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Argonauts' You Can Play Game, CFL presence in TO Pride Parade are big steps
When it comes to promoting equality and participation in sports regardless of sexual orientation, the CFL and the Toronto Argonauts are putting their money and their time where their mouth is. The strong pro-equality comments we've seen from everyone from players, coaches and executives to commissioner Jeffrey Orridge are quite valuable in their own right, as are previous actions the league has taken such as You Can Play trainings for teams and staffers, partnerships and events in each team's community, and the launch of CFL/You Can Play apparel. However, Sunday saw this taken to perhaps yet another level with two key events: Orridge, CFL and Argos' staffers (as well as Argos' defensive tackle Brian Bulcke) marching in the Toronto Pride Parade as part of the Canadian sport community's #OneTeam initiative, and the Argonauts announcing that their Wednesday, July 13 home game against the Ottawa Redblacks will be "You Can Play Night." Here are the key details on that event:
The Toronto Argonauts are proud to announce that they have teamed up with the You Can Play Project to host a You Can Play themed game on Wednesday, July 13 against the Ottawa REDBLACKS at BMO Field. The game will promote equality, respect and safety for all athletes and fans, without regard to sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
This will mark the first time a professional sports team in Canada has hosted a You Can Play game.
“We are proud to use one of our games to promote this very important cause,” said Michael Copeland, Argos President & CEO. “The Argos are deeply rooted within the Toronto community, and we welcome everyone to be a part of the Argos family.”
The Argos’ You Can Play game will feature the singing of our national anthem by Forte, Toronto’s gay men’s chorus and a special guest to perform the ceremonial coin toss. The recently launched Argos You Can Play merchandise line will be available for purchase in the stadium with 25% of proceeds being donated to You Can Play’s work within Canada.
The Argos are also making a special ticketing offer for this game. For every $30 ticket sold using the code ‘YCPARGOS’, six dollars will be donated to the You Can Play Project to help fund their initiatives in Canada.
What stands out about the Argonauts doing a whole game in partnership with You Can Play is that it makes the message of equality and acceptance much harder to ignore. Positive comments from players are useful, as are community events, but some of the interest in those is from people who already subscribe to this message, and many Argonauts' and CFL fans may not have heard about the league's work with You Can Play (or about that organization's pro-equality work in general). Turning a whole home game into a You Can Play Night is a big step, and one that should help spread this message further. The ticketing offer is a big deal, too; that's 20 per cent of the ticket price, and that could translate to significant funding for You Can Play and their work in Canada.
The idea to do a whole You Can Play Night also seems to fit with what YCP executive director Wade Davis told 55-Yard Line last month. Davis said he hoped the CFL would intentionally move towards promoting equality and safe spaces in the stands, not just on the field:
"We've had a lot of conversations about how do they handle fans," he said. "Do you, before every game, have an announcement that is intentional about fans, that this is a safe space for all individuals to show up and that includes individuals that are LGBT? If there was one thing that I would love the CFL to do, and I know that there are conversations about that, it is to be intentional about before games, using the language of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Getting people to actually hear those actual words is a very different thing from saying that this is an open and accessible space for all individuals. I think that that's the next step the league is going towards. ...I think that's the next step the league needs to take, being much more intentional about lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. Then people start to actually associate the fact that there are these individuals within the CFL."
This may or may not involve as fully-intentional language as Davis would like, and it's just one game, not every game, but a You Can Play Night sure looks like a big step forward on the front of getting fans to realize there are LGBTQ fans, staffers and possibly even players within the CFL, and a step towards making it a safe and comfortable environment for them. The apparel line is big there, too, helping to get this cause out and on people's minds both at CFL games and away from them, and the financial contributions to You Can Play from apparel and ticket sales here matter as well. The significant CFL representation in Sunday's Toronto Pride Parade is also important; several CFL teams and players have participated in Pride Parades before, and Orridge marched in last year's in Toronto as well, but the level of commitment here is another reminder that this is a key priority for the league. This year's parade and the You Can Play Night are big steps, and they may just be the first of many.
