Allegations of harassment, abuse, transphobia emerge within 'You Can Play'

You Can Play has become a name synonymous with promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport. Teams and athletes from across the globe, specifically in hockey, have participated in the You Can Play Project, filming videos, speaking words of affirmation and purporting allyship. As the You Can Play website claims, the organization has a mission “to challenge the culture of locker rooms and spectator areas by developing a culture of respect, in every player, coach and fan.”

Those values, however, recently came into question after an April 2020 memo, sent to You Can Play’s executive board, staff and board of advisors by former director Sarah Kogod alleging serious issues within the organization. Kogod’s memo, which was obtained by Yahoo Sports from an outside source, reports alleged incidents of sexual harassment, gender discrimination, verbal abuse, transphobic behavior, and unethical spending and financial mismanagement by You Can Play staff, spokespeople and board members.

The memo provides case studies to represent what Kogod calls “dozens” of issues. One such case study outlines a 2019 incident in Australia involving a You Can Play spokesperson who sent unsolicited nude photos to a local host and allegedly sexually harassed two partners of the organization. “Not only was it a violation of You Can Play’s expectation of professional conduct, it was illegal and a direct contribution to rape culture,” Kogod wrote in the memo.

The same individual, one month later at a collaborative event between the NHL and You Can Play, allegedly “verbally abused a female staff member,” with the alleged abuse being documented to the executive board in September 2019. Kogod brought up You Can Play’s board multiple times in the memo, stating the individual in question remained a spokesperson for the organization and continued hosting events “despite the board’s direct knowledge of sexual harassment and verbal abuse.”

Included in Kogod’s memo is a handwritten apology letter from the You Can Play spokesperson involved in the alleged incidents, outlining their self proclaimed “casual sexism,” “internalized homophobia,” “toxic masculinity” and “tasteless, intrusive message,” which they referred to as “disgusting.”

While You Can Play acknowledged the incident in Australia when contacted for comment about the memo, they denied the bulk of the claims outlined in the document.

“We dispute most of what is in the memo and flatly reject the allegations,” current You Can Play executive director Kurt Weaver, who was not with the organization during the alleged incidents, wrote in an email. “Regarding the memo itself, we acknowledge there was an incident in Australia, but involved no verbal abuse, sexual harassment or anything to do with rape culture. There were issues with how both individuals handled themselves over the next several months and no one was without sin.”

Weaver called Kogod “an ex-contractor writing an axe-to-grind memo after their departure.” The memo was sent April 17, 2020, while Kogod was still serving as director. Her contract expired in May 2020.

“The memo in question was a deliverable under that contract, and was one of several written memos and communications to the You Can Play board over the course of those 14 months,” Kogod said in a statement. “This particular memo was delivered to the board in advance of their April 2020 board meeting for potential discussion during that meeting. It reflected the already well documented observations and experiences of the staff, and was vetted by executive leadership before being delivered to You Can Play's board and founders.”

“Our staff, board and operations do not resemble any part of that memo and our new staff has dug deep into advocacy in a fresh and unique approach,” Weaver wrote in an email.

According to a former You Can Play staff member who wished to remain anonymous, however, they assert the content of the memo to be factual. In relation to the allegations of verbal abuse, this staff member described several incidents they directly witnessed involving executives and founders partaking in “heated arguments,” “screaming” and “yelling” during internal meetings at staff and volunteers, and at outside partners and organizations.

Similarly, a former regional board member interviewed regarding You Can Play’s culture, who also wished to remain anonymous, said part of their experience involved what they called “censorship” by You Can Play leadership.

“There was censoring of what we could and could not say in the media,” the former board volunteer said. “Not welcomed to say things like, ‘hockey has a homophobia problem, but we’re working on it.’ They never wanted to point to the negative, and morally that isn’t OK.”

The former staffer also brought up similar concerns related to the direction the board was moving, specifically as it related to the exclusion of trans people and instructions to change messaging to focus more on allies.

“The board got really angry that we weren’t including allies enough, they got really upset and almost wanted to change the entire direction of You Can Play to only focus on allies rather than uplifting the LGBTQ+ community itself,” the former staffer said.

Kogod’s memo also outlined alleged transphobia. In one instance, as multiple sources described, a board member questioned if they should refer to a trans person as “it.”

In one instance, as described by the former staff member, one of the founders of the organization “raised his voice pretty loudly in a conversation about more trans inclusive programming. He was upset because he believed we needed to focus more on the LGB portion of LGBTQ+.”

Weaver, however, denies transphobia within the organization. “I’m not sure where the questions of transphobia and gender discrimination are coming from and the allegations are flatly false,” he wrote. “You Can Play weighs into trans athlete issues and works to protect trans athletes in several ways, including helping our current partners draft their transathlete policies and access processes.”

Kogod’s memo, however, alleged that these issues not only existed, but resulted in members of the organization regularly leaving You Can Play.

“There have been several other instances of gender discrimination and verbal abuse of staff and partners by board members that have been outlined in conversations with the executive director,” Kogod’s memo said. “That the organization’s revolving door consists almost solely of women, people of color and transgender people indicates that these behaviors have not been isolated to just the past year.”

While departing the organization themself, the staff member who spoke about the memo and their experiences at You Can Play sent an email describing some of the issues to a founding member. Yahoo was sent a copy of this email, which read, “I have repeatedly heard that we need to focus more on allies, in our work make sure we are highlighting allies, and our future is in the allies. While I know allies are hugely important, I am also heartbroken at the thought of us not highlighting LGBTQ+ athletes and continuing to elevate the community.” They claimed, for example, You Can Play leadership asked them to remove rainbows from promotions and to “focus on ally month instead of pride.”

While the memo and former staff member and board volunteer spoke of organizational issues and questioned outcomes, they also stressed the importance of You Can Play’s mission.

“The education and awareness parts are necessary, and can create change,” the former staff member said of You Can Play’s original goals. “In the same breath, it’s performative, it’s a lot of photo ops, it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. Their outcomes are so removed from their objectives. I am concerned about the way they operate at the top levels.”

Kogod’s original memo also emphasized the importance of You Can Play’s goals in breaking barriers for LGBTQ+ individuals in sport, but voiced concern over the direction of the organization.

“Access to sports fosters better mental health, builds stronger talent pipelines, and lowers suicide rates,” she wrote. “To continue on the current path would put the future of this organization at risk, and would deny the most vulnerable athletes in our community the opportunity they deserve to thrive.”

As Weaver says, he does not believe the allegations within the memo to be true then, or now. He believes You Can Play has changed since that memo and is working to create inclusivity in sport.

“The organization outlined in the memo from a past contractor does not represent the organization then or now, and we pride ourselves on our transparent approach to our advocacy and our focused approach to our operations and mission,” he wrote. “You Can Play was born from a place of inclusivity and that will always be the focus of our work.”

More from Yahoo Sports