Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

SPORTS The OutField
GLAF Supports Acceptance for All
by Dan Woog
2007-12-19

This article shared 3646 times since Wed Dec 19, 2007
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


This fall, Mac Chisaboon fielded an anguished e-mail sent to the Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation ( www.glaf.org ) . As founder of the organization, which promotes the visibility and acceptance of GLBT athletes at the professional, amateur and recreational levels, he was used to queries from closeted players. But this was different.

It came from the father of a gay rower. His 17-year-old son was applying to college, and the man wanted to know how he could help. He was very supportive of his son; he recognized that whether the young man was out to his teammates or not was a personal decision. But he wanted to make sure that wherever his son went, the environment would be safe and he could be himself.

Chisaboon—a rower himself—forwarded the e-mail to GLAF's advisory board. That eclectic group included activists, professors, triathletes, an HIV-positive gymnast, Gay Games organizers, a wrestler, swimmers, an equestrian, tennis players, football players, administrators, extreme sports competitors, skiers, business executives, and even a former Major League umpire. ( Full disclosure: It also includes me. )

Advisory board members leaped to respond. A Brown University graduate contacted a former fraternity brother about his alma mater's program. He told the rower's father that Brown was 'almost assuredly' welcoming; as far back as the early 1970s, there were gay rowers, even a gay assistant coach. Someone else offered to call college coaches directly. Other respondents passed along names of gay rowers and coaches for the father and son to contact themselves.

To Chisaboon, the quick, insightful replies were 'a good example of how we can leverage the great talent, the years of personal experience, that gay athletes have, in order to help others.'

That help was on display when former National Basketball Association player Tim Hardaway spoke derisively of John Amaechi's coming-out. GLAF fired back with a press release. NBA Commissioner David Stein's decision to bar Hardaway from participation in All-Star Weekend activities was, GLAF said, 'an appropriate 'first step' toward ridding the league of such inexcusable ignorance within its ranks.' However, GLAF advised, 'the NBA and others should actively speak up against such overt homophobia at every opportunity, whether it occurs in an interview, in the locker room, or on the court.'

GLAF continued: 'We often look to sports stars as heroes and role models, particularly when they have overcome substantial barriers to their success. GLAF hopes that today's youth can see beyond Hardaway's hateful rhetoric and instead make sport a better meritocracy where we all can play according to one's ability, regardless of other factors. This, after all, is the very thing we love about sport.'

Chisaboon notes that 'sports has huge ramifications on how people—including youths—see the world. If GLAF can utilize our knowledge base, we can help become a mechanism of social change.'

It's taken eight years for Chisaboon to develop that mechanism. In 1999, as an MBA candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined students from Harvard and Boston Universities to form the Boston Bay Blades, a gay and lesbian rowing group. As the Blades met GLBT squash players, tennis players, flag football players and bowlers, they formed PrideSports Boston, an umbrella group.

Around that time, a panel discussion at Harvard on the topic of gay sports drew a packed house. Chisaboon and others decided to build on the energy created by organizing a New England-wide group. Their board soon mushroomed beyond the region. By 2003, when they hosted their first conference at MIT, GLAF had become a national organization. A second event was held a year later. In the summer of 2006, GLAF sponsored panels at the Outgames in Montreal and at Chicago's Gay Games.

GLAF also ran a train-the-trainer session at a conference on counseling athletes, at Springfield College.

That's a lot of work for a group run entirely by volunteers. GLAF has no directors, no staff and no fundraising. 'We're strictly an educational organization,' Chisaboon says. 'It's all about giving athletes an opportunity to network and connect with each other.'

Recently, a basketball player e-mailed Chisaboon. She wanted a job in the gay sports world. He told her that no such position is available yet—but one might be in the future, and it could be with GLAF. 'She has the mindset and experience to help take us to the next level,' Chisaboon says.

A real estate developer and broker and former consultant to the Young Presidents' Organization, Chisaboon knows his way around a company boardroom. 'Corporations are open to sponsorship,' he insists. 'They know the importance of aligning themselves with something like this.' Something, that is, that reaches not only GLBT athletes, but folks like the father of a 17-year-old rower who wants to be sure that, in college, his gay son can be himself.

