Major League Sports MEETS DIVERSITY by Stan C. Kimer It seems that many LGBT people, especially gay men, are not into major spectator sports. Since I grew up in a very athletically oriented family, sports have been an integral part of my life. As a gay man and a consultant whose practice includes diversity consulting with a specialization in the LGBT marketplace and workplace, I closely follow recent developments around LGBT diversity and sports. It seems that sports is now finally experiencing the growing pains and struggles that corporate America went through 10–20 years ago. Over the past few years, visible activity around LGBT diversity and major pro sports has hits the news. •
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In 2011, the Atlanta Braves baseball team was embarrassed when pitching coach Roger McDowell berated fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco with gay slurs. In 2012, when Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo’s support of Maryland’s marriage equality initiative was criticized by a Maryland legislator, Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe eloquently came to his defense. In 2013, the first active player in an American major sport, long time NBA (National Basketball Association) player Jason Collins publicly came out.
This year has already had its own developments.
Beginning with bad: First, the Olympics always bring extra attention to the sport of figure skating. When the Associated Press published a great article about the showdown between top American male skaters at the U.S. Nationals in January, the posted comments online were disgusting. Nearly half the comments speculated about the sexual orientation of the male figure skaters, using derogatory and vulgar terms. Second, the bullying incident within the Miami Dolphins football team between guard Richie Incognito and tackle Jonathan Martin involving rape threats and homophobic slurs has now grown to involve additional personnel and racial epithets.
Now the good: The year 2014 begins with very significant news of University of Missouri All-American defensive end Michael Sam’s coming out as an “openly proud gay man.” This pronouncement was met with a standing ovation from the University of Missouri student body, and since that time, Sam has received accolades for his candid and dignified handling of reporters’ questions. What is most significant about this announcement is that Sam is not an already retired pro athlete (several pros in the major sports shared their sexual orientation only after retiring), nor at the end of his career, but instead is about to be drafted onto a pro football team. Some football industry pundits have written that this move may hurt Sam’s ranking in the football lottery, since some teams may view having the new out gay player on their team as a distraction, but I strongly disagree. Pro sports now needs to learn what most businesses learned 10 or 20 years ago: leveraging diversity can be a huge organizational advantage. Instead, a pro football team will be very fortunate to obtain Michael Sam for three reasons: 1. Economics. A creative NFL team could market to a whole new segment. The LGBT market segment in the United States has over $830 billion in disposable income, according to Witeck Communications. Along with spending millions of dollars on theatre, opera, and WNBA season tickets, this segment can be purchasing NFL season tickets. 2. Community Relations. Having the first out gay active NFL player on the team can greatly enhance community outreach programs, including anti-bullying campaigns. As NFL teams routinely visit children in hospitals and inner-city school programs, they can deliver the message that all children can pursue any area where they have passion and talent. Gay teens do not need to join the drama club if they have the talent and interest to play football or basketball instead. 3. Team Success. The football team that drafts Sam can leverage the new addition by valuing the diversity and unique attributes of each team member and providing an affirming environment where each person can contribute his very best. I bet the team that drafts Sam will get an extra boost by welcoming the NFL’s first out gay player and will coalesce into a championship team.
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