Jim Mora And UCLA Stand Up For Equality With The “You Can Play” Campaign

Sep 8, 2012; Pasadena, CA, USA; UCLA Bruins coach Jim Mora arrives before the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

UCLA athletics posted the below video on Monday, promoting equality in college sports. Featured is Bruin football head coach Jim Mora.

Mora making this public statement is a major step forward in football, where equality has recently become a hot button issue. San Francisco 49ers cornerback Chris Culliver raised eyebrows during Super Bowl week, when he said gay players would not be welcomed onto the team.

Colorado Buffaloes tight end Nick Kasa was asked during February’s NFL scouting combine if he “liked girls.”

Conversation about the first openly gay, active player from one of the major team sports has coincided with the recent release of the Jackie Robinson biopic 42. Robinson was a pioneer in erasing the racial segregation line in professional baseball — Robinson, like Mora, was also a UCLA Bruin.

Robinson’s debut in MLB predated landmark legislation and social movements for racial equality, including Pres. Harry Truman’s Executive Order 9981 to desegregate the military.

Likewise, the current discussion of equality in sports coincides with Pres. Barack Obama signing off on an end to banning gay people from service, as well as the hotly debated Supreme Court consideration of California’s Prop 8.

More high profile figures from the sports world like Jim Mora coming forward to promote equality could have profound impact in the social realm.

It’s a gutsy move on Mora’s part — he could face some backlash. But it’s also commendable.

Mora is not the first from the Bruin football program to make a public stand on this topic. Brendon Ayanbadejo has been one of the most vocal equality supporters from the world of sports.