Brendan Burke, Young Crusader for Equality in Professional Sports, Dies in Tragic Accident
February 8, 2010
Brendan Burke, the openly gay son of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, Brian Burke, died on Saturday after succumbing to injuries he suffered in a weather-related car accident.
Burke, 21, captured international attention after sharing his moving coming out story with mainstream media in 2009.
But, now, telling your secret to Dad is another story. Molly’s reassuring hand guides you to the couch for the moment of truth. It’s time to tell Dad, a most public example of hockey machismo, that you are gay.
Finally, you say it. Awkwardly. You basically stumble along trying not to make it a big deal before just blurting out, “And I love you guys and wanted to tell you that I’m gay.”
There is a brief silence.
Dad is surprised when you tell him that you are gay. He never suspected at all.
Your stepmom speaks first: “OK, Brendan, that’s OK.” And gives you a reassuring smile. Then your dad says, “Of course, we still love you. This won’t change a thing.”
GLAAD celebrated ESPN’s report of Brendan’s story in Dec. 2009 and awarded the broadcast giant a spot on our “Best of National News” list. Shortly thereafter, “We Love You, This Won’t Change a Thing” went on to win a 2010 GLAAD Media Award nomination for the article’s superb account of Brendan’s bravery.
GLAAD joins the LGBT community, its allies and sports fans across the nation in mourning the devastating loss of Brendan Burke. Brendan’s tremendous courage will continue to inspire families everywhere to love and embrace their gay and lesbian sons and daughters.
Related Posts:Educating ESPN.com Readers on the Dangers of Homophobia in Sports
November 23, 2009
Recently, our president, Jarrett Barrios, wrote an article for ESPN.com outlining the dangers of homophobia in sports. The piece began with a condensed version of the Larry Johnson saga, and then shifted into a detailed description of GLAAD’s Sports Media Program.
Barrios explains GLAAD’s zero-tolerance approach to Larry Johnson’s use of anti-gay slurs and his subsequent suspension from the Chiefs. Despite his personal punishment, we are disappointed that the NFL is not using this as an important educational tool on the dangers of anti-gay attitudes and words. The sports world remains a very hostile environment for LGBT players, coaches, fans and allies “because when anti-gay epithets go uncorrected, it sends a message that it’s OK to denigrate gay people and their families.”
GLAAD’s Sports Media Program will continue to address the needs of amateur and professional athletes, until “openly gay athletes will be cheered, booed and treated just the same as their teammates.”
The accessible and prominent article will reach a wide audience of readers and offers and hopefully spark conversations. The article demonstrates to LGBT readers that they have a voice within sports culture, but it also serves to change the hearts and minds of many avid fans.
Related Posts:Half of College Football Players Claim to Have Gay Teammates
August 17, 2009
ESPN The Magazine published a survey that claims half of all college football players believe they have at least one gay teammate. ESPN asked 85 football players a variety of questions ranging from what teams would have winning seasons to whether or not players should be paid.
ESPN asked the question, “Do you have any gay teammates?” The answer was: Almost half of those surveyed (49.4%, to be exact) said yes, they believe they have at least one gay teammate. In the Pac-10, 70% of those surveyed said yes.
Unfortunately the poll is unscientific, so it’s difficult to gauge the vailidity of the responses. Additionally, Outsports.com points out other flaws:
What the poll question does not answer, though, is whether those surveyed personally know a gay teammate or whether there are players on their team they suspect are gay. It also does not answer whether these respondents perceive having a gay teammate as a positive or negative thing.
The media should take this as a stepping off point and start delving into the subject more deeply. Is there so much homophobia in the locker room that players are afraid to have conversations about their true sexual orientation? Are players comfortable confiding in their teammates but don’t want to be publicly out?
GLAAD will continue to urge the media to shine a spotlight on LGBT athletes and on homophobia in sports.
Related Posts:ESPN Issues Apology
February 2, 2009
As promised, ESPN has issued an apology for its airing of the Shaquille O’Neal/Mike Breen promotional spot.
