The San Francisco 49ers unveiled the 49ers PRIDE fan club last month, becoming the first NFL team to create a club geared explicitly toward members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community. The first team-sponsored club event will allow fans to join the 49ers front office during the San Francisco Pride parade on June 30.
The 49ers also plan to set up watch parties for games during the upcoming season.
"We're hopeful that other teams will follow suit," 49ers Chief Administrative Officer Hannah Gordon, who led the initiative, said during an NFL Network interview on Wednesday. "We've already heard from other teams who were really interested after we launched."
Hannah notes that the 49ers had almost 1,000 fans sign up within the first couple of days of the club's launch.
49ers PRIDE joins WON (Women of the Niners), a club for female 49ers fans relaunched last year, as another example of the team's ongoing efforts to connect with often overlooked groups within the community. Gordon believes the creation of 49ers PRIDE was the natural next step in the team's inclusion efforts.
Lindsay Rhodes asked Gordon where those efforts originate.
"It comes from our ownership," Gordon responded. "It comes from Denise DeBartolo York, from Dr. (John) York, from (son and team CEO) Jed (York), from (daughters) Jenna and Mara, from (Jed's wife) Danielle, from the entire family. So for us, because it comes from the top, it's really easy to follow through on."
Comments