A Pride Night (also called Pride Day or Pride game) is a game hosted by a sports team to recognize and attract individuals from the LGBTQ community. During such a game, the home team acknowledges LGBTQ fans and honors certain individuals or groups. The first Pride Night by a team in a major U.S. and Canadian league was hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2000, and since then, Pride events have been hosted by teams in most major leagues. Some leagues, teams, and players have limited their association with Pride celebrations, causing controversy.
Description Pride Night events, which recognize the LGBTQ community, are typically held in June, which is Pride Month in many countries. Pride Night games typically see a higher turnout of LGBTQ fans than normal, with Dodgers executive Erik Braverman estimating that up to half of the audience for their 2021 event being members of the LGBTQ community. During the events, LGBTQ-themed team merchandise is usually sold or given away, while LGBTQ symbols, such as pride flags and rainbow colors, are prominently displayed in the venue.
International
FIFA World Cup
At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Egypt and Iran played a Group G match on June 26, 2026, at Seattle Stadium. Since Seattle Pride took place the same weekend, the local organizing committee had designated the June 26 match as a "Pride Match," before the teams were known. Both countries objected to the designation for their World Cup match. Seattle's Pride Match Advisory Committee spokesperson said: "The Pride Match has been scheduled to celebrate and elevate Pride events in Seattle and across the country and it was planned well in advance." Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said both countries had "objections" and that the branding was an "irrational move that supports a certain group." Iran was planning to appeal the decision. The Egyptian Football Association sent a formal letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström rejecting "in absolute terms" LGBTQ connections to the game. The match proceeded without incident, ending in a 1–1 draw. Some fans expressed disappointment about the lack of Pride-related celebrations inside the stadium.
Europe
Premier League
The Premier League, the top division of association football in the English football league system, participated in Stonewall's Rainbow Laces campaign between 2013 and 2025. In 2025, Ipswich Town's captain Sam Morsy did not wear a special rainbow armband, while Crystal Palace F.C. captain Marc Guehi wrote "I love Jesus" on his. Hours before a match, Manchester United abandoned plans to wear a jacket supporting the LGBTQ+ campaign after Noussair Mazraoui refused to wear it. As a result, the Premier League started a new campaign called "With Pride" between February 6 and February 13, 2026, during which each team had one match at home. Team captains were no longer asked to wear special armbands or jackets, and teams were encouraged to use in-stadium features, such as ball plinths and video screens, to display Pride-themed messaging.
North America
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) teams often dedicate certain regular season games for specific groups or for specific causes, often as a way to attract members of these communities to their games. For instance, in 2015, the Philadelphia Phillies hosted numerous regular season events at their home venue, Citizens Bank Park, such as Jackie Robinson Salute in April, First Responders Night in May, and Grandparents Day in September. Pride Night is one of these themed nights. In 2021, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Pride Night was one of the first Pride events to take place in the city that year.
First Pride Night events In 1994, the San Francisco Giants hosted "Until There's a Cure Day" at their stadium to raise money and awareness for the ongoing AIDS epidemic, which Cronkite News stated in 2023 was "one of the first known LGBTQ-supportive nights" in North American sports. However, the first Pride Night occurred in 2000. On August 8 of that year, a lesbian couple, Danielle Goldey and Meredith Kott, were removed by security guards from a Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium for kissing. Following their ejection, the couple reached out to a lawyer with the intent to sue the team. However, before any legal actions were taken, the Dodgers reached out to the couple and both apologized and offered to give them seats behind home plate for a future game. Speaking of the incident, team president Bob Graziano said, "I was troubled ... because of what it implied about the Dodger organization." Additionally, the team gave away 5,000 tickets to gay rights groups. The following month, on September 6, GLAAD and the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center hosted a "Gay and Lesbian Night at Dodger Stadium." According to sports commentator Cyd Zeigler, the event is widely considered the first Pride Night at a professional baseball game. However, this event was a one-off occurrence, and at the time, there were no future LGBTQ events planned at Dodger Stadium. During the 2001 season, the Chicago Cubs sponsored "Gay Days" at Wrigley Field. The event, later renamed "Out at Wrigley," was started by Bill Gubrud, a gay man from Chicago, and has been an annual occurrence ever since.
