As some seek to make Pride divisive, Giants sustain commitment to LGBT community
Going back to their original 'Until There's a Cure' Day in 1994, the San Francisco Giants have a long history of supporting the local LGBTQ+ community, and their annual Pride game is a staple of the schedule each June.
In most years, Saturday's game wouldn't be all that newsworthy; it's just one of many days celebrating different groups that help make up the team's fan base, including numerous ethnic heritage nights, faith days and veterans events. This year, however, in an atmosphere of scrubbed diversity programs and canceled corporate sponsorship for Pride celebrations, the Giants' Pride Day is back and bigger than ever, with the proceedings now encompassing the Mission Rock side of McCovey Cove.
From 10-11:45 a.m., the Giants will hold 'Pregame in the Park' at China Basin Park, with music by DJ Livv, drag performances hosted by Bobby Friday and Mercedez Munro, face painting, Story Time with Drag Queens and treats from Castro staple Hot Cookie. At 11:45 p.m., fans can parade together to Oracle Park for the pregame festivities and game.
'We're extending the party out,' said Roscoe Mapps, the Giants' chief diversity and inclusion officer. 'This will allow many more people to attend and opens it up to the neighborhood and more of the community.'
San Francisco has been in the crosshairs in recent weeks, from President Donald Trump's suggestions about reopening Alcatraz as a prison, to threats of withdrawing funding to the state because of a transgender athlete competing at the state high school track championships, to plans to remove Harvey Milk's name from a John Lewis-class U.S. Navy ship. SF Pride and the Frameline film festival have lost sponsors and struggled to find new ones.
'Every heritage and culture night is pretty exciting and matters to all of us,' Mapps said. 'That said, I think this year does carry a different kind of gravity — it's very overt that the community is being told that they don't belong and that there are actions that are trying to erase members of the community.
'It's not very subtle. It's certainly not harmless. So we want to make sure that there is no question about Oracle Park, we want to make sure when fans come in cheering the Giants, they feel safe, they feel seen, they feel like it's home, like it's always been since 2000 — so fans can feel like themselves and feel a sense of community that day. It's just a reflection of who we are and our values.'
The Giants will give away a Pride Day bucket hat to the first 15,000 fans Saturday, and the players will wear the same Pride hat they did last season; no Giants player ever has refused to wear Pride gear, though last year infielder Nick Ahmed added a bible verse to his hat after briefly considering not wearing it.
'It wasn't anything about judging anyone else for their beliefs or what they do,' Ahmed told the Chronicle, adding that he had just wanted to prompt a conversation about faith.
There are no plans for extra security measures Saturday, according to the Giants, and Mapps said the team has not received any pushback about the event, nor have any sponsors dropped out. There have been rumblings that some other pro sports teams might modify or even do away with their Pride events, but to date no MLB teams have announced any changes to Pride games. Every team but the Rangers schedules a Pride Day.
This year's Pride month is additionally meaningful for many around baseball. In past years MLB's ambassador for inclusion, Billy Bean, attended as many of the Pride games as possible, but in August, Bean, a former Dodgers outfielder, died of acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 60.
'This year feels a little different,' Mapps said. 'It's our first Pride season, all of us, without him, and few people understood better than Billy how powerful it is to have visibility. He certainly knew the power of people hearing his story and meeting a queer athlete and MLB executive.
'I think the weight is carrying the torch for some of us, making sure that we do it right, and that we continue to make sure that not just LGBTQIA fans feel comfortable, but that LGBTQIA kids feel comfortable playing baseball as well.'
Gates will open at 11:05 a.m. for Saturday's game against the Braves and pregame festivities will start at 12:40 p.m., including the addition of the Seattle Mariners' Pride Ball, hand-stitched using rainbow thread to symbolize the way baseball brings communities together, according to the Giants. The ball, used for the first pitch at Safeco Field on Wednesday, is traveling to ballparks across the country throughout Pride Month. In addition, a special Giants' Pride flag will be unfurled in center field.
There are Pride food and beverage items as well, including a souvenir Fastball cocktail at the Skyline Bar and Murph's Pub, rainbow popcorn at concessions near Section 103 and 140, and a Pride souvenir soda cup at all concessions with fountain soda. There are also four new Pride merchandise items available at the team store.
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