New study ranks NFL as men’s league with deepest LGBTQ-inclusive history

Pride Month is fully underway, which means most American sports leagues and the teams in them have done something — or will do something — to recognize LGBTQ fans and athletes who make up the sporting zeitgeist.

Many LGBTQ fans at home are probably wondering which leagues actually make an effort to support their diverse audiences, and new research shows that one league stands out from the rest.

Vegas Insider published a whole bunch of interesting data related to LGBTQ acceptance. Maybe surprising to some — but not surprising to some of us at Outsports — the NFL came out above the other major men’s sports leagues in the United States as far as deepest efforts to build LGBTQ inclusion.

The leagues and teams in the survey were scored based on the actions they take to improve the lives of gay, lesbian, bi and trans people. This means teams that donate to LGBTQ charities, help push for political positions that would help LGBTQ people, host events and more.

According to the study, the NFL has had 60 different team initiatives to help LGBTQ people, and the league had the highest score when determining a history of inclusion.

In addition, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell — the most powerful person in all of American sports — has talked publicly about his love and support for his gay brother.

The league has also hosted an annual “Night Of Pride” with GLAAD at the Super Bowl for the last few years.

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The NFL accumulated 314 designated points in this survey.

All of the other men’s leagues have also created powerful LGBTQ-inclusion efforts. The study doesn’t call out the other leagues, it simply says the NFL has the deepest history of it.

The first gay athlete in any of the big men’s sports to come out was former NFL player Dave Kopay, in 1975. It remains the single most important moment in LGBTQ sports, according to the editors here at Outsports.

With many in the LGBTQ community, the NFL is misunderstood and has a poor reputation for not doing enough or putting its money where its mouth is. It’s understandable, to an extent. While the vast majority of teams in MLB, MLS, NHL and NBA host Pride Nights, NFL teams have only eight or nine home games per season and generally don’t host affinity events. They have 10% of the games that MLB has.

The NFL has more gay and bi athletes who’ve come out while playing or after retired — 16 over the last 50 years — than all of the other major men’s pro sports leagues combined. Though a note on that: The NFL has the largest rosters in men’s pro sports as well.

The survey also says that 61% of NFL fans still don’t think football does a good enough job cultivating an inclusive environment for non-straight fans. Plus, 55% of NFL fans think their specific team should have done more for the LGBTQ fandom of the sport.

The number of people who want more inclusion is a great sign that love defeats hate. More sports fans want diversity than those who don’t.

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San Francisco leads on LGBTQ sports inclusion in study

The city with the highest inclusivity score across sports was San Francisco. This isn’t shocking, considering how LGBTQ-friendly that city is overall compared to others in America.

The San Francisco 49ers have a rich history of LGBTQ inclusion, such as donating $75,000 to Equality North Carolina in 2016 and hiring an out coach in Katie Sowers.

Still, the recent Pride Night debacle by the San Francisco Giants may leave some scratching their heads.

Overall, it would be wonderful if other sports teams and cities would place their money in great hands like that, but something is better than nothing. This survey shows more hope than negativity, and what else can we ask for, really?

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