Substitute Resolution Urging the Commissioners of Men's Sports to Publicly Support Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Athletes
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago has been the proud home to seven professional sports teams that have electrified and united our city: Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Sky, Bulls, Blackhawks, and Fire; and,
WHEREAS, Chicagoans of all genders, races, and classes, celebrate our teams' accomplishments as shared victories, yet gay professional athletes feel the need to remain closeted; and,
WHEREAS, unlike most other professions today, participants in professional sports believe they cannot be open about their sexual orientation. Only one active male player in any of the five major professional sports leagues in the United States has yet publicly acknowledged being gay, and
WHEREAS, the U.S. military, once one of the last bastions of discrimination against LGBT individuals, now recognizes the need to address prejudice openly, instead of assuming it does not exist; and,
WHEREAS, the Chicago Cubs and Chicago Blackhawks, recognizing the importance of inclusion, began participating in the annual Chicago LGBT Pride Parade in June 2010; and,
WHEREAS, the Chicago Cubs recorded a video featuring coaches and players— Manager Mike Quade, first base Coach Bob Dernier, pitcher Ryan Dempster, outfielder Marlon Byrd and second baseman Darwin Barney—for the "It Gets Better Project," becoming the second Major League Baseball team to participate in the online campaign aimed at curbing suicides among LGBT youth; and,
WHEREAS, Gary Bettman, the commissioner of the National Hockey League (NHL), became the first major-league commissioner to state on camera that he welcomes gay athletes to his league and that he will set up educational programs in the interest of safety for the athletes.
WHEREAS, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell has implemented additions to their longstanding anti-discrimination policies saying: Posters will be displayed in locker rooms of...
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