In a statement issued today, GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano said, “We are pleased that ESPN realized that this ad was problematic and decided to remove it so quickly. Ads that exploit these kinds of clichéd stereotypes may elicit cheap laughs, but they also send a message that some people are less deserving than others of dignity and respect. We will continue to work with ESPN to promote media images of the LGBT community that are fair, accurate and inclusive.”
ESPN’s apology follows below:
“We have dozens of executions of the “NBA on ESPN RV Tour” online campaign and none are intended to be offensive to anyone or any community of people. Our intent is to send a positive message about the camaraderie of sports and to do so as creatively as we can. However, we understand your perspective on this ad and would like to apologize to the members of the gay community. In addition, we have decided to remove the ad from the campaign’s online executions.
ESPN has a long-standing tradition of supporting diversity in the workplace and beyond. We are fully committed to continuing a dialogue that welcomes and recognizes diverse perspectives.
We appreciate your bringing your concerns to our attention.”
ESPN Will Remove Offending Ad
February 2, 2009
I just got off the phone with Stephanie Turner, Associate Director of Diversity at ESPN regarding ESPN’s promotional ad with Shaquille O’Neal and Mike Breen. The ad shows Breen attempting to fist bump Shaq, but instead of calling it a fist bump, Breen names it a “fist kiss.”
Shaq moves away from Breen in revulsion and tells him, “You’re a weirdo man. Stay over there. Fist kiss. Disgusting.”
Tuner said that ESPN will remove the ad and an apology is forthcoming. I will post ESPN’s statement as soon as I receive it.
Mike Breen and Shaquille O’Neal
ESPN Gets “Fearless”
October 28, 2008
A few months ago, I traveled to ESPN’s headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut, where I met with a group of employees who were in the process of creating a GLBTA (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies) Employee Resource Group. The group discussed ways to make ESPN more inclusive, including organizing an event for Gay History Month.
I offered a few ideas but strongly recommended that they display Fearless, a series of photographs of openly LGBT student-athletes, an ongoing project by photographer Jeff Sheng.
From 2003 on Jeff has photographed 70 openly LGBT student-athletes. The diversity of the athletes and the sports they play (rugby, water polo, track and field, swimming, basketball, lacrosse and more) really illustrate that the LGBT sporting community can be found outside of the local gay softball league.
Jeff normally exhibits Fearless in high schools and colleges and often the pictures are displayed together in central meeting areas (like the student union).
The ESPN exhibition was completely different.
ESPN’s headquarters is comprised of more than a dozen buildings, which they refer to as their “campus.” When deciding to display “Fearless”, they chose the entrances of buildings with the most foot traffic across their entire campus. By displaying the large-scale photographs front and center within its most-used buildings, it was clear that ESPN was serious about diversity and inclusion.
More than 5,000 ESPN employees got a chance to experience the images and words of the student-athletes. Additionally, countless tour groups saw the exhibit as they were shuttled from building to building. The exhibit was impossible to ignore. And the images and accompanying stories are so striking, people were compelled to walk up, look closer at the images and read the athletes’ stories.
On October 24, ESPN invited Jeff Sheng, four of the photographed students, and Pamela Misener – Assistant Dean of Student Life and Advisor to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Students at Dartmouth College, to speak to ESPN employees about their experiences.
Everyone in the room heard different stories, but there was one common theme — the need to find other LGBT student-athletes. Even those who came out and were embraced by their teammates still felt a sense that they were alone. Even though most colleges and high schools have LGBT centers or groups, many student-athletes have different needs than the resources those organizations provide.
After everyone shared their story, the floor was opened for questions. Some in the audience wanted to share their story of being LGBT and some of the challenges faced even in a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere. Others asked the panel what they thought of phrases like “that’s so gay” and media representations of the LGBT community.
At the end of the discussion each panelist gave advice to the employees about being more inclusive. Some of the student-athletes reminded the employees to not assume that everyone is straight when getting to know people. Others reminded everyone to keep their minds open and to talk about issues affecting LGBT people.
After the panel, the panelists were given a tour of ESPN and the exhibit itself. To view more pictures from the panel and the tour, please visit here. Below is a video of the student-athletes reacting to the exhibit and their experience participating on the panel.
