Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders is using his platform to make sure all kids feel welcome in football. At this year’s GLAAD Awards, the NFL player announced that he will host a LGBTQ-friendly sports camp where everyone will be accepted.
In support of his brother, who is openly gay, Saunders made an appearance at the annual ceremony and said his intention is to make sure all kids have a chance to be active.
“That’s my goal [is] to continue to spread positive energy around that because football is for everybody,” he said.
Both the New Orleans Saints and the NFL as a whole have been supportive in promoting the camp by giving Saunders a platform to spread the word across many sports networks.
“Being an ally is more than just saying that I support, but it’s also kind of showing up,” Saunders said during an appearance on the NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. “Being in the NFL is very male-dominant and heterosexual dominant, and it’s not really … it feels as though there’s not really a space for the LGBTQ community.”
The work began when Saunders visited the NFL’s Pride Football Clinic during this year’s Super Bowl and found that many people felt the need to hide parts of who they are in order to find acceptance by the football community.
“I was able to go out there and get to talk to some of the people participating in it and, man, it was great conversations,” Saunders said. “These are people that feel they have to be hidden. And although they love the sport, they might love the NFL, they might love football in general as a sport, they kind of shy away from it because of orientations or other outside things.”
To date, only 16 NFL players have come out as gay or bisexual in the organization’s 100+ year existence. The stigmas associated with the LGBTQ community run rampant in amongst many sports fans and Saunders had a little message for those sending hate his way.
“Oh let’s not forget these hands rated E for everyone lol don’t let this Ally s**t fool you,” he said on X. “If you got a problem with what I’m doing then come beat my a** abt it. actually would be some fun cardio for me. You’ll never win fighting with hate against someone fighting with love.”
Well, that gives a whole new meaning to fight for what you believe is right. Not mad at it.
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