This summer would have been MLQ’s sixth season. In 2019, we implemented significant changes to further a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion, most notably the introduction of the Coleman Clause—a policy to ensure that individual franchises were recruiting women, transgender, non-binary and other gender non-conforming leaders—and mandatory training via Athlete Ally—a course aimed to educate leaders on LGBTQ+ respect and inclusion within athletics.

However, while we say MLQ is committed to fostering an inclusive culture, we are not doing enough to facilitate efforts that increase racial diversity and inclusion of our current Black, Indigenous and otherwise racialized members. MLQ needs to do more for marginalized communities experiencing barriers to participation at various levels of the sport. 

As announced last month, in order to best serve our athletes, staff and volunteers, we felt a thorough evaluation by an equity and inclusion professional was necessary. This audit will allow us to better understand our community’s desires, specific actions that need to be taken and how we can recommit to the safety of our community. The audit includes an evaluation of internal and external stakeholder perceptions via survey, focus groups and 1:1 interviews and a thorough review of MLQ’s policies and communications (internal and external). 

In order for our community to hold MLQ accountable following the audit, we will be posting public and internal diversity, equity and inclusion updates on a monthly basis. We expect a completion by the middle to end of August. And, as announced last Monday, we will also be co-hosting a series of town halls with USQ open exclusively to people of color in the community. We will be collaborating on other to-be-announced efforts, as well. 

As for our departments, MLQ identified initial actions to be pursued within each.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND INCLUSION DEPARTMENT

In December, we opened the role of MLQ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Manager. This role has been upgraded to that of a director-level position reporting to the MLQ Commissioners rather than the MLQ People Ops Director. Given the monumental importance of diversity, equity and inclusion within MLQ, we felt it is key that the person in this role be directly involved in all high-level decision making and weekly discussion regarding the organization. 

Given the immediate need and immense importance this director will play in MLQ, we will also be providing the individual with a yearly stipend. Further information will be conveyed to applicants during the interview process. 

Initially, MLQ planned to build out the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Department following the hiring of the aforementioned party. However, we need to begin doing so now rather than wait for the ideal individual to fill the MLQ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director role first. As such, effective immediately, MLQ Referee Manager Christian Barnes will be taking on the additional role of MLQ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategist. Former Washington Admirals Manager, James Hicks, will also be joining MLQ under the same title. We will be opening additional roles in the coming weeks. If you are interested in joining this department, contact [email protected] and include your resume and why you would be a good fit.

EQUITY INITIATIVES IN MARKETING AND DIGITAL MEDIA

The MLQ Marketing and Digital Media Departments are currently revising our brand guidelines to better include people of color and promote racial diversity in addition to gender and sexual diversity. The MLQ Brand Guidelines is an internal document provided to our franchises, partners, staff and volunteers that defines how MLQ should be presented in various mediums such as social media, photography, video etc. Members of the MLQ DEI Department will advise on this endeavor. The finalized guidelines will be announced publicly on our website upon completion.

MLQ’s social media team will continue to highlight commemorative days and months. However, the team will be more mindful regarding the timeliness of posts and work within the aforementioned MLQ Brand Guidelines to increase the diversity and overall amount of content.

In addition to the added material in the MLQ Brand Guidelines, we will be creating a webpage on MLQuidditch.com that provides athletes, partners, spectators etc. with diversity, equity and inclusion resources along with league updates tied to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. 

EQUITY INITIATIVES IN GAMEPLAY AND EVENTS

When selecting the location for an MLQ event, the MLQ Events Department takes into consideration athlete safety from a physical standpoint and the sociopolitical environment. The MLQ DEI Department will have a voice in all MLQ event site decisions in order to help us determine whether the site in question aligns with our organization’s view on diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition to requesting that cities provide their population, our bidding applications will now also require bidders to input the racial demographic of the bidding city and/or county. We will aim to select fields and event sites that are in diverse areas but still meet our safety standards.

When attending special events such as conventions, MLQ will ensure our representatives properly exhibit the racial and gender diversity we strive to obtain.

