It has been nearly 50 years since the official desegregation of the American South and while many a modern citizen may be almost certain that similar injustices do not remain prevalent in this society, many a modern citizen is also wrong. There is violence, there is oppression and every single day there still lies a story of someone being hit, someone being beaten or at least bullied for an aspect of their personality or appearance they cannot or should not be asked to change. As this goes on the fact that this belief of unity, that this belief that we live in a perfect, inclusive society, is simply one of ignorance. In states like Texas, upwards of 25 divisions of Ku Klux Klan still operate while even here in Massachusetts groups of gutless, truly sinful monsters combine to form groups targeting gay people and those who support them, groups attempting to revive the Nazi way of governmental brutality and also groups preaching all around hate of anyone with different opinions or racial backgrounds than theirs.
What those spewing this unjust hatred of those involved with the gay community fail to understand is the fact that being gay is like having a certain skin color. The human mind, just like the rest of its body cannot be altered to such an extreme and when it is forced to, the emotional turmoil caused is a kind no human should have to deal with. Furthermore, It is something taught in American Schools from day one, "you can’t make someone do something just because you want them to" and yet the men who murdered Matthew Shepard over a decade and a half ago, the people part of those anti-gay hate groups and the simple bullies at schools across this nation ignore that truth. These people are not incapable, they are ignorant, and it is that ignorance, more than anything else, that fuels this terrible inequality in modern day America.
The You Can Play Project however, is a combatant to that ignorance and has like so many other groups recognized the power of professional sports. As carefully detailed by those associated with the project, You Can Play's number one goal is to end the existence of casual homophobia in sports. By casual homophobia they are referring to moments, jokes and profane exclamations regarding being gay that are overlooked by on ice officials, coaches and others associated with a team. Additionally many of the founding members of You Can Play have either played sports and witnessed homophobia in a locker-room, been dealt bullying for their being gay or been in a combination of both. Their words alone, published on the projects main website may provide a pretty good picture of why this organization does what it does.
"We realized that our love of sports had a tougher side, and one that we want to change. You Can Play is a project that lets straight athletes and straight allies talk to each other about gay athletes. This is a project that let’s gay athletes tell their stories and talk about what makes them great." Co-founder Brian Kitts writes. Glen Whittman agrees.
"I have been around sports teams my whole life and any player, gay or straight, knows the joys of being part of the team. But they also know how homophobic a locker room can be."
Brian Kitts however went on to admit in his written welcome to the site that even he has used such casual homophobia for a cheap laugh and that such an action was still not right.
"It turns out that most of us have a gay little brother or sister, or uncle, cousin, teammate or best friend." He says, "We all laugh and snicker at gay jokes and we call each other names. We’re just kidding, kind of, and it’s funny, right? We might not mean anything by it, but the subtle pressure, casual homophobia, and true lack of understanding are keeping our brothers and sisters, uncles, cousins, teammates and best friends from being great athletes."
It is words like these, simple repetitions of the fact that nobody should prevent a person from playing a game because of anything except their skill that have made such an impact on the hockey world in particular. They repeat their one phrase, "if you can play, you can play" and better than any other, it exemplifies what a perfect world would involve as it pertains to gay rights. Unfortunately, we do not live in that perfect world and with absolute certainty, I say that there is hate not only in the locker rooms of teams but everywhere. It spreads through the media, rustling feathers and jumping onto a national stage and yelling that it exists.
In one of the most crushing examples of homophobia in sports in the past few years, former Minnesota Vikings punter, Chris Kluwe was fired from the Vikings squad for reasons that Kluwe believes went beyond football. In an organization that saw coaches like Leslie Frazier tell Kluwe to "be quiet, and stop speaking out on this stuff" (referring to his support for same-sex marriage rights) and that "a wise coach once told me there are two things you don't talk about in the NFL, politics and religion." and Special Teams coordinator, Mike Priefer say that "we should round up all the gays, put them on an island and nuke it til it glows" letters defending same sex marriage written by Kluwe were frowned upon and in the opinion of many led to his being fired.
In the case of Chris Kluwe, homophobia branched out of just hateful comments but into a constant fear of inciting them in a team’s fan base. As we return to the subject of You Can Play, they still seem to classify that kind of action on the part of a team as homophobic. Once again it is Brian Kitts who inscribed in his You Can Play piece the projects alternative mission to remind teams not just individual players to be respectful and thoughtful in their actions regarding homosexuality.
"It means building awareness in teams that getting cheap laughs by focusing the Kiss Cam on the opposing team’s bench, sends a message that unnecessarily mocks some of your paying customers, and potentially some of your players. The fact is, we don’t know who’s in the locker room next to us, or sitting in the stands behind us. And, it doesn’t matter." He writes.
You Can Play preaches a kind of deep thinking that must be embraced by all within and outside of the sports world. While when people like Mike Priefer make comments like Priefer did they know they are being highly offensive when a little AHL arena mocks the idea of two men kissing via their kiss cam or a player mad about a call screams "THAT'S SO GAY!" as he skates to the penalty box they may not understand the offensive underlays that such words or actions can contain. The arena personal think it's funny and the angry player forgets that his words mean more than a simple verbal incarnation of their discontent with the referee’s judgment.
You Can Play works to prove to the world the concrete barrier that such homophobia that is unnoticed by coaches creates especially for those young high school or college athletes scared that their coming out might cost them playing time or incite verbal or physical bullying from their "teammates". You Can Play dreams of a day where "there will always be a guy there to stand by a teammate no matter who they are" and as their work continues it is clear that that day may be coming soon.
* Chris Kluwe's account of his final days with the Vikings
*Information on hate crimes via The Southern Poverty Law Center
*Information on hate crimes via The Southern Poverty Law Center
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