Paul Farber at UPenn is putting this on and I encourage people to attend:

Coming Out to Play: The Experience of the LGBT Athlete

Tuesday, March 25
7 -8:30 pm
Dunning Coaches Center, 231 S. 33rd St (next to Franklin Field)

Sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania LGBT Center's newest task force, PATH (Penn's Athletes and Allies Tackling Homophobia and Heterosexism), this dialogue will be moderated by sports psychologist Ruth Hall from The College of New Jersey, and features Philadelphia Daily News Sports writer Debbie Woodell; PATH Co-Chair Paul Farber; former Penn swimmer Blake Martin; and Erin Rhoades, member of the Penn's Women's track team, as well as the campus group "Allies."

The panel will explore the experiences of LGBT athletes, in terms of the issues of coming out, homophobia in sports, and the lack of "out" athletes. We also want to examine possible solutions to the problem, and look to what can be done in our communities to bring about change.

The aim of PATH and this panel is to initiate a campus wide dialogue to establish a safe environment for athletes, coaches, administrators, and fans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

There's a small chance I might be able to make it...it depends on how early I get up for work, since I have flextime. I also have to go and pick up my new eyeglasses tomorrow. So, if I get into work early enough that I have time after work to get my glasses and get a bite to eat, then I can make it. But it's iffy. I'll try and post an update tomorrow.

It sounds like a great start, something that other schools could emulate. Let's hope Penn's AD attends. We'd love to hear about it if you can make it, Joe.

Well, as I sort of expected, I didn't get into work early enough so I wasn't able to attend. Hopefully they had a decent turnout. By the way, Debbie Woodell isn't actually a sports writer. She's a sports desk editor who writes a column once a month on gay and lesbian issues. I sent her an e-mail at the paper to say that I hope the panel went well, and to give a plug to Outsports. (I'm good that way.)

Well as the organizer of this event, I have to say I am very pleased with how it turned out!
The final lineup changed but the conversation was no doubt rich with personal experience and relevant material. The panel was composed of moderator Sports Psychologist Ruth Hall, Intercollegiate Sports Diversity expert Dr. Douglas Toma, Former Quarterback for the Philadelphia Liberty Belles Woman's football team (and member of the development staff here at Penn) Elise Betz, Allied-track athlete Erin Rhoades, and former Varsity swimmer Blake Martin. About 25 or 30 people showed up, including several athletes from the club and varsity levels, as well as the Assistant AD and the NCAA compliance director. I'm also pretty sure it was the first LGBT event held in an athletic facility here at Penn, so this was an important step in bringing this issue to the surface at this university. I will have a column with my feelings about the event coming in the next day or so, but just letting all of you know that it was a great event (and we taped it so we can hopefully show it to coaches, athletes, and administrators in the future). I'll be sure to post the Daily Pennsylvanian's coverage of the event tomorrow.

http://www.dailypennsylvanian.com/vnews/di...6/3e815dfac2c55
(just note that the picture as of 9am was incorrect)

...which is why I got an AutoReply e-mail from Debbie Woodell saying she's on indefinite sick leave...the e-mail I sent won't make a whole lot of sense when she gets back and reads it. eek!

I'm glad everything went well.

Paul has written a terrific piece on the panel and his feelings of being a gay athlete.