(This story was published in 2002).
Lesbians for Liberty plan a demonstration outside Madison Square Garden this
Sunday, August 11, in protest of the New York Liberty’s refusal to honor Lesbian and Gay Pride Month and acknowledge their large lesbian fan base. In a phone call Thursday, a Liberty representative declined protest organizers’ request for a meeting with General Manager Carol Blazejowski to discuss ways the team can reach out to their lesbian fans.
Members of Lesbians for Liberty, a coalition of lesbian supporters of the New York Liberty, staged a kiss-in at the Liberty game last Friday, August 2, to bring attention to the Liberty’s suppression of lesbian visibility.
“Every season, the Liberty has held a home game on the same day as the New York City Lesbian and Gay Pride March,” said organizer Robyn Overstreet, “but every season they have refused to make any acknowledgement of Gay Pride, even though an overwhelming percentage of the fans at that game are lesbians.”
“When the Liberty erases the presence of lesbians on the basketball court and in the stands they are complicit in the homophobia that makes discrimination and violence against lesbians, gays, and transpeople possible, ” says protest organizer Ady Ben-Israel.
