David McFarland, the former Chair and CEO of The Trevor Project, today launched United for Equality in Sports & Entertainment, a new non-profit organization whose mission, according to a press release, is to "serve as a national and international advocacy group in achieving equality in sport and entertainment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) athletes and artists."
Said McFarland:
"I am thrilled to announce the launch of United for Equality in Sports & Entertainment. Sport and entertainment have the unique power to ignite, attract, mobilize and inspire. By their very nature, sport and entertainment provide effective platforms to promote the ideals of respect, acceptance, fairness, sportsmanship and equality for all. As a community that cares, we must take a bigger stance now, particularly for LGBT youth who need the leadership of an organization like UESE. Each one of us deserves a chance to dream for the future, no matter who we are, who we love or how we express our gender. For too many LGBT young people, the built-in safety nets of support, acceptance and caring do not exist in sport."
McFarland says he'll be announcing partners in the coming weeks.
It's unclear how the group will distinguish itself from Athlete Ally and the You Can Play Project, both of which focus on combating homophobia and inequality in sports, or GLAAD, whose mission seems to overlap as well.
Writes the group:
As a core value, UESE will serve as a major catalyst for change by taking an active role in building coalitions, collaborating with leading change agents and creating alliances with organizations in sport and entertainment to move from the passive notion of tolerance towards the active concept of acceptance to accelerate equality for all. Sport and entertainment are two of the last closets that exist in our culture.
In its inaugural year, UESE will achieve its goals by developing and encouraging dialogue, collaboration and partnerships with national and international sports organizations, the private sector, academia, media and key members of the sport and entertainment communities.
