Planning for the event started about nine months ago when Kirk Walker, the Oregon State University softball coach, told Cyd Zeigler, Jr., co-founder of the publication Outsports.com, he should contact Goman of Nike.
Participants roster
Organizations involved in the summit included: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; Athlete Ally; Br{ache the Silence; Campus Pride; ESPN; Fearless campaign; Federation of Gay Games; Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD); Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN); I Am Enough; It Gets Better project; National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR); National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); Nike; Our Group; Outsports; StandUp Foundation; and You Can Play project
Walker, who is openly gay, knew Zeigler was interested in creating an event to bring together several groups that "were not working together toward their common goal of opening sports to everyone," Zeigler said.
"The communication and trust that was built over this weekend can do that."
Les Johnson,an official with Federation of Gay Games, said Nike was a good host, providing food and a place to meet, the Tiger Woods Conference Center.
Two facilitators associated with Nike guided discussion. Someone else from the company took notes to be distributed to participants.
Two facilitators associated with Nike guided discussion. Someone else from the company took notes that are expected to be distributed to participants.
The event from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon was one of the latest focused on LGBT issues on the campus.
In the past year, the campus has featured speakers including English rugby player Ben Cohen, founder of the StandUP Foundation; Rick Welts, the Golden State Warriors president and chief of operations; U.S. Olympian Jessica Mendoza; and Hudson Taylor, Columbia University wrestling coach and founder of Athlete Ally. Cohen and Taylor spoke at the summit.
Also, Nike has several groups, called “networks” that promote diversity. The Nike LGBT & Friends Network was recently awarded the “Corporate Excellence” award from the Portland Q Center. Also, the company has been recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for 10 consecutive years of 100 percent scores on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index.
The weekend summit can only enhance Nike's position among nearly all its customers, said Ira Kalb, professor of clinical marketing at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.
Also, the LGBT market "is very loyal ... and they buy products from companies with equal opportunity in the workplace," Kalb said, "and they pay attention to the news."
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