Notre Dame "has stepped to the forefront of the movement to assure respect for gay athletes," as the school's athletic department "released a two-minute video voicing support for the You Can Play Project, which advocates equality and respect for all athletes," according to Hersh & St. Clair of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Reps from all 26 Notre Dame sports teams "participated in the effort." There "appear to be no concerns about the video clashing with the Catholic Church’s teachings on gay rights." You Can Play co-Founder Patrick Burke said that having the school "join the approximately 50 universities that have made similar videos is especially significant." Burke: "We can’t ignore the fact this is the nation’s pre-eminent Catholic university, which has a mixed history of LGBT inclusion, stepping up and officially endorsing treating their LGBT athletes with dignity and respect. It’s a huge, huge statement on behalf of the Catholic community and the school itself to acknowledge that what we do is directly in line with Catholic teaching." The two athletes who "initiated the production, tennis player Matt Dooley of New Braunfels, Texas and rower Olivia Kacsits of Rockford, Mich., both reiterate in the video the 'out athlete' status each previously had made public." Burke: "They put a human face on this. This is not ... generic." Georgetown "made a similar video in November, though none of the athletes featured identified themselves as gay" (
CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 5/10).
