Jun 2, 2025
Asheville, N.C. - June 2, 2025 - This year, the NWSL Players Association
(NWSLPA) is celebrating Pride by uplifting LGBTQIA+ joy, visibility, and belonging on and off the field. Our Pride message centers on a simple truth: before anything else, we are human.
This message guides the NWSLPA’s 2025 Pride Month initiatives and reflects our commitment to building a future where everyone belongs.
NWSL Player Association Statement: Honoring Pride, Centering Humanity
“This Pride Month, we’re lifting up the lives, love, and legacies of the LGBTQIA+community that allowed joy to emerge and break through — not in spite of struggle, but as part of it. Not separated from the human experience, but as part of what makes us whole.
We’re also choosing to focus on what binds us rather than what pulls us apart. At a time when the voices of division are loud and constant, sports remain one of the few places where people of all backgrounds come together — not because we are the same, but because we believe in something bigger than ourselves.
Pride is about the refusal to live small, and the insistence that authenticity and joy is liberating.
This month, we invite our supporters to celebrate and show up as you are — not because it’s easy, but because it’s essential. Embrace it, as evidence of what we’re building together: something freer, fuller, and fiercely human.”
Partnerships & Fundraising to Benefit Athlete Ally
As part of this year’s Pride campaign, the NWSLPA has partnered with Official League to launch a limited-edition Pride hat. The design features the word “Human” in rainbow script on a black base, with multicolor eyelets symbolizing the full spectrum of Pride. Proceeds from sales of the hat will benefit Athlete Ally, a national nonprofit working to advance LGBTQIA+ inclusion in sports.
Additionally, Parkside Collectibles will release special-edition NWSLPA trading cards, with proceeds also supporting Athlete Ally’s mission to make sports more equitable for all.
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