sports

image by Big Mike Philips

San Diego Softball League

Celebrates 40th Year Serving LGBTQ+ Community

By Big Mike phillips

America’s Finest City Softball League (AFCSL), San Diego’s largest sports organization by and for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies, celebrated its 40th anniversary Sunday, April 18, at the Santee Sportsplex with an opening ceremony. The event included an official city proclamation, presented by San Diego City Council President Jennifer Campbell (District 2) and City Council President Pro Tem Stephen Whitburn (District 3), who also tossed out the ceremonial first pitch.

“Our league started 40 years ago because our community needed a place where they could express their love of sports where they felt safe,” said Joel Trambley, AFCSL open section commissioner and former chair of the San Diego Human Relations Commission. “The world was a different place in 1981. That we get to be here 40 years later, joined by Council President Campbell and Council President Pro Tem Whitburn, celebrating the legacy of those women and men who were brave enough to carve this league out for us to enjoy four decades later is an honor.”

While COVID-19 wiped out almost all of the league’s season in 2020 under strict statemandated safety protocols, AFCSL was very careful planning this reopening, and its entire season, to comply with federal, state, county and city guidelines.

“We are happy to be able to play softball again while staying within state guidelines and keeping our participants as safe as possible,” said Jessica Sica, AFCSL women+ section commissioner. “In addition to keeping them safe physically with our safety protocols, we are extremely excited to be able to help contribute to their mental health by facilitating the start of the season. It represents hope and a return of something we love. It’s a chance to feel a sense of normalcy again.”

In addition to the proclamation and ceremonial first pitch, the event also included a pledge of allegiance led by two AFCSL Hall of Fame inductees, the national anthem sung a cappella by a USA Softball umpire, a moment of reflection to remember those lives lost during the pandemic and song of remembrance, “Over the Rainbow,” sung by an AFCSL player. Also included was a brief history of the league, including why it was necessary to change the name to “AFCSL” from the “San Diego Gay Softball League” in 1985. (Spoiler alert: The league could not rent fields and someone once showed up with a gun!)

“After losing almost our entire season last year, we are thrilled to be back on the field,” Trambley continued. “COVID-19 has been a challenge to every facet of our community. Many of our softball family have lost loved ones, jobs, and have been pushed to the breaking point. That, as much as anything, is why we’re going to be celebrating our return. Our league and our players have been through a lot and this event celebrates our community and its resiliency.”

“Softball is about more than hits and runs,” Sica echoed. “Because the AFCSL is specifically by and for the LGBTQ community and our allies, our league is about community. It’s about friends and family. As part of a community that can sometimes feel very isolated, especially over the past year, it’s important we celebrate the fact that our league has been an intersection for our community for 40 years. We’ve been a connecting point for people to find their tribes. I’m sure that, on every one of our 30 teams, you’ll find at least a few players who found their chosen family on these fields.”

a note FroM toni

toni g. atkins

—Toni G. Atkins represents the 39th District in the California Senate. Follow her on Twitter @SenToniAtkins.

May is the month when we celebrate our mothers and when we honor the memories of those who gave their lives in service to our nation (Memorial Day). This May is a little different, because it also includes the income tax deadline that we normally see on April 15th. The May 17th deadline means that is when we will have a final picture of what the state’s revenues are as we work to enact a state budget by the constitutional deadline in June.

I have to tell you how excited I am about the budget we are proposing in the Senate. The Senate’s Build Back Boldly proposal provides a once-in-a-generation chance to make transformational change in California, and it builds nicely on the responsible budgeting and investing that Democratic legislators and governors have done for more than a decade now.

From helping businesses and families bounce back from the pandemic, to expanding health care, to opening new paths for early childhood education and debt-free college, to reducing homelessness increasing housing affordability, and boosting homeownership, there is a lot to like in this budget proposal. Some items that were still being negotiated weren’t able to be included in the Build Back Boldly proposal as released, such as the $5 billion in additional tax relief we just passed for businesses to allow them to deduct business expenses they paid with federal PPP funds against their state tax bill.

And we are in the process of finalizing an agreement to provide additional resources to

PlenTy To CeleBrate this May

deal with drought conditions as we head toward another hot, dry summer. You can find the Senate’s Build Back Boldly proposal at https://bit.ly/3b7bJbE.

May is also when we celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) History Month, and how we mark the occasion this year is especially important, as we stand with AAPI communities against the alarming rise in hate crimes against members of those communities. I am pleased that after confirmation by the Senate and Assembly, AAPI History Month will start with our new Attorney General Rob Bonta on the job fighting those attacks and working to build a more just and equitable system for us all.

Besides the budget, there is a lot on the Senate’s to-do list in May. We continue to meet with housing stakeholders to advance the Senate’s housing package—my own SB 9 has been approved by both of the Senate policy committees that heard the bill. I will also continue to work with my colleague from Los Angeles, Senator Steven Bradford, on SB 2, our legislation to increase accountability for law enforcement officers who commit serious misconduct and illegally violate a person’s civil rights. The recent addition of Daunte Wright’s name to the tragic roll call of Black Americans unjustly killed by police is the latest example of why this bill is so badly needed.

As I said in a statement (https://bit.ly/3vNJ433 )the day the guilty verdict was issued in the murder of George Floyd, “We, as a society – not just Black, Brown, Asian, or ethnically-diverse individuals – are beginning to confront the reality that systemic racism is the real root of the problem. We have to continue that change from within, accept the reality of what has been happening, and chart a course for change.”

So, yes, a lot to do in May, but that’s okay. I know I can rely on the energy and work ethic I inherited from a very good source—Betty Catherine Davis Atkins, who would have turned 90 on May 2nd. Thank you, Mom--and Happy Mother’s Day to all!

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LGBTQ San Diego County News

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