{"id":1832,"date":"2018-10-03T12:00:43","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T16:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/?p=1832"},"modified":"2018-10-23T08:06:44","modified_gmt":"2018-10-23T12:06:44","slug":"coming-out-against-heckling-and-discrimination-on-the-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/coming-out-against-heckling-and-discrimination-on-the-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Coming Out against Heckling and Discrimination on the Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a Hatter tennis player, Graham Ball sometimes stepped onto the court with added stress and anxiety.<\/p>\n

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\"portrait\"<\/p>\n

Graham Ball, \u201917 Philosophy, wrote a letter urging the NCAA to do more to protect collegiate athletes from heckling and taunting based on their perceived sexual orientation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He worried fans or other athletes would heckle him during matches and shout out slurs based on how they perceived his sexual orientation. If they did, he would need \u201can incredible amount of focus\u201d to play his best.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was targeted a lot and it was not routine like every match, but it was something I had to worry about,\u201d he said recently. \u201cIt was something that was consistently in the back of my mind that caused me stress and anxiety as I was walking on the court to play matches. Okay, how are the fans going to behave? How are my opponents going to behave?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Before graduating from Stetson University last May, the once-closeted captain of the Men\u2019s Tennis Team decided to speak out. With encouragement from several of his professors in the Philosophy and English departments, as well as officials in Athletics and the Title IX Office, he wrote and asked the NCAA to adopt a \u201cNo Tolerance Policy\u201d for heckling and intimidation of character.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my cases, I often was the target of harmful comments aimed to induce fear or diminish character based on perceived sexual orientation,\u201d Ball wrote to the NCAA\u2019s Office of Diversity and Inclusion last May. \u201cAs a closeted gay student-athlete, these comments bear tremendous weight on my personal life, and I do not believe that they should have a place in any sport etiquette.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ball is taking off a gap year at home in Montreal, Quebec, before starting law school. But he has not given up his efforts to create a safer space for athletes. Last month, he wrote an article for\u00a0Outsports.com<\/a>\u00a0about his experiences and outlined his recommendations to the governing body for collegiate sports.<\/p>\n

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Graham Ball said he has received an outpouring of support from current and former collegiate athletes across America and Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI do think that the sports world is relatively behind society in terms of speaking out against things like discrimination and slurs. I think my experiences in college, studying philosophy helped me largely to see that,\u201d he said by phone from Canada. \u201cI was exposed to issues of gender, race, sexual orientation, ethics, social justice and I was able to connect that to my life as an athlete. Growing up in tennis, I never really noticed these problems up until college.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The NCAA opposes discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, as well as race, ability, national origin and religious belief, according to\u00a0its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a\u00a0Statement of Affirmation<\/a>\u00a0by the NCAA LGBTQ Subcommittee, the association acknowledged that LGBTQ student-athletes, coaches and administrators \u201ctoo often endure social stigma and emotional trauma on the court, in the classroom, and in the workplace.\u201d But the association said it celebrates their \u201ccourage and fortitude\u201d and encourages everyone to speak out against all forms of prejudice.<\/p>\n

Ball, in his letter to the NCAA, said the environment at many tennis matches did not reflect the association\u2019s stance against discrimination. \u201cIn my view, much more should be done to amend this problem,\u201d he wrote to the NCAA.<\/p>\n

Ball recommended the NCAA take a firmer stand against heckling, such as requiring more oversight of the crowd and athletes to prevent taunting based on sexual orientation or gender expression. Ball said more oversight is needed because he sometimes complained about heckling at tennis matches, but the \u201cofficials brushed off my concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Graham is a man of character,\u201d said Cathy Downes, Stetson\u2019s executive director and Title IX coordinator. \u201cI applaud his willingness to confront gender and sexual orientation discrimination in a sport he loves, especially understanding the personal risk associated with speaking up. Personal integrity is what allows his voice to resonate through the NCAA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Stetson Athletics Director Jeff Altier, \u201cIn my eyes this is leadership and I am proud that a Stetson education and leadership training from the athletic department, coaches and staff\u00a0has provided Graham with a foundation that allows him to move his advocacy forward. I applaud Graham for taking a position and for sharing his experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ball said the letter to the NCAA was \u201ca group effort\u201d at Stetson. He met first with Assistant Professor Melinda Hall and Associate Professor Susan Peppers-Bates in the Philosophy Department, and Visiting Assistant Professor Michele Randall\u00a0in the English Department. \u201cThat\u2019s something I\u2019m incredibly appreciative of because if I hadn\u2019t been supported by the professors I don\u2019t think that I would have had the strength to continue,\u201d Ball added.<\/p>\n

He also met with Jeff Altier and PJ Moses, associate athletics director for Student Services, and both were equally as supportive. They helped him craft the letter to the NCAA, along with Downes in Stetson\u2019s Title IX Office.<\/p>\n

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\"Graham<\/p>\n

Graham Ball currently is taking a gap year and plans to enroll in law school this fall. He has been volunteering regularly for the West Island LGBTQ2+ Youth Centers in Montreal, teaching adaptive tennis for ProSet Autism, and has spent time working for the Instagram account: @lgbt_history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe reason I decided to speak up about this issue in my senior year was following the presidential election, the person who got into office, the climate that was exposed following the election made me realize that I want to contribute as much as possible to give him a counter to what the current norms are,\u201d Ball explained. \u201cI felt that coming out was incredibly important for sharing my story and having my voice heard in a meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since then, he has been surprised by the outpouring of support from former collegiate athletes and current athletes across the United States and Canada, and as far away as Spain.<\/p>\n

Although the NCAA has yet to adopt his recommendations, Ball said he plans to continue his advocacy. He is still deciding on which law school to attend this fall, including possibly Stetson College of Law in Gulfport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will tell you that I have received attention from two tennis companies who are wanting to feature me, too, and want to partner with me on this issue so that\u2019s very promising and we\u2019re going to pursue this to the full extent that we can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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What is Title IX?
\n<\/strong>Title IX is a federal law that protects people from gender-based or sex-based harassment, discrimination and violence in an educational institution. Stetson University strives to be a safe place, free from harassment and discrimination of any kind, said Cathy Downes, executive director and Title IX coordinator at Stetson.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The university has people and resources in place to resolve concerns that are reported to the university, and Downes said she wants to assure the Stetson Community that these reports are responded to in a respectful, empathic and effective way.<\/p>\n

For more information about Title IX policies, procedures and resources, go to\u00a0https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/other\/title-ix\/<\/a>. To report an incident, contact Cathy Downes at 386-822-7960, email\u00a0titleix@stetson.edu<\/a>\u00a0or go to\u00a0https:\/\/www.stetson.edu\/other\/title-ix\/reporting-options.php<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Students interested in this work can help the Peer Advisory Council for Title IX (PACT) by contacting Downes at\u00a0cdownes@stetson.edu<\/a>. Stetson employees can participate in workshops and training like \u201cSafe Zone\u201d training through the Office of Diversity & Inclusion, or \u201cI\u2019m Not Trained for This!\u201d workshops through the Title IX Office.<\/p>\n

First reported on March 9, 2018 at\u00a0Stetson Today<\/a> by Cory Lancaster<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a Hatter tennis player, Graham Ball sometimes stepped onto the court with added stress and anxiety. Graham Ball, \u201917 Philosophy, wrote a letter urging the NCAA to do more to protect collegiate athletes from heckling and taunting based on their perceived sexual orientation. He worried fans or other athletes would heckle him during matches … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Coming Out against Heckling and Discrimination on the Court”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spotlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1832"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1932,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1832\/revisions\/1932"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}