US: Baseball team is first professional sports franchise to receive GLAAD award
A Major League Baseball team from San Francisco is to become the first professional sports franchise to be honoured with a GLAAD Media Award at the 24th annual ceremony next month.
The San Francisco Giants will be given the Corporate Leader Award at the ceremony on 11 May in San Francisco.
The Giants were the first professional sports team to host an HIV/AIDS benefit game, and the team started Until There’s a Cure Day, back in 1994.
The Giants and the Giants Community Fund have raised more than $1.3 million (£850,000) towards HIV and AIDS awareness in their local area, and for research, care and service organisations.
The team were also one of the first to record an It Gets Better video for the Trevor Project, which aims to improve the lives of LGBT youth, and reduce suicide rates through awareness and visibility.
Last October’s Spirt Day, which was organised by GLAAD as an anti-bullying initiative, was another example of how the team has participated in pro-LGBT events.
Looking ahead, the Giants will also host its 11th annual LGBT Night Out, a game intended to celebrate LGBT fans and allies, and proceeds are donated to local LGBT organisations.
The issue of coming out is particularly topical in US professional sports, and in the US there is currently no openly gay player in the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association or National Hockey League.
