NFL Teams Take a Pass on Pride Month Celebrations This Time Around

In the modern world, where public opinion as expressed on the internet rules all, when social media says “jump,” mega-corporations typically say, “How high?”That’s been the case for years with Pride Month, the June celebration of all things LGBTQ. But as Budweiser and Target found out, Americans aren’t all on board the gay fest. Most people don’t care, while a small but vocal group gets incensed when their favorite brands go full gay.Despite the malcontents’ howls, companies for the most part have toed the line in fear of offending the gay community. Until now. In 2025, some of the biggest corporations are pulling back from all the Pride hoopla, opting not to join in the festivities or, in some cases, simply to not mention it at all.The National Football League, which hauls in more than $20 billion every year, lets its team decide whether they want to play the Pride game. While a slew of teams immediately posted glowing endorsements on June 1, a whole bunch stayed mum.By the end of June 1, 12 NFL teams had still not opted to post any content related to Pride Month on their social media platforms. Those teams include the Dallas Cowboys, New York Jets, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, Kansas City Chiefs, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, and the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. (For the record, the Ravens did post a Pride message the next day.)While some teams simply acknowledged the gay month, other teams went all in. The Buffalo Bills were among the most vocal participants, showcasing the team’s robust support for the LGBTQ+ community. The Bills shared images of staff participating in the Buffalo Pride Parade and provided resources on their website, including links to pages about transgender education resources and guides on gender pronouns.Their X platform avatar was updated with the Buffalo logo in rainbow colors to mark the occasion. They even encouraged their fan community, known as the Bills Mafia, to follow the “Bills Mafia Rainbow Dads” Instagram page.Other teams were vocal, too: The Detroit Lions updated their social media avatar with a rainbow-colored lion, and the Minnesota Vikings did the same with their iconic Viking logo. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers also actively promoted events like the St. Pete Pride Parade and the Grand Central Street Fair, while the Los Angeles Rams encouraged fans to support Pride Month “this month and all year long.” But the NFL isn’t the only sport moving away from gay celebrations. In 2024, National Hockey League teams decided they wouldn’t wear rainbow-colored Pride jerseys after some players objected. Gary Bettman, the league’s commissioner, dismissed criticism by saying the jerseys had simply become a “distraction.”Yet, Major League Baseball, which is trying to draw spectators for an interminable 162-game season, is almost all-in on gay celebrations. Only the Texas Rangers has never hosted a Pride Game. A significant number of companies are taking a more subdued approach to Pride Month this year, scaling back on public displays of support for the LGBTQ+ community due to mounting political and economic pressures. According to a survey of more than 200 corporate executives conducted by Gravity Research, 39 percent of companies plan to reduce their public Pride Month engagements, including sponsorships of Pride events, social media campaigns, and Pride-themed merchandising.Brands like Bud Light and Target have been at the center of controversy over their LGBTQ-themed initiatives, proving to be cautionary tales for other companies. Bud Light faced significant sales declines in 2023 after partnering with a transgender influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, triggering anti-trans backlash and widespread calls for boycotts. The company’s measured response to the controversy also drew criticism from LGBTQ rights advocates.Similarly, Target faced a wave of backlash on social media in 2023 over its Pride Month merchandise. For this year’s Pride Month, Target has adopted a quieter strategy, selling limited Pride merchandise in select stores and shifting its full collection online.

NFL Teams Take a Pass on Pride Month Celebrations This Time Around

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