Pro sports leagues fly the rainbow flag, hoping to cultivate a new market.
“It totally makes sense that teams are being more proactive”
A rainbow flag unfurled during the national anthem at a D.C. United soccer match in August was a signal to Robert York that the team was throwing out the welcome mat to people like him. “It was a powerful symbol,” says York, a lifelong soccer fan who’s gay. “It’s about the fact that love wins overall, more so after what happened in Orlando,” he says of the June 12 shooting at Pulse nightclub that killed 49 people.
Professional U.S. sports leagues, long seen as a bastion of homophobia, are increasingly sending the message that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender fans are welcome at the ballpark. So far this year, about three dozen professional baseball, soccer, and women’s basketball teams have hosted pride nights, inviting members of the LGBT community to throw first pitches or participate in coin tosses, handing out commemorative merchandise, and donating a portion of ticket sales to LGBT causes.
“From the NBA standpoint, this is a core value and a core strategy of how we are running our business and ultimately growing the game,’’ says Oris Stuart, the NBA’s chief diversity and inclusion officer. More teams will be hosting such events in the coming season, he says. The NBA’s Orlando Magic will honor the victims of the Pulse shooting at their home opener on Oct. 26 and are planning a pride night for later in the season. The Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce will host its second pride event, on Oct. 23 at Detroit’s Ford Field, when the NFL’s Detroit Lions play the Washington Redskins. Just two years ago, such gestures were rare.
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