One-third of the MLB teams have not mentioned LGBT pride month on X
One-third of the Major League Baseball teams have not mentioned LGBT pride month on social media, as some companies have faced backlash from American consumers for their embrace of LGBT ideology.
The Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers have not mentioned pride month on their X accounts as of Tuesday although most of them plan to or have held pride events this year.
Pride month is recognized annually by LGBT activists in June, and sports teams often host pride nights to show support for the LGBT movement.
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Many corporations, including sports teams, change their profile pictures on social media to incorporate the rainbow colors that have come to symbolize the movement. While several MLB teams have opted out of doing so, the majority of teams in the professional sports league have elected to show their support for pride month one way or another this year.
The Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees acknowledged pride month in social media posts. In addition to mentioning pride month in a June 1 post, the Baltimore Orioles changed the team's profile picture on X to a rainbow-colored version of the Oriole logo.
The New York Mets took a similar course of action, sending a post on X recognizing pride month while changing the profile picture to the team logo emblazoned in rainbow colors.
Similarly, the Philadelphia Phillies plugged pride month in a June 1 X post while changing the team's profile picture to a rainbow-colored P and making the cover photo a picture of the word "baseball" with the last three letters lit up in rainbow colors that called on people to "Be True, Be You, Be Proud." The Washington Nationals sent out a pride month post on the first day of the month and changed the team's profile picture to a rainbow-colored version of its logo.
The Chicago Cubs plugged an upcoming pride night at Wrigley Field on June 17, which included a rainbow-colored version of the "C" that serves as the team's logo. The Colorado Rockies promoted an upcoming pride night at Coors Field on June 15 while the Milwaukee Brewers published an X thread recognizing pride month and announcing a forthcoming pride night.
The Los Angeles Angels promoted its pride night on two occasions, first in a June 2 post plugging the event scheduled to take place the following night and then in a June 4 post thanking fans who attended it.
The St. Louis Cardinals shared images from its pride night on June 7, nearly a week after signaling its support for the occasion in a June 1 post. The Tampa Bay Rays posted in recognition of pride month on June 1 while changing its profile picture to the team's logo bathed in rainbow colors.
The Detroit Tigers' official X account invited fans to its annual pride night in a June 1 post while the Detroit Tigers Community Impact X account showcased the team's participation in the Motor City Pride Festival in one post. The team identified ACLU of Michigan Attorney Jay Kaplan of the advocacy group's LGBTQ+ Project as one of its "#PrideMonth Game Changers."
On June 1, the Pittsburgh Pirates shared a post from MLB's account declaring, "Baseball is everyone's game." The post highlighted the team's presence at the Pittsburgh Pride Parade. Nearly a week later, additional X posts documented the unfurling of a progress pride flag at the team's stadium and a video featuring the team's staffers touting its support for the LGBT community.
In addition to posting on June 1, the San Francisco Giants touted an LGBT advocacy group's raising of a pride flag at the team's Oracle Park while changing its profile picture to its logo emblazoned in rainbow colors.
The mascot for the Seattle Mariners posted about his presence at the pride parade in his city Saturday. This comes a week after the Mariners reposted pictures from the team's pride day event a week earlier. The M's kicked off the month with a post promoting the occasion. The Mariners Team Store announced that special deals on LGBT-related merchandise would last the whole month.
The Toronto Blue Jays reposted the MLB's "Baseball is everyone's game" post while sharing a post from a radio station highlighting the raising of a pride flag at Rogers Centre.
Although a third of teams haven't promoted pride month on X so far this month, most of those teams are still planning to host a pride night or day game this year.
The Atlanta Braves and Chicago White Sox will hold their pride night on June 18. The Boston Red Sox will hold their pride night on Tuesday. The Cincinatti Reds held pride night on June 7. The Cleveland Guardians will hold pride night on June 21. The Houston Astros will hold their pride night on June 25. The Miami Marlins held a Pride at the Park on May 31. The Oakland Athletics held pride night on June 8. The San Diego Padres held an Out at the Park event on April 19. The only team that doesn't have a pride night or day event scheduled is the Texas Rangers.
In recent years, some teams and major companies have faced backlash from consumers and religious leaders over decisions that critics believe show an embrace of LGBT ideology.
Last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers faced criticism from political and Catholic leaders when it invited a drag queen group known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group that holds annual Easter events mocking the crucifixion of Christ, to be honored at its pride event. The group's stated motto on its website is “Go forth and sin some more!”
Sen. Marco Rubio-R-Fla., questioned why the Dodgers were awarding “a group of gay and transgender drag performers that intentionally mocks and degrades Christians." Bill Donahue, president of the Catholic League, called SPI an “obscene anti-Catholic group."
A 2023 survey from Bloomberg found that "references to 'Pride Month' in filings, presentations and transcripts from April to June at more than 900 of the largest US companies dropped almost 40% from this time last year." The decrease in references to pride month in corporate America constituted "the first decline in five years," Bloomberg reported.
In 2023, the retail chain Target lost billions in market valuation amid outcry over its LGBT pride collection and a "tuck-friendly" swimsuit designed to make it easier for trans-identified men to conceal their genitalia while wearing women's swimsuits. Target's share price continued to suffer until early fall when it began to rise again.
Bud Light also faced immense criticism for partnering with trans-identified influencer Dylan Mulvaney last year, which led to boycotts from Kid Rock and country music stars John Rich and Travis Tritt.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
