There has been a lot of talk recently about the “Don't Say Gay Bill” and protests all over to have this community's voice heard. Recently, as Awful Announcing reports, ESPN commentators took a stance during the NCAA Women's Tournament.
What's Happened:
- ESPN Broadcasters Courtney Lyle and Caroline Peck joined Disney workers who were protesting against the Florida Legislation Parental Rights in Education Bill also known as the “Don't Say Gay” Bill.
- Friday afternoon during ESPN's coverage of the 2022 NCAA Women's tournament, both Lyle and Peck went silent to begin the second half of the matchup between South Carolina and Howard University.
- They shared that there are bigger things than basketball that needed to be addressed at this time.
- They also went into that they have friends, family, co-workers, players, and coaches in this community that are hurting right now.
- The LGBTQIA+ asked for support and solidarity to oppose this bill and the State of Florida and they did just that.
- Peck shared ”A threat to any human rights is a threat to all human rights.”
- They shared with their audience that they would be taking this pause during the broadcast.
- After they remained silent for the first two minutes of the third quarter, they returned around the eight-minute mark. Lyle broke the silence by saying ” we love our teammates, we support our teammates and we are one.”
Other Support:
- During the game's halftime show, Elle Duncan also addressed the legislation before silently protesting.
- Duncan stated: "To be honest with you, we thought we were going to come here today and really celebrate a sport that has meant so much and done so much including for so many in the LGBTQIA+ communities, but we understand the gravity of this legislation. And because of that, our allyship is going to take a front seat.”
- ESPN Journalist Katie Barnes echoed and praised these efforts.
- Barnes shared on Twitter: “I cannot adequately express the amount of love I have for my ESPN colleagues. I just watched two minutes of quiet basketball as our broadcast expressed solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community against the legislation targeting our community.”