The Boston Red Sox just announced they will be the third major pro sports team to make an It Gets Better video in support of bullied LGBT youth, following the San Francisco Giants, and the Chicago Cubs. The Red Sox noted the efforts of twelve-year old Sam Maden, who started a petition asking the Red Sox to make the video in honor of his deceased uncle. Maden’s petition reached nearly 10,000 signatures before the sox agreed. The It Get Better project was started by Dan Savage to fight anti-gay bullying and homophobia, and to help bullied LGBT youth see that it does, indeed, get better.
“We are proud of dedicated Red Sox fans like 12-year-old Sam Maden who have taken the courageous step of publicly standing up against bullying of LGBT youth,” said Susan Goodenow, Senior Vice President/Public Affairs and Marketing for the Red Sox, via a statement. “The Red Sox have frequently done PSA videos, or public service announcement videos, on important social issues. We are currently producing an “It Gets Better†video to support the It Gets Better campaign to stop bullying of LGBT youth and teen suicides. We hope that when it is released it will both reflect our continued commitment to be active participants in the community and help advance the efforts of Sam and others to stop bullying. Our team stands for respect and inclusion – there is no place for discrimination or acts of hatred in Red Sox Nation.”
For his part, Dan Savage writes,
“I think it’s great that MLB teams are jumping in and participating in the “It Gets Better” Project. It’s amazing and it’s going to make a huge difference. But for me and Terry—and for many of the LGBT kids we’ve heard from since launching the project—the most important IGB videos are still the ones created by average, everyday, ordinary LGBT adults. Videos created by politicians, corporations, pop stars, and sports teams are hugely valuable; they let LGBT kids know that the adult world is filled with straight people who are on their side. These videos let isolated, bullied, and abused LGBT kids know that mainstream Americans—unlike their peers, preachers, teachers, and, all too often, their own parents—are pro-gay, pro-tolerance, and welcoming. That huge. (Not all LGBT kids are bulled, abused, and isolated, I want to emphasize, but the IGBP was designed to reach out to those that are.)
“But the heart and soul of the project are still the videos created by ordinary LGBT adults—people you haven’t heard of—telling their stories, offering advice, sharing their coping strategies, and, in the comments threads and via their YouTube accounts, offering many LGBT kids something they’ve never had before: the ear of a sympathetic adult who understands exactly what they’re going through.
“Don’t get me wrong: I’m thrilled by the participation of the Giants, the Red Sox, and the Cubs. (I’m ecstatic about the participation of the Cubbies!) But I don’t want the excitement about each new high-profile IGB contribution to obscure the real heroes of the IGB movement: the tens of thousands of average, ordinary LGBT people out there—LGBT people of all ages, races, faiths, and backgrounds—who are reaching out and speaking to LGBT kids.”
There are also petitions for both the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees to make It Gets Better videos.