New York’s professional sports teams celebrate Pride Month with various unique events and initiatives.
The Yankees and Mets, along with 27 of the other 28 MLB teams, have a celebratory Pride night during June.
The Yankees will host a “Legacy of Pride” night when they face off against the Baltimore Orioles on June 18, in a matchup of top teams. A portion of every ticket sold will be donated to The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative. The initiative annually awards five $10,000 scholarships to students who have demonstrated support for the LGBTQ+ community, according to the Yankees official website.
If they purchase a special event ticket, fans can receive a hat with the Yankees logo in the Progress Pride Flag colors.
The Mets will host their Pride night on June 28, when they host the Houston Astros. A portion of the proceeds from each ticket sold will be donated to Pride initiatives around NY.
According to the Mets’ official website, the game will feature DJs, in-game entertainment, Mets Pride merchandise, themed cocktails, and more. Similarly to the Yankees, the first 15,000 fans will receive a Mets Pride-themed baseball cap.
The Liberty, along with the other eleven WNBA Teams, will host a Pride night on June 22, in a matchup versus the Los Angeles Sparks.
The WNBA has been strong advocates of Pride Month for years as every team has held an annual night in June to celebrate it since 2014. Even today, not all other professional leagues have complete ubiquity in their Pride Month efforts.
NYCFC of Major League Soccer has its Pride night scheduled for June 28, when they face off against Orlando City. It will be their eighth consecutive year hosting a Pride Month event.
The New York Red Bulls already hosted their Pride night on June 1, also against Orlando City. The event was co-hosted by Milan Garcon, an influencer and on-air personality who is an LGBTQ+ advocate based in New York City.
Additionally, TONEWALL, a band that promotes diversity, LGBTQA+ inclusion, and social equality, performed the national anthem. Finally, Red Bulls players sported pre-match Pride jerseys during warm-ups.
New York ended up winning 1-0 off of defender John Tolkin’s first goal of the season to help the team improve to 8-5-3.
