The GLAAD Media Awards in San Francisco, held May 11, featured a bunch of sports figures accepting awards from the LGBT media watchdog organization.
The San Francisco Giants, defending World Series champs, were given the Corporate Leader Award. They were the first professional sports team to be honored by GLAAD. From GLAAD’s announcement:
They were the first ever professional sports team to host an HIV/AIDS benefit game in 1994, and have generated more than $1.3 million for Bay Area HIV/AIDS education. The Giants were also the first major league sports team to record a video for the It Gets Better project, and this month will hold their 11th Annual LGBT Night Out.
Giants spokesperson Staci Slaughter accepted the award and talked about prepping the players to discuss homophobia with the media. You can see video below.
Special Recognition awards went to former Pittsburgh Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy, who came out publicly in the New York Times last year, and the No. 1 pick in the WNBA Draft, Brittney Griner, who came out publicly in April. Videos of their acceptance speeches are below.
After so many years of sports being pushed to the side by the LGBT community, it is powerful to see a leader like GLAAD make sports such a high-profile aspect of their awards show. In truth, GLAAD has been working behind the scenes in the sports world, unbeknownst to many, for years. Some of the developments we've seen — particularly the response by leagues and sports organizations to homophobic language — have been because of the work of GLAAD and, in particular, Aaron McQuade. So it's powerful — and not surprising — to see GLAAD take this step at their event.
Staci Slaughter accepts for the San Francisco Giants at the #glaadawards (via glaadmedia)
Brittney Griner speaks about coming out at the #GLAADAwards (via glaadmedia)
Kevin McClatchy at the #glaadawards (via glaadmedia)
