ARLINGTON, Mass. — LGBTQ+ Pride Month is celebrated in June in honor of the Stonewall Uprising in New York.
In turn, sports teams and local organizations often celebrate with Pride Night events. In the MLB, 29 of the 30 teams have a Pride Night on their themed schedules in June. The only holdout is the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers have a plethora of theme nights throughout June, mostly encouraging fans to don the other major sports teams in DFW (Dallas Stars on June 6, Cowboys on June 15 and Mavs on June 28). But nothing for Pride... why?
WFAA asked the Rangers about their lack of a Pride Night in their schedule.
The team sent WFAA this statement, pointing to its sponsorship of NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series.
"Our commitment is to make everyone feel welcome and included in Rangers baseball. That means in our ballpark, at every game, and in all we do – for both our fans and our employees. We deliver on that promise across our many programs to have a positive impact across our entire community.”
The NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series was held in Dallas and Waxahachie in August 2022. The club participated in the opening ceremonies in Dallas and worked with the local organizers and NAGAAA officials on several initiatives for the event, Rangers officials told WFAA.
The Rangers were the listed "Platinum Corporate Sponsor" for the event. The Dallas Mavericks were the "Silver Corporate Sponsor."
The sponsorship of the event came after the Rangers were the only team to not hold a Pride Night in the 2022 season, either.
You can see a full list of the Rangers themed nights for the 2023 season here. Here's how the other 29 MLB teams are celebrating their Pride Nights, courtesy of Outsports.
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