What's it like to be LGBTQIA+ in Athletics?

First 25 people to register get a FREE Athlete Ally T-shirt

Open and Free to ALL in the Davis Community

The climate of sports is changing rapidly. With professional athletes such as Megan Rapinoe and Ryan Russel openly sharing their sexualities and identities, people are recognizing that sports culture can be a daunting space for people who identify in the LGBTQIA+ community. 

At Davis Athlete Ally, we believe that when athletes, fans, coaches, and others in the athletic community can be their whole selves, they can experience the full impact and beauty of sports. In order to achieve this, we need to have open, honest, discussions, ask questions, and create brave spaces to share and celebrate our identities. 

This is why Davis Athlete Ally and UC Davis Athletics is sponsoring an open, on-campus event featuring speaker and Athlete Ally Pro Ambassador, Brock McGillis. McGillis is the first professional hockey player to openly come out as gay and has become an influential advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community. His mission is to foster discussions equality regardless of sexuality, gender, or race, to urge others to self-reflect upon their own actions and beliefs, and to help his audiences shift their language to treat others with respect, acceptance, and inclusivity. 

We are hopeful this event will improve LGBTQIA+ knowledge and understanding among our student-athletes and staff, foster relations between the LGBTQIA+ and athletics communities and reveal their intersections, and allow us to introduce the Transgender and Nonbinary Inclusion Policy.