How the Los Angeles Rams champion inclusivity, show their support for the LGBTQ+ community – California News Times

Los Angeles (KABC)-Raiders Defensive End earlier this year Karl Nashib made history By becoming the first active NFL player to emerge as a gay.

It was an important moment for the NFL’s inclusiveness. A week after Nashib’s announcement, the league declared “soccer is gay” in a new commercial, demonstrating support for the LGBTQ + community.

Seven years earlier, there was another historic moment. St. Louis Rams at the time chose Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted by the NFL in the seventh round. Sam solidified the moment by kissing his boyfriend live on national television.

Sam became the first openly gay player to enter the field in the NFL Preseason, but never played a regular season game.

In 2018, Rams rebuilt history with the addition of the league’s first male cheerleaders, Quinton Peron and Napoleon Genie.

“It’s crazy that the decision to do it on a whim has changed my life,” Peron said. “My career was inspired by seeing someone who looked like me on TV, so the younger generation would be better if more people could put themselves there and take that risk. think.”

In this year’s Pride Month, Rams worked with Hamburger Marys to sponsor a drag queen bingo event and worked with the Varsity Gay League to kick off the flag football league. This is part of a year-round commitment to organizational inclusiveness.

As for the Rams cheerleaders, Peron and Genie are currently captains of a team of five men, including new members Brendan Ryan and Jose Capetillo.

“I’ve always portrayed myself as a young man in the crowd and what I want him to see,” Ryan said of his first match at SoFi Stadium. “The fact that we have the opportunity for young men to stay in the dance class and have a platform to inspire, even if they are the only boys.”

Meanwhile, Nashib says the reaction he has received since coming out has been overwhelmingly positive. Sports apparel retailer Fanatics said the Nasive jersey became a top seller after its announcement.

Both Nassib and NFL have made public donations to The Trevor Project. This helped bring about a flood of donations to nonprofits that provide suicide prevention services to the LGBTQ + community.