Since 2014, the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) have partnered with GLAAD for Spirit Day, showing their support for the campaign both online and in person. This year, players, coaches and league and team employees alike have gone purple in allyship with LGBTQ youth, using Spirit Day social frames to post photos and purple Zoom backgrounds for meetings.
The NBA and WNBA have a long history of standing up for the values of diversity, equality and inclusion. Together with players, teams and partners, the leagues continue to use the power of basketball to bring people together and shine a light on important issues of social justice. The leagues have been longtime allies of the LGBTQ community, with the WNBA celebrating WNBA Pride each June and serving as a leader in supporting the community and its inclusion in sports.
On #SpiritDay, join us in speaking out against bullying & take a stand with LGBTQ youth, who disproportionately face bullying & harassment because of their identities.
Pledging to “go purple" in partnership with @glaad is a way for everyone to show solidarity with LGBTQ youth. pic.twitter.com/E8v30CdWH7
— NBA (@NBA) October 15, 2020
Be sure to keep up with the NBA and WNBA as players and teams show their support once again this year, and follow GLAAD on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to see who else goes purple to stand up against bullying of LGBTQ youth.
About Spirit Day:
Each year, millions go purple for GLAAD’s Spirit Day to support LGBTQ youth in a united stand against bullying. Started in 2010 by high school student Brittany McMillan in response to numerous young LGBTQ lives lost to suicide, Spirit Day now draws the participation of celebrities, schools, faith institutions, national landmarks, corporations, media outlets, sports leagues, and advocates around the world, all joining together to stand against bullying and support LGBTQ youth.
Presenting partners Delta Air Lines, Kellogg Company, and Target, official partners Amazon, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and the New York City Council, and Skittles, as well as community partners Kirkland & Ellis, NBA & WNBA will all participate in 2020 Spirit Day.
In 2020, Spirit Day takes on a renewed importance due to the unprecedented challenges facing LGBTQ youth. This year, many LGBTQ youth are beginning the school year at home and are unable to attend in-person meetings of Gay-Straight Alliances, Gender-Sexuality Alliances or on-campus college LGBTQ organizations. Some LGBTQ youth may be confined to a home environment that may be unsupportive or abusive. Calls to The Trevor Project’s hotline for LGBTQ youth have at times more than doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
This year, Spirit Day is on October 15, 2020. Take the Spirit Day pledge to show LGBTQ youth you’ve got their backs at glaad.org/spiritday. Follow @GLAAD on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to keep up to date with #SpiritDay news.