October 10, 2018
SSI explores "Equality in Athletics"
The Sports and Society Initiative was honored to host an exceptional night of dialogue and introspection Oct. 4 regarding "Equality in Athletics," as it relates to the LGBTQ community.
The event, which attracted more than 70 people to the Journalism Building, was moderated by Shaun Richard of the Ohio State Athletic Department and featured some of the foremost voices on the topic.
The evening started with a welcome from Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith, followed by an inspirational presentation from Harrison Browne, a professional ice hockey player for the Metropolitan Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League and the Buffalo Beauts, who was was assigned female at birth but has lived publicly as a man since 2016 and is one of the first openly transgender athletes in professional sport.
After his talk, Browne joined a discussion on equality issues in athletics with:
- Anne Lieberman, director of policy at Athlete Ally;
- Marshall Troxell, a field and policy organizer with Equality Ohio;
- Ohio State women's lacrosse coach Alexis Venechanos;
- Gymnast Joey Bonnano, who in 2017 came out as openly gay, and;
- Marscilla Packer, one of the greatest women’s basketball players in central Ohio and Ohio State history.
The complete event can be reviewed here:
