In mid-March, softball student-athlete Rani Balakrishna was approached by Brandeis Associate Director of Athletics Lynne Dempsey about the possibility of attending the 2024 Athlete Ally Athlete Activism Summit. “I figured, ‘Why not?’ I was excited about it being in Kentucky (Louisville), where I had never been before, I like learning new things, and I find advocacy-based work to be super fulfilling,” Balakrishna stated.
She was already a leader on the Brandeis campus, beginning as Brandeis Student Union President in April after previously being the group’s Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She helped organize Brandeis Athletics Pride events and has served as the media coordinator for the Brandeis Student Athletes of Color since its inception. The rising senior, who also wrote for the university’s independent newspaper, The Justice, is majoring in politics with minors in journalism, Hispanic studies, and Latinx studies.
Balakrishna walked on to the Judges’ softball team as a first year and earned her first collegiate hit this past season in a win over NYU on Apr. 28th. “Being a walk-on is hard and I don’t get much playing time as the bullpen catcher, but I value my teammates and love competing and traveling in the UAA. I have been to so many places I didn’t think I’d go,” she remarked.
Being at the Summit
She was immediately struck by the scope of the summit. “People came from all over the country and there were also at least 30 administrators. I was happy with the administrators who were so eager to learn,” she described.
On the summit’s opening day, Athlete Ally honored those institutions who scored a 100 on what they call the Athletic Equality Index (AEI), a regularly updated report that provides a comprehensive look at how NCAA Division I institutions are supporting their LGBTQ student-athletes, coaches, administrators, staff, and fans. “The AEI was interesting to learn about and it is something I would like to see UAA schools potentially be a part of, if not in a formal way, to be used as a rubric of how well they are supporting their queer-identifying student-athletes. We already do a lot of the things that are part of the index and I think it would be beneficial to be measured by it,” Balakrishna suggested.
In 2018, Athlete Ally launched Champions of Inclusion, an online set of curricula providing various campus constituencies with education and resources regarding critical issues facing LGBTQI+ student-athletes and creating an inclusive environment for all. “Champions of Inclusion could be helpful for all schools. The free one-hour sessions help administrators and students understand queer identities and how they can best support them,” she noted.
Friday featured keynote speakers with Olympic bloodlines. Dr. John Carlos and Angel McCoughtry. Carlos won the bronze medal in the 200-meter run at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City in which he and gold medalist Tommie Smith held up their black-gloved fists on the medal stand as part of the Olympic Project for Human Rights (OPHR), which he co-founded with Smith, sociologist Harry Edwards, and others to advocate for civil and human rights for Black people in the U.S. and worldwide and to protest racism in athletics. McCoughtry is Louisville women’s basketball alum, who played for two gold medalist USA teams and played professionally across the globe for 13 years. She was named to the WNBA All-Defensive Team seven times and was selected to the league’s 25th anniversary team in 2021. She played on championship teams in the Hungarian and Turkish national leagues and the EuroLeague.
“Dr. Carlos was incredible and so was Angel. After we listened to them, we went into breakout rooms to discuss various issues that they talked about,” Balakrishna explained. “That led to us going through the values of inclusion and what it looks like on our teams, in our athletic departments, and on our campuses.”
Saturday’s speakers included National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) stars and current and former coaches. Balakrishna particularly enjoyed hearing two trans athletes and one non-binary athlete share their experiences. “That really helped put national headlines into context. UAA schools are pretty open and not endangering to student-athletes the way some school’s policies are,” she commented.
Campus Chapters and Takeaways
“I learned a lot about campus chapters and know it is possible to bring the Athlete Ally structure to UAA schools (Carnegie Mellon and Emory each started queer athlete and ally groups this past year and NYU started an LGBTQ+ Student Athlete Union in 2021). We also heard about queer student-athlete groups who were not necessarily Athlete Ally chapters, but still used them as a resource for their wealth of information,” she explained. “I am interested in having a chapter at Brandeis, but being so involved on campus, I need to make sure I don’t overextend myself. I plan to reach out to others and believe we will find some interest in starting a chapter.”
Brandeis doesn’t need to look far for how quickly a chapter can find quick success. Just 14 miles away, the Tufts University Athlete Ally chapter is the largest in the U.S. with nearly 30 teams and more than 60 representatives from those teams. It was named the Athlete Ally Chapter of the Year. “I met Ryan (Kane), the founder of the Tufts chapter and he told me how they implemented a team representative system like SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) does, which helped lead to several members from different teams attending their meetings. A lot of us were impressed that Ryan was able to get representatives from sports like baseball, football, and lacrosse. He told me that one of the straight baseball players was open to attending meetings and helping out and that helped one of his teammates feel safe enough to come out. There was that direct correlation to the sport representative.”
Encouraging Others to Attend
“It was a great experience, and I would recommend others to go. Everyone there was so dedicated and passionate. It was a very accepting space, which was comforting. It was inspiring to see athletes and administrators who want to learn more about how they can advocate for the student-athletes and build inclusive communities,” Balakrishna stated. “I went not knowing anyone else who would be there. After studying abroad in Madrid last year, I decided that I would say ‘yes’ to a lot of things. I am glad I said, ‘yes’ to the summit as one of my summer adventures.”
She pointed out that it also put the Brandeis name in this space. “It helped inform a lot of people about Brandeis if they weren’t familiar with the school or had heard of it but didn’t know where it was located. There was some natural difference with mostly Division I student-athletes in attendance, but I did not feel unwelcome at all. We have similar challenges and have built a large community, including a huge group chat,” she described. “Knowing that I am not alone is super empowering.”