OL Reign Players Reflect Ahead of Pride Match
OL Reign’s annual Pride Match presented by Boeing on Monday, June 13 against the Portland Thorns, will look different from how the club has celebrated in the past – lacking a home crowd, in-stadium celebrations of inclusivity, and the vast array of decorations that have become part of the Pride experience. If you ask OL Reign’s players, however, this year’s Pride Match may be one of the club’s most important yet.
Midfielder Jess Fishlock, who has been honored as a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for her work on behalf of LGBTQA communities and has played with the club since its inaugural season says the club’s commitment to Pride has always been steadfast and genuine.
“I think one of the greatest things about this club is that it’s very open to celebrating all kinds of people, all types of beliefs and all types of society,” Fishlock said. “From day one that I’ve been here, I’ve absolutely been behind the Pride message and I’ve been very vocal in supporting the diversity and inclusivity of Pride and the community. The club doesn’t just release a statement. They’re active in Pride marches and in our Pride jerseys and flags. They really do celebrate Pride in the way that it should be. It’s full of fun, but it’s full of messaging that represents Pride. For someone like me, who’s very gay, very open, and wants to see change, it’s one of the best things to feel supported by your club. It’s actually real. It’s not just a fake stunt or because everybody else does it. They want to do that and I think that’s huge.”
OL Reign forward Jodie Taylor, who is in her third season with the club, voiced a similar opinion.
“I have always felt safe and supported as a LGBTQA player at OL Reign and within the NWSL,” Taylor said. “It’s important to feel safe and comfortable in an environment to be able to truly be yourself.”
When the club faces Portland, they will don their blue secondary kits for the first time. The back of each kit features the logo of Boeing, the iconic aerospace pioneer who has been leader in workplace equality and inclusion and is a steadfast supporter of OL Reign’s Pride celebrations.
“As a proud, returning sponsor of OL Reign committed to diversity and inclusion, Boeing is so pleased to partner with the team to present this year’s Pride Match,” said Bill McSherry, vice president of Government Operations at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “As we cheer on these fantastic OL Reign athletes, we remain committed to ensuring equality and inclusion in our workplaces, communities and beyond.”
In keeping with a trend established in recent years, the numbers on the back of the jersey will feature rainbow colors. After the match, the game-worn, team-signed jerseys will be sold on the OL Reign online shop for $249.00 each to raise money for the Rainbow Center in Tacoma, a non-profit that provides resources and support for the LGBTQA community in the south Puget Sound.
“It’s really important that we still celebrate Pride,” Fishlock said. “When I heard that our game against Portland would be the Pride game, it put a massive smile on my face because it’s important that you still send these messages. Even though you can’t be out in a massive crowd doing the Pride walk and what it stands for, that doesn’t mean that you can’t do the things that we’re doing. You can still send out the message. You can still have a Pride match. You can still do all the things that we do related to Pride. You can still do the things that we’ve done the last eight years. It warms my heart that even though we’re in this environment, we still felt that it was important to dedicate the jerseys and the game to Pride.”
OL Reign goalkeeper Carly Nelson, who signed a short-term agreement with the club ahead of the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, talked about the importance of celebrating Pride. The Utah native, who is writing a book about struggling for acceptance growing up gay in the Mormon church, knows the difficulties that young people in the LGBTQA community face when they lack adequate resources and support.
“Pride is the antidote to shame,” Nelson said. “The shame which many LGBTQA members know too well. The feeling of being scared to express who you are out of fear others will not love you, accept you, value you, see you, or treat you respectfully because of the label you carry. This oppression, which is placed onto us, is caused by the negative stigma which has been passed on for generations and is a constant battle we must fight in order to been seen and feel equal to the mainstream.
“Pride is a time to celebrate how far we have come, the changes we have made, and the strength we have gained through our own personal experiences.”
Even though Monday’s Pride Match will lack the direct fan involvement that has helped cement the celebration as a cornerstone of OL Reign’s season over the years, Fishlock insists that now more than ever is the time to celebrate Pride.
“I’m lucky in that I’m 33 and I’ve been openly gay for a while,” Fishlock said. “I’m comfortable. I’ve tried to use who I am as a positive role model for Pride and for the LGBTQA community. Right now, though, there are people who need this message more than ever. People who are not in a safe environment. People who are not in a safe mental space. People who have to be in isolation or quarantine and can’t be themselves, who have to live a lie or be around people who don’t support who they are. That is a very scary and lonely place and that is why still sending out these messages, sending out the right kind of videos and support for the LGBTQA community and youth is so vitally important. They still need that message and need to know that it’s okay. That’s why this is probably more important than ever. If we were living in a normal society right now, they could probably get away from it for Pride, but they can’t. Hopefully they can see it and feel it. That’s the purpose of all this.”