Sports Equality Foundation launched to support LGBT community

Sports Equality Foundation, an organisation focused on empowering athletes and coaches to publicly come out has been launched this week. The foundation branched off of the work of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, which has focused on anti-bullying to the LGBT community for the last five years in the U.S. and United Kingdom.

While similar groups are focused on speeches and sensitivity training, Outsports.com co-founder Cyd Zeigler told USA TODAY Sports "we believe the singular most important tool to changing sports is people coming out." Ziegler will serve on the foundation's advisory board. Joining him will be Jason Collins, the first out NBA player, and Billy Bean, an openly gay former MLB player who serves as the MLB's vice president for social responsibility and inclusion 

Patrick Davis, co-chair of the foundation board and co-founder of StandUp, said: "We have heard from countless athletes and coaches that there is a powerful need for stronger support around the coming-out process in sports, and that coming out is what drives the change. The foundation will fuel that process, and give those who may suffer from bullying role models to look up to. It's a natural evolution to solving the problem."

The foundation will focus on providing necessary resources and utilise a growing number of public role models. The foundation launches with a $100,000 commitment from the board.

The focus of the grant-making foundation will focus on four core areas:

• Providing LGBT people needed resources as they prepare to come out.
• Coming out publicly or privately through the sharing of their truth.
• Becoming a role model for other LGBT people.
• Leading cultural progress.

Also on the board are out coaches Anthony Nicodemo, an openly gay high school basketball coach in New York, and Kirk Walker, an openly gay softball coach at UCLA and, transgender ESPN journalist Christina Kahrl.