From baseball to water polo, the UCLA Bruins have a storied tradition of excellence in collegiate sports. The first school to win 100 NCAA championships, UCLA's roster of alumni sports greats is legendary: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Troy Aikman, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Florence Griffith-Joyner, Karch Kiraly, Bill Walton and many more.
But UCLA also has a quietly proud history of greatness in inclusion and social justice. The school celebrates African-American tennis legend Arthur Ashe. And, 67 years to the day since alumnus Jackie Robinson became the first African-American to move from the Negro League to Major League Baseball, UCLA celebrated inclusion of LGBT athletes with its UCLA Athlete Allies program. Student athletes, coaches and administrators appear on behalf of the You Can Play Project, promising equality for all athletes regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Jim Mora becomes the first Division One football coach to speak up for gay athletes. The school's quarterback and water polo team also become You Can Play firsts. They follow another first as the hockey and figure skating teams became the first club or intramural teams to make a You Can Play video.