Original image courtesy of Sky Sports
Playing for Pride
by Adam McCabe
With the rise of social media over the past decade, professional sports have seen a dramatic shift in terms of the athlete’s voice. Athletes have begun to understand the influence of social media and its ability to voice their opinions on social matters. With their large followings and ability to be seen by millions of people, athletes are understanding that they can play a crucial role in shaping our nation. They are conversation starters, social justice challengers, and all in all outright thinkers. What we are beginning to see is more and more athletes using social media to express their opinions and using their platforms to support initiatives that are important to them.
We have seen this rise in social activism in the National Basketball Association and National Football League. I cannot recall how many athletes in both leagues voiced their concerns over police brutality after the Trayvon Martin tragedy.
But what about soccer athletes? Where are our biggest stars? Compared to the likes of NBA and NFL athletes, it seems we rarely hear them speak out. Is this because (especially here in the USA) soccer is on the bottom of the totem pole in terms of media and television coverage? Perhaps. Is it because NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball stars have larger followings and more opportunities to address larger audiences. Perhaps.
Sure, there are league-wide initiatives forced onto soccer players. Sure, occasionally Major League Soccer or even the English Premier League will ask its athletes to wear a special warm up shirt supporting an initiative or organization. But there has been a real lack of powerful, outright, and outspoken soccer players addressing social issues. However, two years ago I got my first glance at the pendulum beginning to change.
Enter Austin da Luz from North Carolina. Austin, a current player on the USL team North Carolina FC, started what is now one of the hottest and well-known player driven social initiatives to date (in soccer), Playing for Pride.
Austin has seen over 100 athletes commit to his initiative and has successfully grown the program internationally and across all divisions of soccer in the United States. So, what is Playing for Pride and how did it begin?
If you look at the homepage of Playing for Pride’s website, you see a list of athletes who have committed to this initiative for their season. And if you look at that list you’ll see me, Adam McCabe. I caught wind of Playing for Pride very early on in its life and immediately knew it was for me.
Photo: Victoria Klum Media / Prost Amerika
Especially being an out-soccer player, I felt like this was something I had to be a part of. It enabled me to connect with other out athletes and helped me promote visibility for the LGBT community in sports. If you continue scrolling through this list you will see a couple of professional athletes from my home town MLS team, Atlanta United. Michael Parkhurst (team captain) and Lagos Kunga (homegrown talent) are the two athletes that represent themselves and Atlanta United in this initiative.
Now I represent the amateur/semi-professional tier of athletes in this initiative. This is something I am a part of because it is a part of me, that is my community, and this is something I’m an advocate for.
But when you examine heterosexual professional athletes who will play at the highest level of soccer in the United States, it is amazing to hear why they have become an ally for this particular battle.
As Jalen Robinson, current DC United defender and active participant of Playing for Pride stated,
“I think it is important to support the LGBTQ community because I think in sports sometimes, well not sometimes but a lot of the times they are systematically oppressed and the name of the game is inclusion and fair play. I think it shouldn’t matter who you are or how you express yourself you should always be included in the sport.
“That is the great thing about this sport and I think it is important to support this community and Playing for Pride is a good time to start and get their cause out there and have people know that fair play and inclusion matters. Not just for that community but for all”.
The growth of Playing for Pride for Pride since its first year has been incredible.
So much so, that now even soccer fans are getting involved. Footie Mob and All Stripes are two distinguished supporters groups of Atlanta United. Both groups wanted to give back during Pride Month, and thus a fundraiser page was set up in the name of both Atlanta United athletes.
Members of each supporters group can donate money to each player’s page/initiative. At the end of June, all donations collected will be evenly distributed between both athletes, helping them achieve their goals. Not only has Playing for Pride struck a chord with players, it has enabled fans to give back and be involved. Playing for Pride is a fantastic player ran initiative that is combating a major social issue in sports.
Photo: Victoria Klum Media/Prost Amerika
Hopefully it helps motivates other soccer players to use their platform for social change and good. We caught up with Austin to hear his story on why he decided to combat homophobia in football and what his plans are for the future of this initiative. That interview will be posted on Prost Amerika this weekend.
