How the Golden State Valkyries embraced the WNBA gays from the jump

Since the newest WNBA team’s inception, the Golden State Valkyries have been by and for the gay, lesbian, bi and trans community.

The team’s first promotional video featured lesbian singer Kehlani, and the organization hired the league’s first publicly out nonbinary player as a studio analyst in Layshia Clarendon.

The team’s main color is lavender, a color long-established in the sapphic and gay communities, and their signature hand-sign of “throwing a V” is a sapphic gesture not lost on many.

This past June, the Valkyries hosted a month-long Pride celebration — not just one game like most of the rest of the WNBA. The organization is aware that seemingly every night is Pride night in “Ballhalla,” and it’s a joy to see them doubling down on their LGBTQ fanbase.

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There was a time, not too long ago, when the WNBA was struggling to get fans in seats. Moreover, the push to make the league more appealing to the “straights,” combined with a very straight-washed media landscape, minimized the impact and prevalence of the LGBTQ community in the WNBA.

Thankfully, those days are disappearing more and more into the past, as the newest WNBA franchise has taken a complete opposite approach to embracing its fans.

What is perhaps the most promising sign for the Valkyries is that specific fan involvement across the gay community. Fans flock to Chase Center, resulting in dating apps surging and in-person meetups highly likely.

Groups like The ValQueeries have popped up, a group of about 300 fans who host game meetups, a newsletter and other ways for folks to build community. This isn’t happening on a small scale: Chase Center has sold out every single Valkyries game thus far.

Even away games are a hot ticket, as fans will line up at local lesbian hotspot Rikki’s well before tip-off to have the chance to catch the game at a place filled wall to wall with fellow gay sports fans. The vibes are supportive as fans of all ages gather to cheer on their hometown team and to do so in a safe, loving communal space.

The Valkyries are only in their first season as a WNBA franchise, and they have been a perfect example of why and how the WNBA should continue its expansion.

San Francisco has long been considered a hub for LGBTQ people, and it’s no surprise that they have embraced the new team with open arms. The organization is deliberate in its embrace of the LGBTQ community, and the fans in turn have been deliberate about their support.

The Valkyries mascot Violet is an instant hit with fans

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Just last week the team announced its first official mascot, an adorable Raven named Violet. She is the first ever near-sighted mascot, rocking some spectacles that “help her achieve the excellent eyesight that ravens are known to have.” The Valkyries took their time to make the reveal elaborate, first teasing the launch with a large egg outside of Chase Center, then hiring a wildlife expert to examine the egg, before distributing binoculars to all fans in attendance of the game where Violet was “hatched.”

While Violet’s sexuality has not been disclosed, fans are loving the potential gay icon in “Vi.” With the recent boom in popularity of WNBA mascots — largely thanks to the New York Liberty’s Ellie the Elephant — the Valkyries have hopped on the trend with Violet.

So far she’s been a smash hit, immediately embraced by the “Ballhalla” faithful and the mainstream internet.

With less than one month until the WNBA Playoffs are here, the Valkyries are currently sitting in seventh place. The top eight teams will make the playoffs, and we certainly hope we get to see the fans (and Violet) in a playoff setting soon.

Regardless, the newest franchise is in great hands, and off to an unprecedented start. The WNBA can hopefully benefit from its success, as the league has already tapped a number of cities for future expansion teams: Portland and Toronto in 2026, Cleveland in 2028, followed by Philadelphia in 2029 and Detroit in 2030.

Jockular is a podcast by big-time women’s sports fans, for big-time women’s sports fans. E.R. Fightmaster, Katie Kershaw and Tien Tran. It’s produced by Harry Nelson and Charlie Smith. They’ll be contributing women’s sports content for Outsports. You can find them on Spotify, Instagram, YouTube and Patreon.

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