FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Foundation Plans First National Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference

Cambridge, MA, June 4, 2002 — The Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation is organizing its first annual National Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference, scheduled for the spring of 2003, in Boston, Massachusetts. The event will be the foundation’s first annual conference, and its focus will be acceptance and visibility of gay and lesbian athletes in the professional, amateur, and recreational athletics communities.

Based in Cambridge, MA, the newly formed Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation is the first nonprofit organization whose primary mission is focused on acceptance and visibility of gays and lesbians in the professional, amateur, and recreational athletics communities. Through community facilitation, advocacy, and education, the foundation promotes recognition, understanding, and respect for every member of the athletics community regardless of his or her sexual orientation.

The 2003 National Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference will be the foundation’s flagship annual conference. Consisting of keynote addresses, multiple panel discussions, and interactive workshops, the conference aims to provide a forum for intellectual discussion, debate, and expression of the issues concerning gay and lesbian athletes. Panels currently under development include an investigation in media and image with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD); an examination of academic research with the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLGS); and an exploration of high school athletics with the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is among the growing list of conference sponsors. In a letter committing his support to the National Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference, Cedric W. Dempsey, NCAA President, says, "Education and student-athlete welfare are two critical components of the NCAA's mission." Accordingly, the NCAA has addressed homophobia in intercollegiate athletics at its prominent national meetings and recently added sexual orientation education to NCAA diversity workshops. Under the leadership of the NCAA Minority Opportunities & Interest Committee and the Committee on Women's Athletics, Dempsey says, “The association will continue to address the important issues surrounding diversity in intercollegiate athletics."

Furthermore, the National Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference is assembling an impressive Advisory Board composed of distinguished individuals recognized for their leadership and/or athletic achievements. Among the current advisors are former pro basketball player and award-winning author, Mariah Burton Nelson; former National Baseball League umpire and author of the 1990 New York Time’s best-selling autobiography, Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball, Dave Pallone; and Triple Ironman World Champion and member of the USA Triathlon Team, Christopher Bergland.

Founder and Executive Director of the Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation, O. Mac Chinsomboon, holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management and is a management consultant. Moreover, Chinsomboon is a rower and avid sportsman.  "The idea came to me one day while rowing on the Charles River," said Chinsomboon. "I thought wouldn't it be nice if there were a conference that provided a forum for gay and lesbian athletes from around the world to share their stories and experiences."

About the Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation

Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation, Inc. is a 100% volunteer-staffed nonprofit organization based in Cambridge, MA. Through community facilitation, advocacy, and education, the foundation promotes acceptance and visibility of gays and lesbians in the professional, amateur, and recreational athletics communities. To this end, the organization is steadfast in its beliefs in recognition, understanding, and respect among all members of the athletics community regardless of their sexual orientation.

The Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation is organizing its first annual National Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference, scheduled for the spring of 2003 in Boston, Massachusetts. The conference aims to provide a forum for intellectual discussion, debate, and expression of the issues concerning gay and lesbian athletes.

For more information about the Gay & Lesbian Athletics Foundation and the first annual National Gay & Lesbian Athletics Conference, please visit www.gayconference.org or send inquiries to info@gayconference.org

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