Football, Bullying and LGBT Diversity – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

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The blog is loaded with links! Do explore them!

As a career and diversity consultant, a gay man, and a sports lover, I can’t avoid blogging about all the recent bullying and gay oriented news that has emerged in football (that’s US Football for you global readers) news over the past few days.

THE GOOD: University of Missouri All-American defensive end and proud gay man Michael Sam in the Reeses Senior Bowl (photo - CNN)

THE GOOD: University of Missouri All-American defensive end and proud gay man Michael Sam in the Reeses Senior Bowl (photo – CNN)


I have an eclectic collection of favorite sports – I enjoy watching men’s college football, women’s college basketball, figure skating (haven’t the Olympics skaters been fantastic?), and now golf since my youngest niece is about to start college on a women’s golf scholarship.

Before jumping into the recent football discussions, here are two past blogs I have written covering sports and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) diversity.
• Last month, I published “A Rant -The 2014 Olympics, Stereotyping and Prejudice,” since there are so many misconceptions about the extremely demanding and athletic sport of figure skating. And combine that with all the brouhaha around LGBT acceptance and Russia’s new draconian laws.
• And last May, I wrote about “Five Important Ramifications of NBA Pro Basketball Player Jason Collin’s Coming Out.”

AND NOW THE GOOD: Earlier that week, University of Missouri All-American defensive end Michael Sam publically said he was an “openly, proud gay man.” What is groundbreaking with this pronouncement is that Michael Sam is about to start his pro-football career and took the risk of making this announcement before the football draft, when teams select their new players from the top graduating college standouts. This demonstrates the deep integrity of Michael Sam in being authentic about who he is and valuing his own self worth and identity above the financial ramifications of the draft. (link to longer ESPN story.)

A majority of the response has been positive with many pro teams and college football coaches confirming that nurturing diversity and fostering respect for every individual is a great goal and will build a stronger team. Check out this poignant and brilliant two minute response from an older straight white Texan sportscaster (link) who reminds us that not so many years ago, people spoke about not being comfortable with black players in the football locker rooms. And Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman says “he is not concerned about the extra attention that would come from drafting Sam.” (link to Star Tribune article.) Obviously, Spielman is more concerned about collecting the best players and building the strongest team.

THE BAD: Stanford University Graduate and Miami Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin was the recipient of malicious, harmful bullying. (Photo: browardpalmbeach.com)

THE BAD: Stanford University Graduate and Miami Dolphins tackle Jonathan Martin was the recipient of malicious, harmful bullying. (Photo: browardpalmbeach.com)


AND THE BAD AND UGLY: And meanwhile the shocking additional revelations about the bullying episode on the Miami Dolphins team between guard Richie Incognito and tackle Jonathan Martin. This extreme inhuman bullying which included players threatening to rape Jonathan’s sister, now extends to additional perpetrators and victims, with racial slurs along with the homophobic bullying. (Link to detailed AP story.) See also my blog about the psychology of bullying where I discuss the harmful ramifications of this scourge.

OK – enough on this. Time to get busy preparing and sending a diversity and sensitivity training proposal to the Miami Dolphins. (See my blog about training security guards after an unfortunate incident.) They sure need to learn the lesson that most American businesses have learned long ago – that building a diverse team that fosters mutual acceptance and appreciates each party’s unique talents and attributes wins in the long run.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

Link to Blog: Five Common Misconceptions about Gay People

Link to Blog: Five Things Never to Say to a Gay Person

A Blog for Black History Month – Featuring the National Black MBA Association Raleigh-Durham Chapter “Leaders of Tomorrow” (NBMBAA RDU LOT) Program

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Blog writer Stan C. Kimer meets LOT participant Isaiah Forte-Rose, an 11th grader at Middle Creek High School, a budding talented entrepreneur who is already building a Custom Tee-Shirts and Graphic Design / Videography business

Blog writer Stan C. Kimer meets LOT participant Isaiah Forte-Rose, an 11th grader at Middle Creek High School, a budding talented entrepreneur who is already building a Custom Tee-Shirts and Graphic Design / Videography business


As both diversity and a career / talent development consultant, I seek innovative programs in those areas and am always willing to assist and present at community activities to support diversity and talent development efforts. In this blog for Black History Month (link) (February in the USA and Canada), I would like to introduce an excellent program focusing on development of emerging talent – the “Leaders of Tomorrow” Program.

The NBMBAA RDU LOT program (link) is part of a national network of middle and high school students and distinguished professionals who focus on empowering African American students by challenging, stimulating and teaching them to grow in leadership and professional development. The effort is administered, coordinated and financially supported by the local chapters of the National Black MBA Association, whose overall goal is leading in the creation of educational opportunities and economic growth for African Americans.

I first connected with our local NBMBAA RDU chapter (link) when I met their volunteer VP of Operations and LOT Program Director, Mr. Marion Johnson, at a local event for business leaders sponsored by the Triangle Business Journal (link to blog about that event – African American local business leader and General Manager at Biogen Idec, Machelle Sanders, presented a fantastic overview of key leadership attributes.)

Blog writer Stan C. Kimer presenting "Leading in a Diverse World" at the December 2013 LOT monthly session

Blog writer Stan C. Kimer presenting “Leading in a Diverse World” at the December 2013 LOT monthly session


After meeting Marion, he invited me to the annual NBMBAA RDU-LOT Fundraiser and Gala where they introduced the participants of that year’s LOT program, celebrated the successes of the Program and held an awards
ceremony for the students. I was so impressed by this work. Truly, all of us need to support activities that help build a diverse pipeline of excellent leaders – it is only by providing strong encouragement and excellent resources across all segments of our society can we truly reach our full potential for economic development.

This past December, I was invited to be a workshop presenter at the NBMBAA RDU LOT December meeting. I presented “Leading in a Diverse World” highlighting how the best leaders will understand the full spectrum of diversity and realize that leveraging the diversity within groups and teams will lead to the best results and maximum productivity from each participant. These students were sharp and attentive and I look forward to seeing them in the future as our community and business leaders.

I along with over 40 LOT participants and parents listen intently to the first speaker on

I along with over 40 LOT participants and parents listen intently to the first speaker on “Effective Communication Skills” at the Saturday, December 14th LOT session


In addition to having these workshop sessions one Saturday per month, the NBMBAA RDU LOT program also selects and prepares five students to represent the RDU Chapter at the National Business Case Competition where LOT programs from around the country develop and showcase their proposed solutions to a real business issue. In preparation for the competition the students are taught advanced math, critical thinking, analytical skills, writing, research, and public speaking skills, financial projection development and plan implementation. In 2013, they placed 3rd in the nation, winning a $5,000 scholarship. As part of my diversity presentation, I emphasized how building their team with a diverse group with various experiences, talents and backgrounds could lead a stronger overall competitive solution- much as in the real business world!

To close, I encourage every reader of this blog to look for ways they can participate and have an impact somewhere in their community to help foster diverse leaders for tomorrow.