Sport Commercials and Gender Disorder

My following blog will be based off of the " You Can Play Campaign" which can be found by following the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iAmUE3VazY

   I chose this commercial, because it shows the light side of sport that is often hidden, ignored and unrecognized by athletes, fans, players, and coaches. This commercial aired as part of the " You Can Play Campaign", a social activism campaign that is dedicated to eliminating homophobia in professional sports. It's slogan " If you can play, you can play, " is used to show support for LGBT athletes in all sports. This commercial specifically highlights the Bay Area's professional sports team, but the campaign spans across the nations and through all levels of professional, and collegiate athletics.

  I picked this commercial, specifically because there are no consequences. While many sport commercials show the manliness or aggression of some sports, this commercial highlights, I believe this commercial brings light to a very important, and real issue. Since the " You Can Play Campaign" was started in light of Brendan Burke's untimely death in 2009. Burke was the openly gay son of Hockey icon Brian Burke. Brian's supported his son from the day he came out to the day he died, and started the campaign in his memory shortly after. Burke was the closest person to the NHL to ever come out publicly.

By having the " You Can Play Campaign" backed by some of the nation's top athletes and coaches it sheds light on the issue, as well as brings hope to the current status of openly gay or lesbian athletes in sport. This commercial specifically focuses on top players and coaches on nearly all of the Bay Area's professional sports teams. Sports is a big stage and has a huge audience, so it is refreshing to see individuals use the mass amounts of media attention to shed light on an issue that has been surrounding sport for centuries.

While the commercial can be criticized for not having any female athletes, the Bay Area is not home to a big professional female sporting base, and the campaign does feature females athletes in other commercials.