When Florida Agenda founder and CEO Bobby Blair and I were finalizing edits on his autobiography — Hiding Inside the Baseline — one nagging question persisted: Would an out Bobby Blair today be allowed to coach a youth program at the United States Tennis Association (USTA)?
When Blair was hiding inside the baseline and the closet in the 1980s and ‘90s, he was sure the answer would have been “no.” But when I asked D.A. Abrams, Chief Diversity Officer at the USTA, about today’s climate, his answer was an unequivocal “yes.” In fact, he went even further. “We would be 100% fine with that,” he said. “In fact, if we weren’t, I personally would have an issue with that.”
As the director of the USTA’s Diversity Department — which encourages and promotes racial diversity as well as LGBT participation — Abrams is a natural advocate. He grew up “playing tennis in the inner city as a young African American kid,” he recalled. But while he is no stranger to breaking down barriers, he feels tennis is largely an accepting environment. And, to that end, he is determined that the USTA “walk the talk.” His department proactively engages tennis clubs and associations to reach out to minorities and to the LGBT community. The USTA even provides a tailored handbook offering specific tools for that purpose.
When I asked USTA President, Katrina Adams the same question about hiring a gay tennis coach for the association’s youth programs, her answer, as befits her position, was more politically non-committal. “We hire coaches for their teaching skills,” she said. Adams, like Abrams, is African American and personifies diversity — she is the youngest, first black woman and first ex-professional player to hold the post of USTA President.
But would she hire an out gay coach for juniors, I persisted? “I can’t say whether we would or wouldn’t,” Adams replied. “That’s more a parent issue than for us.”
No active male touring pro is currently out anyway, so the question, at least on the men’s side, remains moot for now. But what is clear is that the USTA has made a proactive commitment to encourage LGBT participation in tennis, whether integrated into the game in general or by promoting events specifically geared toward LGBT players.
It’s not all pure benevolence, although Abrams is emphatic that the central reason for bringing more LGBT players into the game is a fundamental one. “It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “Everyone should have the opportunity to be part of tennis. You can play for life, from eight to 80, able or disabled.” However, there’s a business-savvy reason, too.
“LGBT couples on average make at least $20,000 more annually than heterosexual couples,” said Abrams, pointing to an intriguing statistic. “That’s a big deal.” Consequently, said Abrams, “if you actively encourage the LGBT community, they can afford professional tennis events and the stuff that goes along with tennis. From a business standpoint it makes good sense to include and engage LGBT folks.”
This played out quite nicely at four professional tournaments last year that agreed, on the USTA’s initiative, to screen the documentary “Queens at Court” about gay tennis players, and build an event around it with which to draw in LGBT spectators.
At the USTA’s initiative, the documentary “Queens at Court,” a documentary about gay tennis players, was screened during four professional tournaments last year, in an effort to draw in LGBT spectators.
The USTA also created a new category for its non-professional adult tournaments — same gender couples’ doubles. The first event was held in March 2015 in Palm Springs, CA, and more events quickly spawned from there. Adams heralded this initiative as “an idea whose time has come. We look forward to offering more same-gender events as part of our efforts to make tennis more accessible to more people,” she said.
The USTA also sponsors the U.S. tournaments held by the international Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance (GLTA) whose mission is to “provide an open, safe, inclusive space and community that is committed to promoting and developing amateur tennis in the LGBT Community.”
Here in Washington, DC, these fall under the auspices of the Capital Tennis Association. When I spoke to one member, Quang Nguyen, during the June Capital Pride Festival where both the CTA and the USTA had booths, he expressed the widely-held belief that it is easier to be out in an individual sport like tennis than a team sport.
“It’s kind of fun to be colorful and just be yourself on the court, try to be fun and quirky and not worry about being discriminated against,” Nguyen said. “It’s just a fun community to play tennis with people who share similar interests.”
Nguyen feels that tennis, as an individual sport that has always embraced and even promoted individuality and difference — think Andre Agassi’s bleached hair and acid-washed tennis shorts — can lead the way on openness in the sports environment. “I think even a lot of straight tennis players embrace their gay families so yes I think tennis can lead the way,” he said. He added: “I think in general LGBT acceptance has been growing around the world so hopefully that will translate into professional sports sometime soon.”
Even still, it was not easy early on. Billie Jean King has achieved legendary status today both on and off the court but her involuntary outing in 1981 by a scorned lover cost her millions in lost income. Martina Navratilova came out at the height of her career, but her choice was not without its downside. She told reporters in a phone press conference earlier this year that while her decision benefitted her game and peace of mind, she had to endure a barrage of criticism and, like King, lost millions in sponsorships.
“I don’t know what the issue is,” said Abrams when asked why no male touring pros are out. “I’m an LGBT ally so it’s easy for me to say I think it’s OK to come out but it’s not me doing it. I don’t think it will be an issue. It will just take one to make the others feel comfortable.”
Top ten tennis stars, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, agree, and are on the record as saying a gay player on the men’s pro tour would be accepted without problem. American tennis pros Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish have joined Athlete Ally, a nonprofit that “provides public awareness campaigns, educational programming and tools and resources to foster inclusive sports communities.”
Roddick is also on the advisory board of King’s newly-formed BJK Leadership Initiative, that was “created to address the critical issues required to achieve inclusive leadership that will lead to significant changes in how women and men operate in the world.”
That world, Adams says, “is very different.” Which is why the USTA is able to embrace diversity so fully, but not, as Adams points out, merely as a program. “It is a department and part of our core values,” she said. The department will continue to grow, Adams added, until “we are what America looks like.”
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