Rick Welts, President & COO of the Golden State Warriors received GLAAD's Davidson/Valentini Award at the GLAAD Gala San Francisco: Game Changers.
#Warriors President Rick Welts was honored @ last night's #glaadgala, w/ Asst Coach @jarronctwin presenting his award pic.twitter.com/eeMC5EorU9
— Golden St. Warriors (@warriors) September 14, 2014
Welts was honored because of his work to promote LGBT inclusion in professional team sports. The award was presented by Golden State Warriors Assistant Coach Jarron Collins, twin brother of Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay active player. Take a look at the video:
In 2011, Welts came out in a front-page interview with The New York Times, becoming the highest ranking executive in men's professional team sports to publicly acknowledge he is gay. Since coming out, he has been an outspoken advocate for LGBT inclusion in sports, especially the NBA. Welts is a leading voice in the national conversation about LGBT equality in sports, and his statements in support of openly gay athletes including Jason Collins and Michael Sam have appeared in outlets such as The Associated Press, USA Today, ESPN, Yahoo Sports, and NPR, among others.
GLAAD Gala San Francisco: Game Changers recognizes national and Bay Area leaders advancing LGBT equality through the media and also funds GLAAD's national advocacy work to rewrite the script for LGBT equality.