Pennsylvania’s two Major League Baseball teams were asked last week to become the latest participants in the “It Gets Better” campaign that is gaining momentum in the professional sports world.
Equality Pennsylvania issued letters June 9 to representatives of the Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates, requesting the teams add their voices to the video campaign.
“It Gets Better” was launched in the fall by out writer Dan Savage as a way to instill hope in struggling LGBT youth. Since its inception, thousands of videos have been added to the online site, from everyday LGBTs and allies to celebrities and politicians, including President Obama.
Supporters of the campaign recently turned to professional sports teams.
Earlier this month, the San Francisco Giants became the first professional sports team to create a video for the project. The Giants reportedly were already in talks to produce the video and fastracked the effort after an online petition by a 12-year-old fan. Petitions for dozens of other teams have since launched on Change.org; the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox have announced they will participate.
Cherry Hill resident Jarrett Taylor launched a petition this month on the site to urge the Philadelphia Flyers to participate.
“We saw some other teams doing this and we knew that we only have two baseball teams here in Pennsylvania, so we thought we’d take the opportunity and encourage them both to do this,” said Equality Pennsylvania executive director Ted Martin. “Hopefully our efforts will also be able to encourage the teams to send the message not only to young people, but to all their fans in the LGBT community, that they’re welcomed and they’re valued.”
Since 2003, the Phillies have hosted a summer Gay Day for the community, which most recently attracted nearly 1,000 fans.
Equality PA board president Brian Sims, who lectures on promoting LGBT acceptance in sports communities, said the team has always had a good relationship with the LGBT community, and the club’s participation in “It Gets Better” would be fitting.
“The Phillies have played host to one of the nation’s most successful Gay Days games for almost a decade … I think both ball clubs are going to respond well to their fans asking for support and we look forward to building community involvement.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].