Later developments
In 2013, the Dodgers hosted their second Pride event. Over the mid-2010s, the league as a whole attempted to foster a better relationship with the LGBTQ community. In 2014, the league hired Billy Bean, a former baseball player and gay activist, to educate current players and team officials on matters related to LGBTQ issues, such as defamatory language. That same year, MLB issued a letter opposing Arizona SB 1062, arguing that it went against the league's "zero-tolerance policy for harassment or discrimination based on sexual orientation." That same year, the Cleveland Indians hosted a Pride Night to coincide with the 2014 Gay Games that were being hosted in the city. In 2016, the league partnered with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce in an effort to help LGBTQ-owned businesses seek out MLB contracts. That same year, the Tampa Bay Rays used their Pride Night to raise roughly $300,000 (equivalent to $ in ) for a fund to help victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting, which had occurred shortly before the event. In 2019, the New York Yankees honored the fiftieth anniversary of the Stonewall riots by unveiling a plaque at Yankee Stadium. In 2021, the Oakland Athletics renamed their annual Pride Night event in honor of former baseball player and gay activist Glenn Burke, who was honored the following year at the Dodgers' Pride Night. In 2023, former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi threw out the ceremonial first pitch during the Washington Nationals' Pride Night, which they call "Night Out." That same year, the Associated Press called MLB "a leader among the four major pro U.S. sports in hosting Pride Nights, in part because its regular season overlaps with Pride Month in June."
Controversies 2022 Tampa Bay Rays rainbow logo patch During Pride Night events in 2022, three teams—the Dodgers, the Giants, and the Rays—incorporated rainbow-colored logo patches into their uniform. However, multiple players for the Rays stated that they would not be wearing the patch, with relief pitcher Jason Adam calling it a "faith-based decision" on his part. Writing about the decision, sports journalist Tyler Kepner stated that "by allowing the players to opt out of the promotion — and to use the platform to endorse an opposite viewpoint — the Rays undercut the message of inclusion they were trying to send."
In June 2023, Commissioner of Baseball Rob Manfred announced that MLB had advised teams against adding rainbow motifs to their logo patches so as not to put players "in a position of doing something that may make them uncomfortable because of their personal views."
2023 Los Angeles Dodgers Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence collaboration In 2023, the Dodgers announced plans to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence with a Community Hero Award at their Pride Night, to be held on June 16. The Sisters are a San Francisco-based charity and protest group that employ religious symbolism and humor to call attention to intolerance towards LGBTQ people. However, in mid-May, the Dodgers announced that they would not be honoring the group at their Pride Night, effectively disinviting the group. The decision came after the team received significant backlash from several Catholic groups, including the Catholic League, and a letter from Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who asked if the Sisters would be "inclusive and welcoming to Christians." Following this, several LGBTQ advocacy groups expressed disappointment with the team's disinvitation, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California and Los Angeles Pride both stating that they would not be participating in the Dodgers' Pride Night, in solidarity with the Sisters. Additionally, the Los Angeles LGBT Center issued a statement saying, "Buckling to pressure from out-of-state, right-wing fundamentalists, the Dodgers caved to a religious minority that is perpetuating a false narrative about L.G.B.T.Q.+ people. They have been fed lies about the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and have therefore contributed to the ongoing, anti-L.G.B.T.Q. smear campaign happening in this country." In a show of support for the Sisters, Mayor Ashleigh Aitken of Anaheim extended an invitation for them to attend the Pride Night hosted by the Anaheim-based Los Angeles Angels.
Following the backlash, on May 22, the Dodgers reversed their decision and reinvited the Sisters to attend their Pride Night and receive the Community Hero Award. The team stated that their decision came after "much thoughtful feedback" and pledged to continue to work with "LGBTQ+ partners to better educate ourselves, find ways to strengthen the ties that bind and use our platform to support all of our fans who make up the diversity of the Dodgers family." Dodgers player Clayton Kershaw criticized the re-invitation, stating that, while he was not opposed to the LGBTQ community, he viewed the Sisters' satirical take on religion as offensive to Christians. Additionally, three American Catholic bishops—Timothy Broglio, Timothy M. Dolan, and José Horacio Gómez—criticized the Dodgers' decision as blasphemous.
2026 San Francisco Giants rainbow logo hat On June 12, 2026, the Giants hosted a Pride Night event that featured the team's logo in the colors of the Rainbow flag. Starting pitcher Landen Roupp, relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker each wrote the Bible passage Genesis 9:12–16 on their respective hats, while reliever Sam Hentges opted to wear the regular hat without the rainbow logo instead. Following the game, Brubaker, Roupp and Walker were each reprimanded and issued warnings by MLB for writing on their caps. However, no further action was taken by the Giants, with manager Tony Vitello claiming it was "just kind of a general knowledge" that players "have the freedom to do what they think is best." The players' protest drew criticism from local outlets and fans, given the region's long history with the LGBTQ community.
Texas Rangers' lack of Pride Game