Indiana University Athletics
Glass, IU support 'You Can Play' initiative
6/2/2015 1:43:00 PM | General
By: Sam Beishuizen, IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Indiana University Athletic Director Fred Glass is always looking for ways to bring the tenants of The Spirit of Indiana: 24 Sports, One Team to life.
One of the pillars of The Spirit of Indiana is that IU Athletics is inclusive. It's the department's goal to have all athletes and coaches take pride in who they are and embrace one another's differences.
That's why when Glass first heard about the You Can Play initiative about six months ago in a meeting at the White House, he immediately wanted to join the program which says its mission is "...dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation."
"We started talking about the You Can Play campaign and I thought, `Wow, that's something I really want to jump in with both feet,'" Glass said. "I came back on campus and started engaging with it and putting it together."
You Can Play is a social activism campaign which aims to end homophobia in sports, centered around the slogan, "If you can play, you can play."
Indiana University is no stranger to these types of campaigns. The athletic department was already heavily involved with the "It's On Us" campaign to end sexual assault on college campuses.
Glass said he liked the way the initiatives of You Can Play aligned and complimented the messages of It's On Us.
"'If you can play, you can play' is all about diversity, and more importantly, inclusivity," Glass said. "You can be diverse, which is an important start, but really integrating that diversity and embracing that diversity and being inclusive is what's really important to us."
IU's You Can Play campaign was publicly launched with a video featuring Glass and a handful of Hoosier Athletes. The video was first shown April 27 and The Spirit of Indiana Showcase to a warm welcome from athletes on hand.
The video opens with Glass explaining that IU is committed to ensuring equality, respect and safety to all of the university's student athletes.
Right behind Glass is a picture of former Indiana University President Herman B Wells, who Glass said continues to inspire him to pursue campaigns like You Can Play.
"He's one of my idols, and I sort of feel like he's a mentor even though I knew him late in his life," Glass said. "He was ahead of his time on these issues."
Glass said he hopes to continue to use the popularity of athletics as a platform to promote causes like You Can Play and It's on Us.
He said these causes are especially important after the recent negative press brought to the state of Indiana with the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which President Michael A. McRobbie has already said won't impact the way IU hires and treats employees.
"Frankly, given that Indiana has been in the news for all the wrong reasons gives us all the more importance as an institution of higher education to lead on matters of diversity and inclusivity including, but not limited to, matters of sexual orientation," Glass said.
"I thought the president showed great leadership early on before a lot of people joined the course of establishing the values that we have at Indiana University and Indiana more generally in terms of acceptance and tolerance of diversity and inclusivity at a time that it was under attack both within and outside our state," Glass continued. "We're just trying to support president McRobbie's vision and the vision we have within athletics."
Glass said the university plans to play versions of the You Can Play video as public service announcements on the video boards at IU athletics events throughout the year.
IU is also trying to share the video through social media in hopes of raising awareness in Bloomington and across the state.
Glass said he's already looking into how to further partner with You Can Play moving forward and is looking into joining with other groups including My Brother's Keeper, which focuses attention on the importance of African American males and their importance in the community and athletics.
Whatever IU chooses to do, Glass said the university and athletic department will continue to move forward. He wants all athletes to feel comfortable both on and off the playing field.
"I'm not saying we're going to change the world overnight, but we want to be a part of that change," Glass aid. "I think we have a certain responsibility to do that as an institution of higher education and an athletic department to be inclusive."
