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Athlete Ally
Athlete Ally is a nonprofit LGBTQ athletic advocacy group based in the United States. The group aims to make athletic communities more inclusive and less discriminatory and help athletes to advocate for LGBTQ equality.
As an athlete in high school and college, Hudson Taylor often observed the use of homophobic language and demeaning humor, especially in sports. Soon after enrolling at the University of Maryland, he befriended LGBT students in his theatre classes and became increasingly aware of the pain caused by homophobic behavior. Hudson, who is not gay, felt it was imperative that he confront the marginalization of LGBT athletes, coaches and others through systemic homophobia and transphobia. He decided to take action as a straight ally to change athletic culture for the better. To stand in solidarity with the LGBT community, Hudson wore an LGBT equality sticker from the Human Rights Campaign on his wrestling headgear in college. Though he encountered criticism from his peers, he received positive attention from the media, and received thousands of emails from parents and closeted athletes, expressing thanks and sharing their own experiences of homophobia in sports. This inspired Hudson to launch Athlete Ally. When he blogged about experiencing homophobia in collegiate sports, he received hundreds of emails from closeted athletes. In 2013, Taylor received an Emery Award for his work with Athlete Ally.
Athlete Ally educates athletic communities at all levels—sport governing bodies, teams, and individual athletes—to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQ people in sports and how they can build inclusive communities on their teams or within their organizations. We hold trainings across the country on college campuses, with front office staff of major sports leagues and institutions like the NBA, NCAA and the MLB and with individual athletes. We have partnered with teams in major cities like Seattle, New York, and Washington DC, to host Pride Nights and raise awareness about LGBTQ issues.
Athlete Ally visits K-8, high schools, colleges, and corporate campuses to educate and empower athletes and to educate others on the value of allyship. Athlete Ally has a network of speakers ranging from its executive director and three-times All-American Wrestler Hudson Taylor to professional athlete ambassadors.
In the past Athlete Ally has conducted all student-athlete Keynote speeches; facilitated conversations on policies and practice with athletic department representatives; held roundtable discussions with SAAC representatives on the LGBTQ-inclusiveness of their athletic departments; held joint meetings with the LGBTQ Center on campus to discuss partnerships and more. Every campus speaking engagement is customized with a campus based on the needs and interests related to LGBTQ inclusion.
Athlete Ally campus chapters decide on and enact programming specific to their campus based on Athlete Ally's mission. This includes hosting pride nights, giving educational workshops on LGBTQ-topics, working to adopt inclusive policies at the school and/or conference level, and advocating for anti-discriminatory policies at a city, state, regional and national level. Athlete Ally works with chapters daily to assess their campus culture to figure out appropriate programming. Athlete Ally currently has 35+ campus chapters.
Athlete Ally has a strong relationship with the National Basketball Association. The organization has conducted trainings at the NBA's Rookie Orientation Program, as well as at Junior NBA Coaches Forums.
Athlete Ally works to ensure athletic communities are as LGBTQ inclusive as they should be. The organization works closely with teams and institutions like the NCAA to develop clear and accessible policies around LGBTQ inclusion. In 2012, Athlete Ally co-authored with Dr Pat Griffin the NCAA's first LGBTQ equality guide—Champions of Respect—for college coaches, athletes, and administrators. In 2017, Athlete Ally launched the Athletic Equality Index (AEI) to measure LGBTQ inclusion policies and practices in the NCAA's Power Five conferences. The AEI brings the LGBTQ movement into a new era of advocacy, transparency and accountability. Institutions will no longer be able to cite a lack of data and reporting as a rationale for inaction, and will offer an industry-wide benchmark for the progress needed to achieve the full dignity and inclusion of the LGBTQ community in sport.
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Athlete Ally
Athlete Ally is a nonprofit LGBTQ athletic advocacy group based in the United States. The group aims to make athletic communities more inclusive and less discriminatory and help athletes to advocate for LGBTQ equality.
As an athlete in high school and college, Hudson Taylor often observed the use of homophobic language and demeaning humor, especially in sports. Soon after enrolling at the University of Maryland, he befriended LGBT students in his theatre classes and became increasingly aware of the pain caused by homophobic behavior. Hudson, who is not gay, felt it was imperative that he confront the marginalization of LGBT athletes, coaches and others through systemic homophobia and transphobia. He decided to take action as a straight ally to change athletic culture for the better. To stand in solidarity with the LGBT community, Hudson wore an LGBT equality sticker from the Human Rights Campaign on his wrestling headgear in college. Though he encountered criticism from his peers, he received positive attention from the media, and received thousands of emails from parents and closeted athletes, expressing thanks and sharing their own experiences of homophobia in sports. This inspired Hudson to launch Athlete Ally. When he blogged about experiencing homophobia in collegiate sports, he received hundreds of emails from closeted athletes. In 2013, Taylor received an Emery Award for his work with Athlete Ally.
Athlete Ally educates athletic communities at all levels—sport governing bodies, teams, and individual athletes—to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQ people in sports and how they can build inclusive communities on their teams or within their organizations. We hold trainings across the country on college campuses, with front office staff of major sports leagues and institutions like the NBA, NCAA and the MLB and with individual athletes. We have partnered with teams in major cities like Seattle, New York, and Washington DC, to host Pride Nights and raise awareness about LGBTQ issues.
Athlete Ally visits K-8, high schools, colleges, and corporate campuses to educate and empower athletes and to educate others on the value of allyship. Athlete Ally has a network of speakers ranging from its executive director and three-times All-American Wrestler Hudson Taylor to professional athlete ambassadors.
In the past Athlete Ally has conducted all student-athlete Keynote speeches; facilitated conversations on policies and practice with athletic department representatives; held roundtable discussions with SAAC representatives on the LGBTQ-inclusiveness of their athletic departments; held joint meetings with the LGBTQ Center on campus to discuss partnerships and more. Every campus speaking engagement is customized with a campus based on the needs and interests related to LGBTQ inclusion.
Athlete Ally campus chapters decide on and enact programming specific to their campus based on Athlete Ally's mission. This includes hosting pride nights, giving educational workshops on LGBTQ-topics, working to adopt inclusive policies at the school and/or conference level, and advocating for anti-discriminatory policies at a city, state, regional and national level. Athlete Ally works with chapters daily to assess their campus culture to figure out appropriate programming. Athlete Ally currently has 35+ campus chapters.
Athlete Ally has a strong relationship with the National Basketball Association. The organization has conducted trainings at the NBA's Rookie Orientation Program, as well as at Junior NBA Coaches Forums.
Athlete Ally works to ensure athletic communities are as LGBTQ inclusive as they should be. The organization works closely with teams and institutions like the NCAA to develop clear and accessible policies around LGBTQ inclusion. In 2012, Athlete Ally co-authored with Dr Pat Griffin the NCAA's first LGBTQ equality guide—Champions of Respect—for college coaches, athletes, and administrators. In 2017, Athlete Ally launched the Athletic Equality Index (AEI) to measure LGBTQ inclusion policies and practices in the NCAA's Power Five conferences. The AEI brings the LGBTQ movement into a new era of advocacy, transparency and accountability. Institutions will no longer be able to cite a lack of data and reporting as a rationale for inaction, and will offer an industry-wide benchmark for the progress needed to achieve the full dignity and inclusion of the LGBTQ community in sport.