New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft showed his long-time support for the LGBTQ community last weekend by attending Boston’s gay flag football league’s opening day.
Wrote Outsports’ Deputy Managing Editor Alex Reimer — also a regular feature writer for Boston Spirit — in a Sept. 19 Outsports article:
“One of the most successful and powerful owners in pro sports was taking time out of his Saturday morning to visit a nondescript park deep in Dorchester and schmooze with gaggles of football-loving gays.
“It’s hard to imagine many other owners doing the same thing. …
“The Patriots are a longtime sponsor of FLAG Flag Football Boston, Boston’s premier gay flag football league. It’s a wonderful organization of which I’ve been a part since 2016, and where I’ve met some of my best friends.
“And all of us were free to chat up the patriarch of the NFL’s greatest dynasty. The Patriots were there helping us organize a drive for Hope & Comfort, a local organization that works to eliminate hygiene insecurity for youth and families.
“The Patriots have only ramped up their support for the LGBTQ community since then. They became the first NFL team to sponsor Gay Bowl, the National Gay Flag Football League’s annual championship tournament, back when Boston hosted the event in 2017.
“Since then, every NFL team has followed suit. …
“Josh Kraft, who serves as president of the New England Patriots Foundation and was also present Saturday, told me earlier this year standing up for LGBTQ rights embodies his family’s core values of inclusivity and acceptance.
“‘We’re doing the best we can to be great allies, but we’re aspiring to be the best advocates as possible for the LGBTQ+ community,” he said. “We just have — whether it’s religious, ethnic, sexual orientation differences — we’re all the same people.'”
Read Alex Reimer’s complete article on Outsports.com.
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