June is Pride Month–a celebration of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) community that began in 1969 after the Stonewall riots, a series of gay liberation protests, and has since spread far beyond the US. Beyond highlighting the countless achievements of this community, as well as the challenges it still faces, the month-long event offers brands the opportunity to underscore their support for LGBTQ+ rights. By embracing festivals and events throughout the month, and aligning themselves with teams, leagues, and influencers to promote inclusivity, these brands are demonstrating their enduring commitment to diversity. Here’s a snapshot of a few prominent inclusion campaigns that brands have activated in the last year.

In October 2022, adidas–a longtime global leader among sports brands that ranks #2 on our platform for its contributions to LGBTQ+ causes–championed equality and acceptance for all through football, the world’s most popular sport. The brand collaborated with four Premier League teams–Fulham, Leeds United, Manchester United, and Arsenal FC–to create a special apparel collection for each, designed to promote and raise awareness for LGBTQ+ rights.

Thus far this month, numerous brands have partnered with Major League Baseball–the only major U.S. pro sport currently in regular season–to support the LGBTQ+ community. The Milwaukee Brewers celebrated Pride Night on June 7th, offering fans a special pride ticket package that included a Brewers Pride t-shirt sponsored by Aurora Health Care. On June 10th, the San Francisco Giants partnered with biopharma company Gilead to gift Pride jerseys to the first 20K fans that entered Oracle Park, whose scoreboard will display Pride colors through June. The same day, the Tampa Bay Rays and Chevrolet distributed Pride Day coozies bearing the slogan, “Baseball is for Everyone.”

Further north, the New York Mets joined forces with software company Justworks on June 16th to give away rainbow-hued Pride hand fans to all fans in attendance. By month’s end, 29 of the MLB’s 30 teams (minus the Texas Rangers) will have showcased their support of the LGBTQ+ community with Pride Month activations.

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