Nearly every Major League Baseball team has either already held or announced plans to host a Pride night this month to celebrate the LGBTQ community, with the sole exception of the Texas Rangers.
The Rangers’ decision not to host a Pride night is not a new occurrence, as the team opted against hosting such a celebration since MLB teams first started the practice more than 20 years ago, according to the Associated Press.
The first Pride night in MLB history took place in 2001 at the Chicago Cubs’ stadium.
Two years later, in September 2003, the Rangers opted to invite various LGBTQ groups to a game, which resulted in protesters outside the stadium throughout much of the game.
While the decision to not host a Pride night has drawn split opinions from many, the Rangers said in a statement that the organization’s goal is to make every person feel welcome at all 81 scheduled home games during the season.
“Our longstanding commitment remains the same: To make everyone feel welcome and included in Rangers baseball — in our ballpark, at every game, and in all we do — for both our fans and our employees. We deliver on that promise across our many programs to have a positive impact across our entire community,” maintained the organization, per AP.
Although the Rangers are the lone MLB team not hosting Pride nights, the organization has engaged with the LGBTQ community in recent years.
The Rangers helped sponsor the NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series in 2022, with the organization helping with various initiatives and the event taking place in Dallas and Waxahachie, as reported by AP.
Similarly, Texas has worked with the Pegasus Slow-Pitch Softball Association to promote amateur softball with an emphasis on those in the LGBTQ community.
Despite the Rangers working with the LGBTQ community in other ways, many groups have expressed anger regarding the organization’s decision not to host a Pride night.
DeeJay Johannessen, chief executive of the Tarrant County-based LGBTQ organization HELP Center, said it is an “embarrassment” that there is no Rangers Pride night and that he would like to speak with the Rangers to “talk about why it’s important.”
“I think that the issue here is not whether they are losing every game or whether they are World Series champions… it’s a matter of whether or not having a Pride Night is something that the ownership of the Rangers is supportive of,” he added, according to The Daily Mail.
