NBA Pride Events and Campaigns: Fostering Inclusivity in Basketball
As one of the world’s biggest sports, basketball has a responsibility to encourage players and fans from all cultures, sexuality, and walks of life. Its global profile is so huge that it is in a perfect place to embrace and promote diversity and make this an inclusive game for everyone to enjoy.
The National Basketball Association fosters inclusivity in many ways to engage different groups. One of these approaches is through the numerous pride events that are organized for the LGBTQ community.
Big Business
Basketball is a multi-billion dollar business, with huge organizations such as Nike and Pepsi involved in major corporate sponsorship deals. TV contracts attract additional revenue, while the introduction of sports betting across much of the USA, means more interest through the available NBA lines currently published.
All corporate organizations linked to the NBA want to see a fair playing field for all, with nobody excluded from playing, watching or taking part in any other way. Inclusivity is vital, and the association is happy to take up the challenge.
A big audience is found among the LGBTQ community, and there are many ways in which the NBA helps them to become involved.
The Prime Time for Pride
Many of the NBA’s key events take place around the time of Pride Month. This takes place each June as a mark of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, which saw a defining moment in the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.
The Chicago Bulls are among several teams who launch a pride-themed half time show with their mascot, Benny the Bull, taking center stage.
Other teams carry out events on an ad hoc basis and these will be listed on their upcoming events page. June is, however, a transitional time for the NBA with the regular season coming to an end, and the playoffs set to start. Many teams have ended their campaigns, so there are no games to highlight Pride Month, but that doesn’t mean that the cause has been forgotten.
October Focus
October is a busier month for all thirty NBA franchises. The new season is underway and everyone is still in contention for the biggest prizes. It’s also LGBTQ+ History Month and a perfect time for those teams to honor and support fans.
It’s in place to celebrate the Washington marches of 1979 and 1987, and it’s a more obvious month for all franchises to participate in. Teams will often host pride nights on specified dates in October, and the Los Angeles Lakers have traditionally been one of the busiest.
While all NBA teams have done their bit to support the community, there are no set rotas in place, so fans will need to keep checking the schedules to find out about the latest events. June and October tend to be the busiest months, but the Phoenix Suns have previously hosted an in-person pride night in April.
A Face in the Community
Regular events in the NBA calendar are important in order to maintain a focus on LGBTQ fans, but some areas of the community are concerned that not enough is being done outside of those occasions. In order to make supporters feel welcome at every game, those franchises should become more of a presence in the community.
Like most male sports, the lack of gay players in the NBA is also seen as a potential barrier to engaging more LGBTQ fans moving forward. With the exception of a few high-profile names such as Jason Collins, Isaac Humphries and John Amaechi, there have been hardly any gay players in the sport.
That’s not a situation that anyone has control over, other than the individuals involved, but the point is that the NBA has to develop a safe and tolerant environment, so that more players are happy to come out in the future.
For now, there is good work being done by the association and by many of the thirty franchise teams that take part. Pride Nights ensure that this area of the fanbase are represented and supported and that they feel welcome at any game. There is always room for improvement, but the events and campaigns have built quickly in the last ten years, and will continue to do so.
By fostering inclusivity in the community, both the teams and the LGBTQ fans stand to gain. In this case, the NBA has a wider audience, while LGBTQ members become aware that they are welcome in all areas of the sport.
All sports have a responsibility to do this, but many should take a look at what the National Basketball Association is doing, before looking to follow their lead. They are one of the most progressive sports organizations in this respect, and long may their good work continue.
