed people's obsession with fashion and pop culture. Brüno interviewed fashion designers, nightclub owners and models - but he also spoke to people with anti-gay attitudes, using the setting to send up the homophobia of some of his interview subjects.

Sacha Baron Cohen's 2006 blockbuster Borat made him a household name. Audiences and critics loved the movie. And based on what I had seen on Da Ali G Show, I had hoped that I might be able to say similar things about the forthcoming Brüno.