A message to our community Pt1
To the Stonewall Sports KC Community, and our broader KC Community:
Stonewall Sports KC started in 2019 with the goal of creating a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for all LGBTQ+ individuals and allies to have fun playing sports while also building community. We are motivated to create an organization that is reflective of the community in which we exist and are a part of an ideal we continue to strive for every day.
As a sports league, we recognize that there is still a long way to go to ensure our community is a space for everyone. We will lean into our mistakes and work to create space for dialogue so we can foster an environment for all.
This past kickball season, we asked a Black player to represent communications for us via an Instagram takeover, and all of their feed posts ended up being deleted without explanation or immediate apology. We failed to support them, and our unresponsiveness and lack of communication throughout the process was a failure on our part. It was silencing, dismissive, and hurtful to the player, and we apologize that our (in)action left this player feeling disrespected and unappreciated.
We recognize this is a part of a larger issue within SSKC where our Black and Brown members of the community may not feel included, supported, or welcomed. We apologize to those who have felt this community is not as safe and inclusive as it should be, and understand we have much work to do.
We would like to take this opportunity to renew our commitment to the ideal we set out to achieve back in 2019 to create an organization that is reflective of the community in which we are a part, where all feel valued, appreciated, and safe.
To help us learn from this incident, the executive committee and leadership board, with support and accountability from the National Stonewall Board, will be engaging in several actions over the next few weeks and months, including, but not limited to:
1) Partnering with Kansas City community organizations and/or developing resources and training on promoting racial justice, understanding cultural competencies, and other topic areas to create a more inclusive and safe environment
2) Creating a streamlined process for raising concerns, with an emphasis on board accountability and efficiency
3) Creating and filling a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leadership position on the board, with the guidance of the National Stonewall DEI Director to ensure the position and responsibilities are intentional, community-focused, and integral to SSKC ongoing operations
4) Taking a broader assessment of inclusiveness and emotional safety for people of all identities, and create additional action plans accordingly
5) Providing public transparency of our entire process with regular updates about our progress and plans of action
These actions are just a starting point as we work to rebuild trust with the community. We will follow up by the end of the month via our social channels with an update on our action plan and progress, so please stay tuned. We will discuss the best ways to formalize input and feedback from the Stonewall community, and are always open to receiving feedback or input from anyone on how they want this process to look. For now, anyone with questions or feedback can reach out to our board via our City Commissioner, Jared Horman, at kc.commissioner@stonewallsports.org.
Stonewall Sports KC is committed to building a fun and diverse community of players where everyone feels valued, supported, and welcomed. While we fell short this time, we will work tirelessly to make it right so that our community can thrive together.
Stonewall Sports KC Executive Committee
