Bridging Differences: Race, Sexuality, Religion, and
Gender in Athletics
Amy Sandler, Ph.D.
Department of Women’s Studies
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Niki Quasney, PE Teacher
Doris French Elementary School
Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nevada
***A Special Thank You to Pat Griffin of It Takes a Team! for generously contributing to this presentation***
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ITAT is an education and advocacy project
Its goal is to make sports a safe and respectful place
for all, with a focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender people (LGBT)
ITAT develops and disseminates educational
materials and information to sport administrators,
coaches, teachers, athletes and parents
ITAT is an initiative of the Women’s Sports
Foundation (www.womenssportsfoundation.org)
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A dynamic web site: www.ItTakesATeam.org
An educational kit for sport administrators,
coaches, athletes and parents
A monthly e-letter with news and resources
Workshops for athletic staff, students and
parents
Relationships
 Team/student productivity
 Team/classroom climate
 Leadership and modeling opportunities
 Legal requirements
 Professional and ethical responsibilities
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Stereotype them: “Those people…”
Minimize/Ignore them: “Students are
students”
Be defensive about them: “I don’t
have a prejudiced bone in my body”
Eliminate them: “I don’t allow ‘them’
on my team”
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Be open to learning
Understand and validate differences and
seek common ground
Act to create better communications and
relationships, eliminate prejudice and
discrimination
◦ GOALS:
 To identify how differences in race, gender, religion
and sexuality can affect team relationships and
performance, and physical education environments
 To identify ways to learn, understand and act to create
better communications and relationships, eliminate
prejudice and discrimination
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How do race, sexuality, gender, religion come up in my
professional experience?
How do my personal experiences and relationships prepare
me to address race, gender, sexuality and religion issues in
athletics?
What kind of professional preparation have I had to help me
address race, gender, sexuality and religion issues in
athletics?
What would I like to learn about how race, gender, sexuality
and religion affect the athletic climate?
Common Ground
Sexuality
Religion
Race
Gender
Finding the Sweet Spot
Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity
CONTEXT
Family Background
Sociocultural Conditions
Current Experiences
Career Decisions and Life
Planning
CORE
Personal Attributes
Personal
Characteristics
Personal Identity
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Policy
Education and Awareness
Example
Be Proactive, Avoid Reactive Crisis Management
Mode
Parents, Students/Athletes,
Teachers/Coaches
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Department and School Non-Discrimination
and Anti-Harassment Policies
Team Specific Policies (PDAs,Team Prayer,
Language Use, Hotel Room Assignments,
Inter-Group Conflict)
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Diversity Training and Discussion with Team,
Coaches, Physical Education Colleagues
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Team Orientation Activities: Make Policies and
Expectations Clear to All
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Team Building Activities
◦ Getting to Know You Activities and Games
◦ Group Problem Solving Activities and Games
◦ Work/Team Social Activities
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What Athletic Administrators Say and Do
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What the Teachers/Coaches Say and Do
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What the Team Captains Say and Do
What Teachers/Coaches Say and Do!!!
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Gather in a small group
Choose one or two scenarios you would like
to discuss
Use the questions with the scenarios to guide
your discussion
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Respect and affirm differences in race,
gender, religion, sexuality
Learn about different perspectives
Identify common interests and values
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What policies do your school and athletic
department have?
What team specific policies do you have?
What team orientation activities do you
plan?
What team building activities do you lead?
How do you set an example for your team?
How do you prepare team captains to be
examples?
“When the score is tied and there are two
seconds left in the game,
you don’t care if your teammate is Black or
White, Jew or Christian, gay or straight.
You just want her to make the shot.”
- Martina Navratilova