In June, [Pat] Griffin joined about 30 other leading activists at Nike’s headquarters in Oregon for the company’s first-ever summit to combat bullying and anti-gay bias and discrimination in sports.
“Athletes are leaders of a school and are highly visible role models,” Griffin said. “It’s a no-brainer to take a stand against that kind of thing for most people, certainly not all.”
Last week U.S. women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe publicly acknowledged that she is gay in advance of growing coverage of this month’s London Olympics. The information added Rapinoe to the notable list of active female athletes who have made similar disclosures.
Griffin noted that the relative lack of coverage for women’s sports and existing biases about female athletes remove much of the impact that the same disclosure would have from an active male athlete in a major U.S. team sport. Still, it’s one more step in the right direction.
“I have more hope than I ever have had that we will change the culture of sport to make it a great place for everyone,” Griffin said. “There are so many more people who think this is an important issue and are actively involved in an effort to challenge homophobia in sport. It used to be a few lonely voices in the wilderness, but not anymore. The rate of change is just accelerating.”
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