Bucs head coach Bruce Arians has been named as the 2020 Champion For Equality honoree by the Women’s Sports Foundation.

The award honors an individual or organization that shows unwavering commitment to gender equality and to the advancement of girls and women in sports.

Arians has been at the forefront of creating opportunities to both women and minority coaches at prominent positions in the NFL. Last season he hired two female coaches on staff with Lori Locust as an assistant defensive line coach andMaral Javadifar, who is an assistant strength and conditioning coach.

Arians also has three African American coaches as coordinators with Byron Leftwich on offense, Todd Bowles on defense and Keith Armstrong on special teams. The Bucs are the only team in the NFL with all black coordinators. 

The Buccaneers and Arians continued their inclusivity of women in football this year by hiring Jacqueline Davidson as their director of football research.

“This is a well-deserved honor for coach Arians,” Bucs Co-Owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz said on the Buccaneers website. Gender equality is a fundamental part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers organizational culture and his consistent commitment to diversity makes our team stronger, both on and off the field.

“Bruce’s long history of hiring the most qualified coaches, regardless of race or gender, is a testament to his steadfast dedication to these principles of inclusion. We are honored to have Bruce leading our football team”

The award will be presented to Arians by tennis legend and gender equality advocate Billie Jean King on October 14th during the 2020 Annual Salute to Women in Sports online broadcast on Yahoo Sports. King is the founder of the Women’s Sports Foundation.