During the month of June, the Washington State Athletic Department celebrates LGBTQIA+ Pride Month.

The focus by the athletic department on LGBTQIA+ education and awareness is not limited to June. It is a year-round emphasis.

In 2019, to enhance its Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, the athletic department established a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Council, consisting of 17 athletic department staff and coaches, including Director of Athletics Pat Chun.

A LGBTQIA+ Focus Group was established within the DEI Council with the stated mission: "To create and maintain an environment that is safe, inclusive, and equitable for LGBTQIA+ student-athletes and staff. In so doing, we demonstrate clear support and pride for our LGBTQIA+ student-athletes and staff, which is reflected in policy, programming, and athletics culture."

In 2020, the department continued to build on the foundation established in 2019.

During the fall of 2020, the Cougar Pride Student-Athlete Alliance (CPSAA) was created. The group is a collaboration with student-athletes and staff leadership founded by junior rowing student-athlete Megan Duthart and rowing assistant coach Sam Clifford.

"We aimed to actively carve out a space where student-athletes and other members of the athletic department can feel welcome and celebrated," said Clifford. "Throughout the year, education and community building have been huge components of the group."

The CPSAA launched in October, LGBTQIA+ History Month. History is an important component to Pride Month and the efforts of the CPSAA, explained Clifford.

"With June being Pride Month, it provides a great opportunity to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community," Clifford said. "I think Pride must also center around the history of the event that started it all: the Stonewall Riots. Progress would be impossible without confronting the struggles and challenges people in the LGBTQIA+ have faced in the past and continue to face today."

"Pride Month means being proud to be open and honest about living as your most authentic self," said sophomore rowing student-athlete Cate Field. "The history shows how long and hard we fought, and are still fighting for, the right to be out and proud and Pride Month is meant to celebrate and bring awareness to that."

"I'm grateful for the place CPSAA offers for me to share my thoughts, views, and opinions and to learn from others about how to better advocate for ourselves and our community," Field added.

Building awareness of LGBTQIA+ involves not only learning about the past but building awareness in the present, and the CPSAA is a key component in achieving this goal, said Clinical Psychologist Kate Geiger, a member of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and LGBTQIA+ Focus Group.

"Our primary focus is increasing LGBTQIA+ education and awareness across the department, as well as developing resources for our student-athletes through the CPSAA group," said Geiger.

Geiger explains that these resources include: supportive social media posts and workshops to celebrate LGBTQIA+ History Month, updated email signature option to include pronouns, hosted pronoun education workshop for athletics staff in collaboration with the university's Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center (GIESORC), and updated fan code of conduct with more inclusive language.

In addition, the department works with the national organization Athlete Ally to improve inclusion policies and practices. The Athlete Equality Index Score, created by Athlete Ally, is a way to measure progress in these categories. This past year, the department earned a score of 85, tied for second in the Pac-12 North and exceeding the conference average score of 68.8.

"We continue to collaborate with Athlete Ally as we continue to foster a welcoming, equitable, and inclusive environment for our LGBTQIA+ student-athletes and staff," said Geiger.

"As we celebrate Pride this month, I look back on how WSU Athletics has celebrated pride over the past year," said Shelby McKay, Assistant Director of Athletics, Student-Athlete Development and chair of the DEI council. "I am most proud of the work of the LGBTQIA+ focus group and CPSAA's efforts to increase awareness and provide education to our department while creating an inclusive and supportive environment. The work is not done yet and I am looking forward to continuing education in the coming year."

Though Pride Month will end, the work by the department to educate and bring awareness to LGBTQIA+ cause continues throughout the year.

"I am happy we are able to celebrate our student-athletes within CPSAA and celebrate Pride," Clifford said, "and I am happy to belong to a department who has welcomed CPSAA with open arms."