Pat Griffin

AA-PREP - A Guide for Athletic Administrators and Coaches Addressing LGBT Issues in Athletics

Anticipation: What proactive strategies can athletic administrators and coaches take to prevent placing the school or athletic department in a position of potential legal liability or requiring athletic personnel to react to LGBT-related situations without preparation or planning?

· Conduct assessments
· Make policy
· Identify resources
· Educate athletic department members
· Develop specific procedures for policy implementation

Assessment: How can the department assess the climate for LGBT people?

· Conduct a department survey of the climate for LGBT people in athletics at your school
· Invite athletic department personnel and athletes to discuss their perceptions of team and athletic department climates for LGBT people

Policy: What policies and expectations are in place that are based on creating an athletic climate based on respect, inclusion, and safety?

Guidelines for Making Policy Ensuring Fair Treatment for LGBT Athletes and Coaches

· Be proactive. Anticipate issues that might arise and plan sound policy before a problem presents itself.
· Rather than responding to individual situations case by case, identify overall policy to apply in individual situations.
· Avoid treating LGBT athletes and coaches and the issues raised by their participation on sports teams as a “special” situation. Integrate policy applying to LGBT athletes and coaches into overall team or department policy.
· Make policy based on ethical principles and with the goal of fair treatment for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity

Suggestions for Institutional Policies Protecting LGBT Athletes and Coaches From Discrimination and Harassment.

· Create a standing social justice committee of athletic department personnel and athletes that addresses issues of diversity and social justice in athletics.
· Create a “Captains’ Counsel” of team captains from all sports to address diversity and social justice issues.
· Include sexual orientation and gender identity in department non-discrimination policies. Expect athletic department personnel to abide by local, state, and federal non-discrimination laws.
· Develop anti-harassment policies that address harassment based on perceived or actual sexual orientation, gender identity or expression as well as sex, race, or religion. If your school has an inclusive anti-harassment policy, expect athletic department personnel to abide by that policy.
· Develop domestic partnership policies for athletes and athletic department personnel.
· Develop ethics policies that address sexual relationships between coaches and athletes, between athletes, or between coaches without regard to the gender or sexual orientation of the people involved.
· Develop policies for addressing verbal antigay, racist, or sexist verbal harassment of athletes or coaches by spectators.
· Develop guidelines that are consistent with non-discrimination policies for addressing parental questions about the sexual orientation of coaches or athletes during recruitment visits.
· Encourage coaching associations and other sport governing bodies to develop similar policies.

Resources: What kind of resources are available in your school, community, or sport governing organizations? For individual athletes, parents, and coaches or for teams or athletic department? Suggestions:

· Identify campus and community educational, counseling, and social resources for LGBT students and staff.
· Identify campus and community educational and counseling for heterosexual athletes and athletic department personnel to help them understand heterosexism and homophobia in athletics.
· Identify local and national resources for parents of LGBT athletes
· Identify local and national educational and legal resources to assist athletic administrators, coaches, other athletic personnel, and athletes in addressing anti-gay incidents and the needs of LGBT athletes. For example: Project to Eliminate Homophobia in Sport - homophobiainsport.com

Education: How are athletes, parents, coaches, and other athletic staff educated about policies and expectations for treatment of LGBT people? Suggested Education Strategies:

· Conduct regularly scheduled staff development programs for coaches and other athletic department personnel about how to address LGBT issues in athletics
· Conduct staff development programs for all athletic staff about departmental non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
· Provide all new athletic department staff, athletes, and parents with information about departmental non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
· Conduct regularly scheduled educational programs for athletes about departmental non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and working in diverse team climates.
· Provide prospective athletes and their parents with information about departmental non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies

Procedure: What procedures are in place for enacting department policy? Suggestions:

· Develop clear procedures for implementing departmental non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies.
· Make these procedures available to all athletic department personnel and athletes each year.
· Review all procedures on a regular basis to assess their accessibility and effectiveness

Developed by Pat Griffin
griffin@educ.umass.edu
www.lesbianandgaysports.com