The New England Patriots are sporting an enormous electronic sign bearing a rainbow flag at Gillette Stadium in celebration of Pride month. After tweeting out an image of the sign last week, the Pat’s received many positive messages of support along with a number of homophobic comments, which the team owners swiftly took on.
Reports the Advocate:
The team [last] Wednesday tweeted a photo of the display at Gillette Stadium near Boston, and it was met with some hateful comments. Commenters wondered if the Patriots would hold a “straight month,” said the team should “stick to football,” and reported they were renouncing their fandom. Some got even worse.
The Patriots reminded Twitter users, “Our comment section is monitored and there is no room for hate.” …
The Patriots management has a long history of supporting the LGBTQ+ community, Outsports notes. Among other things, the team was the only one in the NFL to file a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to rule for marriage equality in 2015.
Alex Reimer of Outsports [and a Boston Spirit writer] praised the Patriots for standing up to homophobia. “There are real people behind those accounts,” Reimer wrote. “And the Patriots let them know their hatred won’t be tolerated—fan or not. That’s a championship kind of stand.”
Read the complete Advocate story here.
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