Florida Agenda

FORT LAUDERDALE – Former federal prosecutor Chris Mancini’s campaign to unseat the current Broward State Attorney—who was first elected to the office in 1976, the year Jimmy Carter was elected president—takes on a new dimension tomorrow, when the candidate officially qualifies for his run for office, and his name goes on the ballot.

Mancini, a criminal attorney and former litigator with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, says that a major part of his election strategy with be support from Broward’s large gay community. “I have served the LGBTQ community with Pride for over a decade,” says Mancini. “I understand the importance and needs of this community, and also realize their potential power and influence.”

Mancini, whose previous courtroom trial experience includes the Miami Rivers Cops case, says there is plenty of room for improvement in the way cases are prosecuted under the current system. “As a lawyer, I see many problems with the judicial system in Broward County, and how groups and individuals can be targeted,” he notes. “Unfortunately the current State Attorney’s Office has been ineffective and inefficient in addressing these problems. The 36-year-old system created by the current State Attorney just does not meet our needs.”

If he is elected, Mancini would like to establish an initiative he calls “’Justice Without Prejudice,’ where you do not receive special favors if you have power or money, or suffer undue persecution if you are poor or a member of a minority group.”

Mancini is calling for “a new way of approaching the issues, with new solutions. We need to implement restorative justice programs that have reduced recidivism by 50 percent in states where these programs are used.” He also stressed the “need to fight corruption on all levels of government. We need to ensure that there is one standard of justice; that you do not get special treatment if you have money or a badge.”

Mancini’s campaign headquarters will open on Friday to an invited group at his office at 908 N Federal Hwy, in Fort Lauderdale.

NEW YORK, NY  – With a goal of ending “casual homophobia in sports,” the You Can Play Project has launched a campaign of public service announcements with the message that athletes should be judged on their athletic abilities, not their sexual orientation. The campaign has the backing of a number of influential sports figures, including professional athletes with the National Hockey League (NHL).

The Project was created by Patrick Burke, a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers professional hockey team. Burke’s brother, Brendan, came out to his family and friends while he was playing for the Miami University of Ohio hockey team. The Burkes’ father, Brian, is an outspoken sports figure who was the General Manager of the Anaheim Ducks NHL team at the time. The elder Burke supported his son Brendan’s efforts to erase the persistence of locker room homophobia.

Those efforts were cut short tragically when Brendan Burke was killed in a 2010 car accident.
Patrick Burke founded the You Can Play Project in order to build alliances between straight and gay athletes, and fans of sports, to get across the message that homophobia is not okay, on the field or in the locker room.

Several PSAs have been shot already, which include NHL All-Star players and Burke’s father, Brian, who is now the GM for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The first announcement debuted last weekend on NBC during the first intermission of the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins game.

“The goals for ‘You Can Play’ are clear,” said founder Patrick Burke. “We want to make locker rooms safe for all athletes, rather than places of fear, slurs and bullying. The casual homophobia in sports has to change, so all athletes know that what counts is whether you can play the game.”
Professional hockey star Andy Miele, who won last year’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) award as the nation’s top men’s college hockey player, was a friend of Brendan Burke’s while they attended Miami University.

“The reason why I wanted to be a part of You Can Play is pretty obvious. I had a relationship with Brendan, and if he was still here he would want to promote this more than anyone else,” said Miele, who plays for the Phoenix Coyotes. “I felt privileged when Patrick came to me and asked me to be a part of it and I look forward to investing this into players all over the world to make the sports world safe for gay athletes.”

More than 30 NHL players have volunteered to support You Can Play’s PSA campaign. Burke says that the Project has contacted players and officials with several other sports associations and leagues, and that You Can Play will soon encompass all sports and their athletes and fans.