At each MLQ Championship, our player guide has listed the names of parties an individual can contact if they or any affiliate of MLQ is in need of a safe space because they are experiencing harassment or triggers during the event. We will make a concerted effort to ensure that there are people of color on these lists and will require individuals to have completed either internal or external anti-racism and anti-oppression training.

The MLQ Gameplay Department is also researching anti-racism and anti-oppression training options for officials and snitch runners, with the goal of targeting any inherent biases present within our league’s officiating to further provide an even playing field for all of our athletes.

EQUITY INITIATIVES IN PROJECTS

While we cannot disclose specifics at this time, MLQ began working on a project for younger generations a few months ago. Said project will target racially-diverse areas and provide grants to young people of color in an effort to make the sport more accessible. More info on this project will be announced late summer/early fall.

MLQ also announced that we will be creating a commentator training program. As multiple members of the community raised concerns regarding gender and racial bias in livestream commentary, we will ensure there is a section of the training devoted to each.

EQUITY INITIATIVES IN FINANCE

The MLQ Athlete Advancement Program will introduce a new athlete grant for the 2021 MLQ season. This grant will be available to Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) who otherwise may not be able to afford to participate in the MLQ season. We understand that BIPOC experience more financial barriers to participation, and this is one way we are able to create more access. Applications will be reviewed (with names redacted) and selected by a committee composed of MLQ DEI Department volunteers. 

The number of grants available will be determined by off-season fundraising efforts. At minimum, the grant will cover five athletes’ kit and registration fees. However, our goal is to provide at least five athletes with enough financial aid to cover not just their initial fees but their estimated travel costs. 

If you are interested in contributing to the funding for this grant—either on a one-time or recurring basis—please fill out this form and MLQ will reach out to provide more information later this summer.

EQUITY INITIATIVES IN PEOPLE OPERATIONS

Following the 2018 season, MLQ added the option to identify one’s race to the seasonal athlete tryout application and, this past spring, incorporated the option to identify one’s race on volunteer and staff acceptance forms. The information collected in the last two season’s worth of the aforementioned applications will be used as part of the equity and culture audit. Moving forward, anyone that applies for an MLQ role will be provided with the option to respond to a three-question survey inquiring about their gender, pronouns and race. This information will aid us in the efforts to increase the racial diversity of our volunteers and staff.

As MLQ has previously noted, the information individuals provide in their applications is confidential unless express permission is given otherwise. The data collected will be used in public updates and for research purposes; however, unless an individual chooses to have their name expressly tied to a data point, we will not be publicly naming individuals that identify as a certain race.

The MLQ People Operations Department will create more comprehensive guidelines surrounding the recruitment process for officials, volunteers and staff in order to improve the racial representation in MLQ in addition to the gender representation following our audit. We are also looking into the logistics of what adding a clause—similar to the preexisting Coleman Clause and in a similar vein to that of the NFL’s Rooney Rule—could look like in each franchise location.

Currently, MLQ coaches and managers are required to complete Champions of Inclusion, a comprehensive online curriculum for coaches on LGBTQ+ respect and inclusion within athletics. The MLQ People Operations Department will look to build upon this by incorporating anti-racism and anti-oppression training for franchise leadership, officials, MLQ volunteers and staff—including directors—into the onboarding processes. 

While MLQ is not a college league, we do count college athletes amongst our athlete base. As such, we will be making a more concerted effort to recruit from colleges and encourage collegiate athletes to participate in both MLQ and our partner league, USQ. Our primary and immediate focus will be working with Hicks and other members of the MLQ DEI Department to determine how we can increase the presence of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) in quidditch. This includes a collaboration with Billy Quach to create a reel and our marketing department to create physical and digital marketing materials highlighting Black quidditch athletes.

This is not the end of our efforts. MLQ is fully committed to creating a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion. We ask that you continue to listen, learn, ask, read and discuss along with us. And we thank you for continuing to hold our organization accountable.

If you’re interested in joining MLQ, we currently have three director roles and number of other volunteer positions now open. Find out more on our volunteer page or email your resume or LinkedIn link to [email protected].