DEKALB, Ill. -- Northern Illinois University Athletics is supporting the You Can Play Project, an initiative that advocates for the inclusion and equal treatment of student-athletes within the LGBT community.

You Can Play is dedicated to ensuring equality, respect and safety for all athletes, without regard to sexual orientation. The project also works to guarantee that athletes are given a fair opportunity to compete based on their contributions to the team.

NIU produced a video to show support for all students regardless of sexual orientation, acknowledging that talent, work ethic and character are all that matter. The video includes student-athletes from each of NIU's 17 teams, in addition to four head coaches, two students from the NIU Gender & Sexuality Resource Center, President Doug Baker, and Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Sean T. Frazier.