Photo by: Eric Evans/GoDucks.com
Ducks, Nike Launch BEOREGON Initiative
09/26/16 | General, @GoDucksMoseley
The university and the apparel company make a "call to action" for the celebration of diversity and inclusion.
EUGENE, Ore. — Thursday's Oregon soccer match against USC will also serve as the opening event for a new diversity and inclusion initiative stemming from the partnership between Nike and the university.
The initiative, BEOREGON, is being termed "a call to action for all Ducks to be their most authentic selves." It was introduced to UO student-athletes at their kickoff event for the 2016 academic year, held Sunday at Jane Sanders Stadium.
On Thursday, members of the soccer program will wear BEOREGON gear featuring The Duck logo in an assortment of colors used in UO uniforms. The gear is intended to spark a conversation, on campus and beyond, about the atmosphere of inclusion that is the expectation within UO athletics.
"Whether it be your faith, your race, color, sexual orientation, it doesn't matter," football player and U.S. Olympic hurdler Devon Allen said at Sunday's kickoff event. "Here at Oregon we make people feel welcome, and make people feel loved. That's something we're really trying to do here."
The BEOREGON initiative was inspired by Nike's "BeTrue" campaign, which the LGBTQ community adopted as a mantra in the last half-decade. Athletic director Rob Mullens encouraged UO officials to approach Nike executives in 2014 with the idea of a campaign specific to the university community.
"What's happening tonight, and what's happening Thursday, will change college sports forever," Antoine Andrews, a Nike vice president for diversity and inclusion, said at Sunday's event. "You've been doing that for a long time — but this is changing it in a way that people will ask questions about. …
"Own that. People are going to want to know what it means. Own this moment. Be authentic. Be who you are. Be Oregon."
BEOREGON events are also scheduled for future men's basketball, softball and lacrosse games, with more to come. Also as part of the initiative, workshops are being scheduled for student-athletes on subjects such as LGBTQ inclusion and relationships between minorities and police.
Softball player Jenna Lilley, a junior, has served for the last two years on an athletic department LGBTQ committee. She also spoke at Sunday's kickoff event.
"I feel very fortunate to be part of this athletic department," Lilley said. "I feel very supported. There's never been a moment where I haven't felt accepted by my teammates, coaches and fellow athletes. I know it's not like this everywhere, so I feel very blessed and fortunate to be a Duck."
Student-athletes were issued apparel on Sunday — gear not designed for the purpose of retail sale — that they will be expected to wear around campus in order to spark a conversation about BEOREGON. At present, Oregon is the only school to have created its own on-campus, athlete initiative inspired by BeTrue.
Todd Van Horne, a Nike vice president and creative director for special projects, said Eugene's progressive culture makes it the right fit for encouraging social change. Among the goals of BEOREGON is to "unleash the potential of all Ducks."
"If you can't come and be who you are, within your own environment, within your team, then you're lessening yourself," Van Horne said.
BEOREGON, Mullens said, "was inspired by the inclusive culture you've built here in Oregon athletics."
"I think we have the opportunity here to respect and embrace and really appreciate what everybody brings to the table," football player Johnny Ragin III said. "I think it will really give us a platform to advocate for things we think are important."
The initiative, BEOREGON, is being termed "a call to action for all Ducks to be their most authentic selves." It was introduced to UO student-athletes at their kickoff event for the 2016 academic year, held Sunday at Jane Sanders Stadium.
On Thursday, members of the soccer program will wear BEOREGON gear featuring The Duck logo in an assortment of colors used in UO uniforms. The gear is intended to spark a conversation, on campus and beyond, about the atmosphere of inclusion that is the expectation within UO athletics.
"Whether it be your faith, your race, color, sexual orientation, it doesn't matter," football player and U.S. Olympic hurdler Devon Allen said at Sunday's kickoff event. "Here at Oregon we make people feel welcome, and make people feel loved. That's something we're really trying to do here."
The BEOREGON initiative was inspired by Nike's "BeTrue" campaign, which the LGBTQ community adopted as a mantra in the last half-decade. Athletic director Rob Mullens encouraged UO officials to approach Nike executives in 2014 with the idea of a campaign specific to the university community.
"What's happening tonight, and what's happening Thursday, will change college sports forever," Antoine Andrews, a Nike vice president for diversity and inclusion, said at Sunday's event. "You've been doing that for a long time — but this is changing it in a way that people will ask questions about. …
"Own that. People are going to want to know what it means. Own this moment. Be authentic. Be who you are. Be Oregon."
BEOREGON events are also scheduled for future men's basketball, softball and lacrosse games, with more to come. Also as part of the initiative, workshops are being scheduled for student-athletes on subjects such as LGBTQ inclusion and relationships between minorities and police.
Softball player Jenna Lilley, a junior, has served for the last two years on an athletic department LGBTQ committee. She also spoke at Sunday's kickoff event.
"I feel very fortunate to be part of this athletic department," Lilley said. "I feel very supported. There's never been a moment where I haven't felt accepted by my teammates, coaches and fellow athletes. I know it's not like this everywhere, so I feel very blessed and fortunate to be a Duck."
Student-athletes were issued apparel on Sunday — gear not designed for the purpose of retail sale — that they will be expected to wear around campus in order to spark a conversation about BEOREGON. At present, Oregon is the only school to have created its own on-campus, athlete initiative inspired by BeTrue.
Todd Van Horne, a Nike vice president and creative director for special projects, said Eugene's progressive culture makes it the right fit for encouraging social change. Among the goals of BEOREGON is to "unleash the potential of all Ducks."
"If you can't come and be who you are, within your own environment, within your team, then you're lessening yourself," Van Horne said.
BEOREGON, Mullens said, "was inspired by the inclusive culture you've built here in Oregon athletics."
"I think we have the opportunity here to respect and embrace and really appreciate what everybody brings to the table," football player Johnny Ragin III said. "I think it will really give us a platform to advocate for things we think are important."
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