Seahawks Workforce Up With Fellow Seattle Sports activities Franchises To Help Gender-Inclusive Youth Sport & Native LGBTQ+-Owned Enterprise

Pride Month is on, and for the Seahawks and other Seattle sports franchises, this month is an opportunity to support the LGBTQ + community, promote acceptance, and create awareness.

Specifically, the Seahawks, OL Reign, Kraken, Mariners, Sounders FC, and Storm are teaming up to promote gender equitable youth sport with the support of the Washington State Interscholastic Activities Association and their newly released gender equitable toolkit for leaders working with athletes across the state. The six teams are also working with Intentionalist on a month-long program to advance support for local LGBTQ + owned small businesses.

“We believe in respect, inclusivity and justice for all,” said Seahawks President Chuck Arnold. “As leaders and role models for the youth in our community, we are proud to partner with our local professional sports teams to support Pride Month and to assist the WIAA in its mission to make Washington State athletics a place to be. where all young people feel like they are welcome. “

The free, digital gender inclusive toolkit was developed by experts and the WIAA and Gender Diversity, a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness and understanding of the wide range of gender diversity. The toolkit is available to all youth trainers, K-12 teachers and administrators, and parents in Washington state. The toolkit can be downloaded from wiaa.com/dei and will help address national dialogue on transgender and non-binary students, share best practices and provide resources to help develop supportive and non-discriminatory environments for young people.

“By providing an integrative toolkit, trainers and administrators can take confident and informed steps to create the safest and most welcoming environment for all young people interested in a sport at all levels,” said WIAA Managing Director Mick Hoffman. “The support and expansion of this resource by the Seattle professional sports community is critical to its impact and ensures that Washington State as a whole continues to be an inclusive place for all.”

To support the toolkit, the six Seattle sports teams created a public notice that will be shared on team platforms and used by the WIAA nationwide. The PSA can be downloaded for media use here and includes the following representatives: Cristian Roldan (midfielder Seattle Sounders FC), Quinn (midfielder OL Reign), Dave Hunter (Seattle Kraken Pro Scout), Mitch Haniger (right fielder Seattle Mariners), Scott Servais (Seattle Mariners Manager), Karen Wilkins-Mickey (Seattle Seahawks, VP of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), Jewell Loyd (Seattle Storm Guard), Sue Bird (Seattle Storm Guard) and Mick Hoffman (WIAA Executive Director).

As part of the “Spend With Pride” campaign, the Seahawks are supporting three local LGBTQ + restaurants: Belltowns Taqueria Cantina, Madronas Shikorina Pastries and Capitol Hills Two Doors Down. To show their support during the campaign, the Seahawks will visit each of the restaurants with the personalities of the mascot Blitz and Seahawks for a Seahawks Instagram takeover with the restaurant owners. In addition, the Seahawks will host a chat with Seattle sports teams, Intentionalist, and other LGBTQ + -owned small businesses to encourage fans to “Spend with Pride” in June and beyond.

Fans of all teams are encouraged to visit Intentionalist.com/Spend-With-Pride for a list of local businesses participating in the promotion. Throughout the month, fans can upload receipts from these companies for the chance to win jerseys or team prize packages from each team. Each time a receipt is uploaded, fans can choose the team prize package they want to participate in.

During the month, the Seahawks will also donate more than $ 10,000 to support LGBTQ + organizations including the Seattle Pride Parade, the Ryan O’Callaghan Foundation and Athlete Ally.

And every night from June 21-27, both Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park will light up their roof arches in rainbow colors to celebrate Pride. Seahawks fans will also notice Pride avatars on Seahawks social media channels in June.

To learn more about how to support and participate, visit Seahawks.com/socialjustice.