Sounders, Reign playing prominent roles in Seattle Pride celebrations

All of Seattle’s top-level sports teams are celebrating Pride Month at the same time this year. There will be five consecutive days when the Seattle sports community is celebrating their LGBT fans, staff, and players. It starts Tuesday, June 20 at 3:00 PM with a press conference at The NINETY hosted by the Seattle Sounders and ends with the Seattle Reign match against FC Kansas City (Saturday, June 24, 7:00 PM, Memorial Stadium). This is all being done in partnership with Athlete Ally.

All four in-season pro teams in the area will host Pride games within that week, ending with the Seattle Pride Parade on June 25, leaving 4th and Union at 11 AM. It concludes at 2nd and Denny. Seattle Sounders are one of six official Marshalls. Sounders will then host a watch party (Ozzie’s in Lower Queen Anne) for the away match at Portland that afternoon (June 25, 1:00 PM, ESPN).

“With the unique place that sport has in our culture, it’s incredibly important that teams take advantage of their platforms in order to make a difference,” said Sounders FC Owner Adrian Hanauer via press release. “The Seattle community has long been dedicated to supporting inclusiveness and advancing rights for all citizens, and the Sounders are thrilled to come together with our fellow professional teams to highlight our commitment to those ideals.”

Brad Evans and Chad Marshall of Sounders FC, Madalyn Schiffel and Lauren Barnes of Reign FC, Sue Bird of the Seattle Storm, and James Paxton of the Seattle Mariners are all joining Athlete Ally as Professional Ambassadors. Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin will be at the initial press conference.

“We are excited to partner with Athlete Ally and participate in this unique celebration of the Seattle LGBT community,” said Bill Predmore, owner of Seattle Reign FC, in the same release. “We are proud to be part of a Seattle sports community that is so visibly and vocally committed to fostering inclusion, respecting diversity and working towards equality for all.”

The Sounders match against Orlando City SC on Wednesday, June 21 (7:30 PM, JOEtv) will feature Pride captains armbands, (with the first 10,000 fans getting replica armbands,) a scholarship giveaway to GSBA, Pride scarves, and a unique walkout and lineup photo demonstrating unity. Pride of the Sound, an ECS subgroup, will be part of the pre-match ceremonies.

Seattle Reign’s gameday Pride celebrations include the US Deaf Women’s National Team, an anthem by “one of the largest LGBTQ-identified women’s choruses in the world,” Sensible Shoes, and Pride flags for the first 2,000 fans.

Both matches will be adorned with Pride flags throughout various stadium events. This is also true for the Storm and Mariners games during the multi-day, multi-sport celebration of Pride.