The Chicago Sky Celebrates WNBA’s LGBT Pride Campaign

Lee Edwards | As of Wednesday, June 25, 2014

AthleteAlly founder and CEO, Hudson Taylor; Chicago Sky forward Jessica Breland, and former Stanford guard Toni Kokenis speak during a panel discussion about LGBT athletes in the United States.
AthleteAlly founder and CEO, Hudson Taylor; Chicago Sky forward Jessica Breland, and former Stanford guard Toni Kokenis speak during a panel discussion about LGBT athletes in the United States.

On Sunday, the Chicago Sky hosted the Tulsa Shock at the Allstate Arena, 6920 N. Mannheim Rd., Rosemont, IL, and held a post-game networking event and panel discussion about LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bi-Sexual Transgender) athletes and their fight for equality in both professional and amateur sports. The reception was in honor of the WNBA’s (Women’s National Basketball Association) Pride campaign, a new national platform celebrating inclusion and equality, while combating anti-LGBT bias which is sponsored by COVERGIRL.

“The WNBA welcomes all fans, athletes, and partners to our game,” said WNBA President Laurel J. Richie. “These beliefs unite the 12 teams of the WNBA and we are very excited to introduce the WNBA Pride platform which celebrates acceptance and inclusion. The WNBA takes great pride in working with extraordinary partners who share these values, and we are so grateful to our presenting partner COVERGIRL along with ESPN, GLSEN and GLAAD for joining the WNBA on this important initiative.”

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Photo by: Lee Edwards

Attendees at the Chicago Sky's Pride game signed full length "#BeTrue" banners as part of Nike's #BeTrue campaign which highlights inclusion in sports and supports the LGTB community within the WNBA.

"COVERGIRL has always supported the strength and diversity of women. We believe every woman is a COVERGIRL, and that COVERGIRLs rock the world," says Esi Eggleston Bracey, VP and General Manager, COVERGIRL. "Our recently launched #GirlsCan campaign was established to help women overcome boundaries to break barriers, including in the pursuit of a career where women are currently under-represented, like professional sports. We are proud partners of the WNBA."

The WNBA the first professional sports league to establish an integrated marketing, media, grassroots and social responsibility program for the LGBT community. The programming includes a new special site, WNBA.com/pride, where league and team Pride content, events and schedules will be posted throughout the season. Information will also be shared on the league's social media channels where the content will be aggregated with the hashtag #wnbapride.

"We're excited about this season's league-wide Pride initiatives," said Sky President and CEO Adam Fox. "The LGBT community has been an important part of our organization for years. The opportunity to host the first nationally televised Pride game as a platform for encouraging diversity, inclusion and acceptance is a privilege for our team."

The Sky’s game versus the Shock was the first nationally televised game since the Pride campaign began. The Shock won after a thrilling come-from-behind overtime victory.

“This is another day in the office for our organization because we’ve always done stuff with the LGBT community and it’s really nice to be involved and work for a league that’s so progressive,” said Chicago Sky Head Coach Pokey Chatham.

After the game, a panel discussion featured AthleteAlly founder and CEO, Hudson Taylor; Chicago Sky forward Jessica Breland, and former Stanford guard Toni Kokenis.

Taylor, who conducted the panel, stressed the importance of educating the public about LGTB issues and about how to be explicit in vocalizing support against anti-LGBT slurs and practices.

“We’re finally in a time period where professional leagues are understanding and valuing their LGBT fan base and the fact that they have LGBT players,” said Taylor. “I hope the leadership of the WNBA will be seen by the other leagues and they’ll make similar commitments to creating inclusive culture.”

“I would love to see [inclusion] spread to men’s sports,” said Breland. “It’s about talking about it, getting a comfort zone for athletes to come out and for men to be themselves and just to mature.”

AthleteAlly is a non-profit organization that provides public awareness campaigns, educational programming and tools and resources to foster inclusive sports communities. AthleteAlly has 100 professional athlete ambassadors, 100 campus ambassadors, and has 52 college campus programs.

For more information visit http://www.wnba.com/pride/.

For more information about AthleteAlly visit http://www.athleteally.org/

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