Dan Woog is a journalist, educator, soccer coach, gay activist, and author of the 'Jocks' series of books on gay male athletes. Visit his website at www.danwoog.com . He can be reached care of this publication or at OutField@qsyndicate.com .


This article shared 3646 times since Wed Dec 19, 2007
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Four Chicago Red Stars receive international call-ups 2024-03-28
- CHICAGO (March 28, 2024) — Chicago Red Stars Nádia Gomes, Natalia Kuikka, Alyssa Naeher and Mallory Swanson have been tabbed to represent their countries during the April international window. Forwards Gomes and Swanson are set to ...


Gay News

2024 'Nike Basketball Camps with the Chicago Sky' announced 2024-03-28
- The Chicago Sky officially announced, in a debut collaboration with Nike Sports Camps, 2024 summer basketball camps for Chicagoland youth. Two camps for boys and girls ages 7-15 will take place June 17-21 and July 8-12 ...


Gay News

Be here, be queer, play polo: Gay Polo League creates safe athletic space for LGBTQ community 2024-03-26
- LGBTQ+ athletic clubs aren't too hard to come by, offering a variety of sports such as softball, soccer and more in cities across the country. But LGBTQ+ athletes would be harder pressed to find someplace to ...


Gay News

Chicago Red Stars stay undefeated 2024-03-24
- Chicago Red Stars stay undefeated On March 23, the Chicago Red Stars took down the Seattle Reign FC 2-1 in the club's home opener at SeatGeek Stadium. With the win, the Red Stars are now 2-0-0 ...


Gay News

ACTIVITIES Pickleball, fine eats and fun are all at SPF 2024-03-21
- Despite the fact that it was invented in 1965, pickleball has only really entered the national consciousness within the last few years. However, there really hadn't been a large indoor dedicated space in Chicago for the ...


Gay News

2024 OLYMPICS U.S. women's soccer team's opponents set 2024-03-20
- The United States women's national soccer team will face Australia, Germany, and either Morocco or Zambia in Group B at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ESPN reported. The tournament will mark the Americans' first competitive games with ...


Gay News

Alyssa Naeher wins National Women's Soccer League Impact Save of the Week 2024-03-20
--From a press release - CHICAGO (March 20, 2024) — Chicago Red Stars goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher earned National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) Deloitte Impact Save of the Week honors, the league announced today. Seven minutes into the eight minutes of added ...


Gay News

Red Stars start season with 2-0 win 2024-03-17
- On March 16, the Chicago Red Stars kicked off their 2024 campaign with a 2-0 road win over Utah Royals FC in the Royals' inaugural match back in the National Women's Soccer League. Ally Schlegel and ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies 2024-03-15
- Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

SPORTS Red Stars prepare to kick off NWSL season against Utah Royals 2024-03-15
- It's been a busy winter for the Red Stars, and it's time to put their work to the test. Following a last place finish in the 2023 NWSL season, Chicago has had an active offseason transforming ...


Gay News

Chicago Red Stars release 2024 roster 2024-03-13
- CHICAGO (March 13, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars announced today their final roster ahead of the 2024 National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) season. The club's roster is bolstered by an array of experience brought not ...


Gay News

Chicago Red Stars release midfielder Jill Aguilera 2024-03-12
--From a press release - CHICAGO (March 11, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars today announced the release of midfielder, Jill Aguilera. "I want to thank Jill for her time with the Red Stars," said general manager, Richard Feuz. "Over her ...


Gay News

Trans golfer banned from competing 2024-03-08
- Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson spoke out on Instagram after the NXXT Women's Pro Tour suddenly announced on March 8 (International Women's Day) that participants must be "a biological female at birth" in order to compete—banning D ...


Gay News

Chicago Red Stars sign midfielder Leilanni Nesbeth 2024-03-06
Press release - CHICAGO (March 6, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars announced the signing of draftee and midfielder Leilanni Nesbeth. Nesbeth, Chicago's first-round and tenth overall draft pick in the 2024 National ...


Gay News

Chicago Red Stars announce partnership with Wintrust 2024-02-27
Press release - CHICAGO (Feb. 27, 2024) — The Chicago Red Stars and Wintrust Financial Corporation announced a partnership that will see Wintrust become the club's new front-of-jersey partner and community outreach investment ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.