The NBA has launched a line of Pride Month-themed basketball apparel, reports Outsports.
The Memphis Grizzlies logo (and the logos of the other 29 NBA teams) is featured in rainbow colors on a black background. The shirts, which retails for about $25, are only available at Teespring, and the proceeds benefit the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), which pushes schools to treat all students with respect, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
“Professional sports showing up for LGBT people is one of the biggest cultural developments of the last decade, and really the last five years,” GLSEN executive director Eliza Byard told Outsports. “The NBA has been showing up for LGBT youth and for GLSEN for a number of years. Having this be a league-wide initiative, knowing any LGBT fan in the country can choose to celebrate their team and themselves with one of those shirts, that’s a whole new thing.”
Last year, some teams in Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League featured rainbow-logo tees, but the NBA Pride Month line marks the first time a major sports league has featured all of its teams.
