Here’s some good off-the-field news on the football front. The San Francisco 49ers recently became the first NFL team to record a video for the It Gets Better Project.
The football 49ers follow in the footsteps of the city’s baseball Giants, who were the first MLB team to make an “It Gets Better” video as well. Both teams were urged to do so in part by Sean Chapin, a Bay Area sports fan who gathered up to 16,000 signatures to urge his favorite teams to make their respective videos (an impressive feat of individual sports activism, especially for an era so dominated by the interests of big-time television contracts and corporate sponsorship).
Maybe it isn’t surprising that teams from the Bay Area would take the lead on the issue of gay rights, but they are important and noteworthy first steps nonetheless. It’s always easier not to do anything than to do something.
The San Francisco Giants were soon followed by other baseball teams that filmed videos, including the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs. Hopefully, the noble actions of the 49ers wil inspire other football teams to unequivocally say no to bullying, and yes to supporting LGBT youth.
