CLEVELAND — In recent months the letters "DEI" have been a hot-button trio across the country. But despite federal pushback and a rush of companies, corporations and organizations dumping their "DEI" programming, the Cleveland Cavaliers are remaining dedicated to their efforts to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Kevin Clayton, the vice president of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Engagement for Rock Entertainment Group and head of social impact and equity for the Cavs, has been leading the way for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for nearly 20 years. He's been in his role with the Cavs for the last six.
The efforts Clayton has made aren't new, and he doesn't plan on stopping them anytime soon, but the reduction of the concept of his work to just three letters is something he feels passionately about clarifying.
"It's interesting about DEI," Clayton said. "I would like to talk about diversity, inclusion, and equity because 'DEI' now has a name of its own, it has a brand of its own. We focus on those three different elements because they mean something."
For the Cavs and Rock Entertainment group, diversity, equity, and inclusion mean many different things. When they roll out their programming and initiatives, they do so with one goal.
"For us, when we start talking about diversity, inclusion and equity, it's really around how do we leverage this great platform we have so that we can bring all of humanity together. We have never looked at the concept of diversity of being one group. Everybody in this building is part of our diversity equation," Clayton said.
Clayton's efforts to address diversity, equity, and inclusion have taken many forms. From the broad concept plans like the organization's Black Heritage Celebration in February or their Women's History Celebration earlier this month down to the food options among the concourse of Rocket Arena, the programming is trickled all throughout the organization.
Anytime you walk into Rocket Arena for a Cavs game, a Monster game, a concert or a show, the efforts made to create a diverse, equitable, and inclusive space for the entire community is on full display.
"If you walk around and look at our food offerings, by design it was to represent the different communities. So we have kind of an East Side and we have a West Side—that is unique to Cleveland. That is being inclusive," Clayton said. "That's not about race or gender, that's about specifically saying we know there are different food offerings, there are different restauranteurs that operate from both sides of this community so because of that, we want people to be able to come and see their favorite kind of restaurants, think about it from that perspective."
But it goes beyond that, even.
Rocket Arena has implemented ways to translate signage and communication around the arena from English to Spanish, reflecting the growing population of Hispanic and Latino people in Northeast Ohio to the choices they make when bringing talent to their space.
"Just think about the offerings from a talent standpoint of who's performing here. We, by design, make sure that we're touching base with everybody. If it's soul, if it's R&B, if its country, if its comedy—whatever it is, those are elements of diversity that people don't really think about," Clayton said.
One of the Cavs' efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion has been a cornerstone for similar programming across the NBA. It's the sensory room installed in 2017.
The Cavs became the first team in the NBA to have a sensory room within their arena. The space provides several resources for those who need them. From noise-reducing headphones and soft music to textiles, fidget items and light features around the space, the sensory room in Rocket Arena creates an inclusive area that allows families the freedom to attend games knowing the resources they may rely on are at hand.
Lauren Baxter, an Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy (OTPT) supervisor with the Cuyahoga County Board of Development Disabilities, believes the sensory room in Rocket Arena has impacted thousands of people in Northeast Ohio, many of whom they've worked with firsthand.
"Thousands of people. We gave away 173 [tickets] just at a sensory-friendly Monsters event," Baxter said. "Great feedback. It's just giving them that peace of mind that they can be a part of the community and attend these events with everyone else but also know a resource is available to use if it's needed. So their loved one, their child, themselves, can have a space to go and decompress and come back and enjoy the event with everyone else."
Without diversity, equity, and inclusion programming, that space might not exist. Baxter said it's not uncommon for people who have sensory processing difficulties, autism, ADHD, developmental delays, or other needs that the sensory room caters to attend high-volume events and become overwhelmed. Without the space, they'd likely have to leave rather than take a short break in the nearby space with the ability to return after calming themselves.
"It's incredible. It's very refreshing to know that the Cavs, Rocket Arena, is including sensory space. I know they have a sensory pod as well. Just to make it more inclusive, allow individuals a resource in the community to enjoy events at Rocket Arena but know and have a peace of mind there's a resource available from them to use," Baxter said.
Clayton called back to the sensory space when explaining what "DEI" means. For him and the organization, it means providing diversity in every avenue possible to create an equitable arena for every fan who walks through the door, including everyone in the thought process behind each decision.
"If we think about our fan base, we think about Northeast Ohio, that is reflective of so many different types of people—we want to make sure that when you walk into Rocket Arena that you have an opportunity to feel welcomed, that's everybody," he said.
In February, the Cavs appeared on several national lists of companies, cooperations and organizations that remained dedicated to "DEI" programming amid the government pushback on similar federal initiatives. They were joined alongside groups like Costco, Apple, Delta Airlines, E.l.f. Beauty, and Ben & Jerry's.
While some organizations are choosing to roll back their efforts and stances amid the government pushback, the Cavs are staying the course, because to them, just saying three letters doesn't accurately define what are three important core values to them—diversity, equity and inclusion, as they're defined, not reduced.
"We will continue because it is inclusive," Clayton said. "We will continue to reach out to all corners of Northeast Ohio to make sure that people feel and they know they can come to Rocket Arena, and from a Cavs' standpoint, that as we do great things on the court, we are reaching out off the court to multiple communities. It's not just one."
