By Jamie Hansen
PROUD TO SERVE June is Pride month. For the LGBTQI community, Pride month commemorates a fight for equal rights that got its roots in 1969 in New York City. That fight largely remains today, though strides have been made. In the sports world, many LGBTQI people faced - and still face - barriers when trying to enter and participate in sports. According to several studies, they face discrimination and harrassment at all levels of sport, from community and recreational levels to professional and elite. According to Bill Towler, Vice Chairman of the USTA Diversity & Inclusion National Committee - making all athletes feel safe is the gateway into making tennis more welcoming to the LGBTQI community. “We have to continue to work to make tennis a place where it’s a level playing field,” Towler said. “It has to be where everyone can thrive.” Tennis is a special sport to Towler. He met his wife through tennis. He began playing tennis again about 15 years ago after a very long hiatus. He’s played in leagues and even made it to USTA League National Championships several times. Towler is member of the USTA Missouri Valley Board of Directors and the former President of USTA Oklahoma. He served in that role from 2017-2019. He has also spent time on the board of the Oklahoma Tennis Foundation, whose mission is to positively impact lives by supporting and funding organizations that promote tennis and education throughout Oklahoma. Now Towler serves on USTA’s National Committee for Diversity and Inclusion and has done so since 2019. In addition, Towler is head of their player participation subcommittee. His passion is to increase player participation across the country - not only that, but to ensure diversity is celebrated within the players the organization attracts.
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Making the world a more inclusive place is hugely important to Towler. Everyone should have the same opportunities to be who they are meant to be - in life and in tennis. There’s also a bit of a personal connection for Towler. His adult daughter is gay. Two of his youngest children are adopted - one of which is biracial. A study conducted by the Human Rights Campaign found that LGBTQI youth participate in sports at lower rates than their straight and cisgender peers, with LGBTQI youth athletes reporting they feel less safe in sports environments. Additionally, according to the Trevor Project, one in three LGBTQ youth who were not “out” to anyone about their sexual orientation participated in sports compared to one in five who were “out” to all or most of those they knew. Those are just youth statistics. According to the recent U.S. Census, there are 980,000 same-sex households in the country. The above statistics are what spurred LGTBQI communities in many cities around the country to start their own sporting organizations, sport leagues and even their own version of the Olympics. The Federation of Gay Games began in 1982 and will have its games in Hong Kong in 2022. Specific to tennis, there’s even a Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GLTA), a global LGBT sports organization that sanctions amateur tennis tournaments all over the world. In USTA Missouri Valley, there is an LGBTQI organization geared towards education and athletic opportunities in the St. Louis area Team Saint Louis - working to provide beginner tennis, as well as provide social tennis programming. While the main demographic for that programming is the LGBTQI community, it is slated to be open to all. The organization is also working to organize the third annual Love Wins tournament, a tournament with proceeds going to local Pride organizations. Kansas City has also had a tennis organization in the past for LGTBQI players. Tennis is certainly open to all and it is making strides to be a more inviting sport. Towler said bringing providers like Team Saint Louis into the fold and getting more marginalized populations in the game to demonstrate that tennis is a safe space is a step in the right direction. The USTA Diversity and Inclusion Committee is working to ensure that is an attainable goal. Towler said a diverse population of tennis players exists already. Bringing that group of players into USTA programming is where we as an organization can improve. “The opportunities for diverse players exist, but we need to work on better engaging those players,” Towler said.
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