Safety Donte Whitner and linebacker
Ahmad Brooks are among the San Francisco 49ers appearing in a video
for the It Gets Better campaign.
The It Gets Better Project begun by gay
rights activist Dan Savage encourages troubled LGBT teens to not cave
in to bullies, because life eventually gets better.
The San Francisco 49ers are the first
NFL team to record a video for the campaign.
“The San Francisco 49ers are proud to
join ItGetsBetter.org, to let all LGBT teens know that it gets
better,” Whitner says in the 60-second ad. (The video is embedded
on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Also appearing in the clip are
defensive tackles Ricky Jean Francois and Isaac Sopoaga.
Sean Chapin, who launched a
petition asking the team to join the campaign, cheered the ad's
release.
“This is a proud day for San
Francisco, as two of our professional teams have taken a bold stand
against bullying,” Chapin said in a statement. “Let's hope this
is only the beginning, and that more NFL and professional sports
teams around the country take this opportunity to speak up on behalf
of LGBT fans and kids.”