Urban Meyer, photo by Greg Bartram / US PRESSWIRE

Ohio State head football coach Urban Meyer has apologized to the Ohio State LGBT alumni group, Scarlet and Gay, for use of shirts whose color was perceived as offensive to gays. The shirts, given to players who loafed during conditioning drills, were called “lavender” by strength coach Mickey Marotti and that sparked a controversy. Ohio State said they were a “very purple,” but whatever the color, Meyer issued this apology:

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the purple mesh pullovers. The use if purple was never intended to offend anyone but since it has, we have taken steps to change the color.

Please accept our sincere apologies. We have core values of respect and honor within our program, and these are two principles that are central to my personal life, my coaching philosophy, and to Ohio State and its athletics programs. Bias has absolutely no role in how we think or operate.

The letter was sent to Tim Valentine, President of the Board of Governors OSU GLBT Alumni Society Scarlet & Gay, and Garett R. Heysel, Assistant Dean of the college of Arts & Humanities. and society vice president. The two issued this statement:

“Hidden under the guise of being a competitive motivator or “the only color left,” the choice of lavender reinforces homophobia and promotes bullying amongst students. The color lavender is associated with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community,” Valentine said.  According to Valentine, the decision to change the color of the jersey is a step in ending traditions which shame people for being different “when we should be celebrating the very differences that set us apart.” Society Vice-President, Dr. Garett Heysel was equally happy with Meyer’s apology.  “We saw it as another step forward for the University and for the Buckeyes.”

Scarlet and Gay hopes to use this issue as a springboard to discuss sexual orientation and its place in athletics. Ohio State’s College of Law’s Sport and Entertainment Law Association is hosting a panel and workshop on the national developments about homophobia in athletics on April 16.

I applaud Meyer for his letter. Regardless of the reason the shirt color was picked (be it lavender or purple or tutti-frutti), it clearly caused offense with the LGBT community. Changing the color was simply the right thing to do as opposed to doubling-down and trying to parse what color it actually was.

Meyer’s letter to Scarlet & Gay:

Scarlet & Gay. Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Alumni Socieity.docx[1][2]

Update: We are getting a lot of idiotic comments saying “what’s the big deal?” with the color. The strength coach and players referred to the shirt color as “lavender.” That’s what ignited the controversy. Just Google “lavender gay” and see the number of hits, including this from ABC News: “The title of the film is a reference to the color lavender, which is often associated with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.” This association is what upset the gay group at the school. Ohio State officials later said the color was “purple.”

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Graphic by Paul Alderete for Wide Rights

Ohio State football players who loaf through winter conditioning drills will be forced to wear lavender shirts “in the weight room, at the training table or in the classroom” as a badge of shame. It’s part of a motivation strategy by Buckeye football’s new director of performance, Mickey Marotti, hired by new coach Urban Meyer. Yep, “lavender” shirts, a color most associated with gays and lesbians. (Update 1: Ohio State changes shirt color, says it had nothing to do with sexual orientation. Update 2: Urban Meyer apologizes.).

“You don’t want to wear those,” senior linebacker Etienne Sabino said yesterday. So far, he hasn’t. Not many players have been identified as lollygaggers.

Pete Olsen, our friend and a gay Ohio State law student who writes the Wide Rights sports blog, and Ohio State law professor and gay rights advocate Doug Whaley have rightly called out Meyer and Marotti for this stunt. Writes Olsen:

First, and the focus of my concern, while being masked as a tool to build a competitive team environment, forcing a player to wear a lavender jersey as punishment is patently homophobic, sexist, misogynistic, etc. It takes a color that is feminine—and regularly associated with either women or the gay community—and assigns it to weakness, lack of commitment, or failure to work hard. It is then used to demean and humiliate, you know, because the color is capable of emasculating even the manliest of men.

Whaley send this letter to the editor of the Columbus Dispatch:

So Ohio State football’s new director of performance makes players who are loafers on the field, in the weight room, etc., wear a lavender shirt to embarrass them. Does he also use anti-gay slurs when referring to these slackers or is the shirt’s color enough to send the same homophobic message?

Read Olsen’s whole post since he goes into detail on whether forcing a player to wear a “shirt of shame” violates the school’s anti-hazing policy.

Regardless, it’s clear why lavender was chosen, since it’s a color that connotes weakness  (i.e., it’s a “gay” color). My guess is that pink was not chosen because of its association with breast cancer, with even non-loafing NFL players wearing pink in parts of their uniforms each year.

The lead to the Dispatch story says, “in a scarlet and gray world, a lavender shirt sticks out.” Except it really doesn’t — polka dots or shirts with a loaf of bread printed on them would stand out a lot more. Or how about forcing players to wear a maize and blue shirt, the colors of hated Michigan? That would be the worst badge of dishonor for a Buckeye.

The last Ohio State coach, Jim Tressel, gave an interview to a  Columbus gay magazine where he talked about the importance of including everyone, including gays. The new coach has begun his tenure with an assistant making players deemed loafers to wear a “sissy” shirt.

Update: After this item was written, Olsen received this from a friend who wrote various Ohio State officials to complain about the lavender shirts. This is from the athletic department:

“Please also know that there are no lavender vests or pullovers being worn by Buckeyes during their workouts. The pullovers that our coach mistakenly referred to as “lavender” are actually purple. Very purple. Our coach sincerely but mistakenly thought the color was lavender when he mentioned the pullovers during an interview. Our players wear standard gray shirts with scarlet workout shorts during conditioning drills. Some performers also wear a colored mesh pullover for various achievements. Some fast guys get red pullovers. Others get a green pullover, etc., etc. Our coach made no attempt to associate the color purple with anything other than our players who don’t go 100 percent at all times (…and thus the term “loaf”). Purple, quite simply, was the only color left from a handful of different colored pullovers that are typically worn in-season by members of our “scout” team as practice jerseys of our upcoming opponent.”

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Still, it’s nice to see the team embrace Nevin Heard once he comes out. Though it is weird that he is not listed on the team’s roster online. Ohio States’ RFC is a club sport playing 7s. See the video of Heard coming out to his team after the jump.

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The article has gotten lots of traction, particularly on mainstream sports sites. From Dan Wetzel at Yahoo (in which he interviewed our very own Jim Buzinski):

Jim Tressel is as conservative as his sweater vest. He’s a devout Christian who wrote a book about faith and leadership. He boasts a personality that, at least publicly, is more gray than scarlet; a multimillionaire who still mows his own lawn.

The buttoned-down Ohio State coach just took part in what is apparently a major college football first. He exchanged emails last month with Outlook Columbus magazine, the initial interview a big-time coach has done with a publication that serves the gay community.

Yes, Senator Sweater Vest is a progressive pioneer.

Michael David Smith at Fanhouse talked about the power of Tressel’s words in fighting the lack of gay athletes in NCAA football:

Tressel’s comments could go a long way toward changing that. Every gay high school football player now knows there’s at least one big-time college program where he could be himself. That’s progress, and something for which Tressel deserves a great deal of credit.

ESPN’s Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg also spoke glowingly of Tressel:

Kudos to Tressel for doing this and addressing a subject that is still very taboo in college football. Most fans want their coaches to focus strictly on X’s and O’s, but Tressel’s influence in Ohio stretches far beyond the gridiron. His voice matters, and his message of acceptance comes through here.

We all assume so much homophobia in football, but over and over again we see evidence to the contrary. Thanks to Tressel for contributing his voice.

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Roger Federer (right) nearly blew his chance at his first French Open title a day after Nadal lost, but he rallied from a 2-set deficit to advance to the quarterfinals.

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