Sports
LGBT sports leagues thriving in N.C. after HB2
Businesses offer support as protest against discriminatory law
The four Stonewall commissioners from North Carolina, from left, Jonathan Melton, Jason Boone, Frank Wolfgram and Will Fisher converge on D.C. for the Stonewall Sports Festival last month. (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Last August, the Washington Blade reported on the successful launch of Stonewall Sports franchises in two small cities in North Carolina. Their success, despite having small populations, was a result of good leadership and community support.
Earlier this year, North Carolina passed a law known as HB2 that strikes down local LGBT anti-discrimination laws. North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has repeatedly defended the law, which is being challenged in court.
The effects are wide-ranging and include banning transgender people from accessing restrooms and other facilities consistent with their gender identity and blocking local governments from protecting LGBT people against discrimination in a variety of areas.
The economic fallout has included musicians cancelling concerts and the NBA pulling its All-Star game from the state. The economic impact of all of this has been estimated at well over $100 million, according to experts.
The Blade revisited the cities of Wilmington and Greensboro along with two larger cities, Raleigh and Charlotte, to discover the impact of what is referred to by all of the teams as ‘Hate Bill 2.’
Stonewall Raleigh launched in 2013 and has exploded into a multi-sport giant with 1,000 athletes. It is offering leagues in kickball, dodgeball, volleyball, bowling and flag football along with a running club.
“All you really feel here is the backlash against the bill,” says Raleigh Commissioner Jonathan Melton. “People actually became kinder and it spurred more support for the LGBT community.”
Melton, who plays in five of the leagues, says that when you walk down the street in Raleigh, you see signs in almost every window opposing the bill. A favorite among the players is one that says ‘Everyone welcome except Pat McCrory.’
The Raleigh leagues are supported mainly by straight bars and restaurants and their support has increased and included fundraisers and vigils for the Orlando shooting victims.
“We live in a more progressive bubble here in Raleigh,” Melton says. “Several of the bars here changed to gender-neutral bathrooms after HB2.”
Stonewall Charlotte began in 2014 and is now offering kickball, dodgeball, bowling and volleyball to close to 800 athletes. There has been an elected official such as the mayor or city council members at every event where they have had a presence.
“This is a divided state because we are in the heart of the Bible Belt,” says Charlotte Commissioner Jason Boone. “Some people are going to stick to their religion and not ride the social wave. HB2 has been a constant weight hanging over North Carolina.”
Most of the sponsors in Charlotte are LGBT themed and there has been an uptick from organizations looking to partner with Stonewall on community events.
They have recently been involved in a tampon drive for women’s shelters and have created Stonewall meet-ups for things such as yoga, fitness boot camps, self-defense and flower arranging.
“We want to use our structure and framework to create events that give back to our community,” Boone says. “Sometimes it is as simple as just making a connection.”
When Stonewall Greensboro kicked off in 2014 it struggled with recruiting new players and the teams were small. What they didn’t struggle with was sponsorship and support from the local community.
“Not too much has changed after HB2,” says Greensboro commissioner, Will Fisher. “We have been able to hold a few anti-HB2 fundraising events with proceeds going to local LGBT organizations.”
Now at 148 players in their kickball league, Stonewall Greensboro has been interested in adding volleyball but is still vying for space in the area and facing high costs.
“We had some really nice silent auction things happen recently as local businesses stepped up their support,” Fisher says. “I really wanted them to flex their guns for us and am so happy that they came through.”
The smallest North Carolina city to host a Stonewall league, Stonewall Wilmington, is receiving donations from businesses just to spite HB2. Ironically, the biggest challenge that has faced them this year has been finding someone who has a key to the bathrooms on the city fields.
Created in 2015, Wilmington has 260 players in kickball and volleyball though the numbers fluctuate due to the tourist nature of the town.
“When I reach out to businesses for sponsorship they tend to cite HB2 as a reason for their donation or why they want to help the community,” says Wilmington Commissioner Frank Wolfgram.
Receiving more monetary sponsorships in the face of HB2 is one thing, but one organization actually changed its policy in a show of support.
“The volleyball facility that is hosting our league, Capt’n Bill’s has waived their standard requirement that all teams be co-ed,” Wolfgram says. “They didn’t want to discriminate against the LGBT community.”
Iran and Egypt on Friday faced off during the World Cup’s “Pride Match” in Seattle.
Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death. Discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is commonplace in Egypt.
Friday’s match coincided with Pride weekend in Seattle. The Egyptian Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran both objected to playing in the “Pride Match.”
Egypt and Iran tied 1-1.
FIFA, for its part, allowed Pride flags inside the stadium during the match.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Washington Blade in a statement. “Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events. General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
Human Rights Watch welcomed FIFA’s decision to allow Pride flags inside the stadium. Outright International, a global LGBTQ and intersex rights group, distributed Pride flags in Seattle on Friday, which was Pride Match Day.
“Visibility matters,” said Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjödin. “Pride is now being celebrated in more than 100 countries, including this weekend in Seattle. For many LGBTIQ people, seeing a Pride flag in public is a reminder that they are not alone, and that their rights and dignity are recognized.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino earlier this year told Die Weltwoche, a Swiss magazine, that “there will be no ‘Pride Match’ at the (FIFA) World Cup.”
“There will be a FIFA World Cup match in Seattle, and on the same day, events organized by external organizations will be taking place in the city,” said Infantino. “But that has nothing to do with the match itself.”
Peter Tatchell, a long-time LGBTQ activist from the U.K. who is director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation, was among those who traveled to Seattle for Friday’s match. Tatchell accused FIFA of not vetting World Cup teams — specifically Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Senegal, Qatar, Tunisia, Morocco, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Algeria — over whether they would allow gay players.
“FIFA is protecting LGBT+ visibility in the stands while failing to protect LGBT+ players on the pitch,” said Tatchell.
The Baltimore Orioles will take on the Washington Nationals on Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. for Pride Night at Oriole Park.
The first 15,000 fans will receive an exclusive Pride Night Orioles jersey. The Washington Blade is a media sponsor of this event.
To purchase tickets, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Sports
Minor league team in York, Pa., forfeits Pride Night game after some players refuse to wear special jersey
City is roughly 20 miles north of Md. border
An independent minor league baseball team says it is forfeiting a game because some of its players refused to wear a special Pride Night jersey.
The Atlantic League Pro Baseball’s York Revolution were planning to hold their 11th annual Pride Night event Thursday for a game against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
But the Revolution announced the day of the game that it wouldn’t be played. York is about 20 miles north of the Maryland line. The Blue Crabs play in Waldorf.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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