John Amaechi gave a fantastic speech at the DiversityInc 2011 Special Awards earlier this month. His speech was about the power of words. But instead of focusing on the negative words like “faggot,” Amaechi spoke about the power of positive words. Video of the full speech is below.
It's a theme David Testo mentioned to me when I spoke to him. He said the homophobia in sports isn't as much outward hatred as it is a lack of support. More people saying "I'm okay with gay people" in sports would go a long way, Testo said. In his speech, Amaechi told a story about the impact he had on underprivileged youth by simply remembering their names. That positive reinforcement is, as Amaechi said, deeply powerful.
