Seahawks and Patriots have shown great support for gay inclusion in football
Super Bowl LX features several different LGBTQ-friendly players and coaches from the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots. The post Seahawks and Patriots have shown great support for gay inclusion in football appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
The Super Bowl isn’t just the final game of the NFL season. The ultimate championship game on the professional football calendar is a time for the world to celebrate all of the ideas the league stands for, including examples of LGBTQ positivity.
The Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots will face off in Super Bowl LX as two pro-gay teams in several ways. These are the ways the players, coaches, and organizations have represented queer people throughout the years.
The Seahawks sponsored an LGBTQ football league in 2019
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Seattle is one of the most progressive cities in the United States. The sports teams in the area would look pretty bad if they didn’t support LGBTQ people. Fortunately, the Seahawks aren’t a black sheep in this regard.
The team has made efforts to promote non-straight people playing football in the area, including sponsoring the Cascade Flag Football Assn. in 2019. A report by a Fox-affiliate included quotes from the team’s VP of Marketing and Community Engagement at the time.
“We embrace the opportunity to support causes and organizations who encourage and celebrate a love of the game and foster a positive environment for people to connect with others in our community,” said Jeff Richards, Seahawks Vice President of Marketing and Community Engagement. “We are proud to support the CFA and their commitment to an inclusive flag football league within the Seattle community.”
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel supported Ryan O’Callaghan when he came out
New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has one of the best reputations for being a good leader in the entire league and part of that earned reputation is because of his LGBTQ support.
Former Patriots player Ryan O’Callaghan came out as gay in 2017. The offensive lineman needed people in his circle after so courageously revealing his truth, and Vrabel was one of the first teammates to reach out to him.
This is just one example of the way Vrabel has cultivated an inclusive climate with the Patriots. He also has a tradition of letting female reporter Karen Guregian ask the first question of every news conference she’s in.
Vrabel is in a position of power and is at the top of the social hierarchy in America. He’s straight, white, and male, obviously. More men with these descriptors would do well to follow in Vrabel’s footsteps and look out for those who aren’t as privileged.
The Seahawks participate in Pride parades
While it might seem like the bare minimum to participate in Pride parades, not every sports franchise does this. The Seahawks are one of the organizations that proudly support going to parades every June, even sending staff members and their drumline. The team’s official website also posts dozens of photos of fans and community members wearing Hawks gear, featuring rainbow colors.
The New England Patriots support male cheerleaders
NFL teams having male cheerleaders was a fake controversy this year, thanks to a loud minority of bigots. The Patriots have one of the most viral cheerleaders in the league, Jeremy Greer.
Greer’s enthusiastic cheering was all over the internet during the early rounds of the playoffs, and now he’ll get the honor of being in Santa Clara for Super Bowl LX with more than 100 million people watching on TV at home.
The Patriots are big proponents of the National Gay Flag Football League
New England has a long history of advertising and encouraging the growth of the National Gay Flag Football League. The league serves as a safe and inclusive space to grow the game within LGBTQ circles and was founded by Outsports’ founders Jim Buzinski and Cyd Zeigler. The team has been a supporter of the league for over two decades, such as when legendary Pats linebacker Andre Tippett officiated the coin toss at the 2003 Gay Bowl.
This type of support starts at the top of the organization with owner Robert Kraft. The Pats’ owner has been a staunch marriage equality supporter going back to 2015 when he signed off on an amicus in favor of same sex unions. One could say Kraft showed how much he cared about the topic long before other organizations felt forced into LGBTQ support by the NFL itself.
The Seahawks sponsored the Gay Bowl in 2023
In honor of Pride Month, we lit up the @LumenField arches to celebrate equal love for all.
pic.twitter.com/OcPLiMlmyO— xz* – Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) June 26, 2023
The Seahawks have also thrown their support behind the NGFFL in past seasons, including when they were the presenting sponsor of Gay Bowl XXIII in October 2023 when the event was in the Pacific Northwest. Having both Super Bowl teams as such strong advocates for the NGFFL can only help to bring more awareness to sexual orientation diversity in football.
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The post Seahawks and Patriots have shown great support for gay inclusion in football appeared first on Outsports.
