NEW ORLEANS, La. – Ainsley Basile never considered himself a football fan. Then, the Super Bowl came to town.
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The 12-year-old from Metairie, Louisiana heard about a Pride Flag Football Clinic the National Football League was sponsoring through a Facebook post his mom shared. The social media ad featured the rainbow-emblazoned logo of New Orleans’ local Pride Center.
“I am trans, so I wanted to check it out,” Basile said.
A few days later, Basile found himself on a green astroturf field inside of New Orleans’ convention center, where the NFL is hosting its massive “NFL Experience” theme park ahead of the big game on Feb. 9.
A participant of the NFL’s pride flag football clinic runs over a set of hurdles during the league’s pride flag football clinic on Feb. 5, 2025.Matt Bloom for The Advocate
Alongside two dozen other young, queer Louisiana residents, Basile learned how to catch a ball, tackle inflatable dummies and rip a flag off of the belt of an opposing player.
“It felt good,” Basile said. “But my shoulder hurts.”
Super Bowl 59 marks the third year in a row the NFL has put on its free pride clinic as a part of pre-game festivities.This year’s lineup also boasts other events, including a party with queer rapper Big Freedia. It’s part of the league’s growing effort to combat decades of homophobia that has kept many queer youth away from the sport.
It comes as other major companies and organizations turn away from longstanding efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion as the Trump Administration also recently threatened to investigate “private sector DEI discrimination.” He’s also pledged to restrict transgender Americans from participation in sports through a slew of executive orders.
Related: Donald Trump bans transgender women athletes from playing sports
But that hasn’t stopped the NFL’s Super Bowl pride football clinic.
“We’ve learned that political controversies are going to come and go,” said Clare Graf, vice president of social responsibility at the NFL. “It’s not why we do the work.”
The NFL hasn’t always shown up for the community. In the hypermasculine world of American football, gay players often don’t feel safe enough to come out.
(1) Ryan Mitchell, NFL LGBTQ brand ambassador, speaks to participants of the league’s pride flag football clinic on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (2) Clare Graf, vice president of social responsibility at NFL, speaks to participants of the league’s pride flag football clinic on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. It’s the event’s third year.Matt Bloom for The Advocate
In 2014, former defensive lineman Michael Sam came out as gay during the NFL draft. He became the first openly gay player to be drafted by the league, but the St. Louis Rams released him from their roster during preseason cuts.
Sam’s coming out sparked a media frenzy, and he was never picked up by another team.
In the years since, the league has tried to rebrand to be more LGBTQ-friendly. It now regularly debuts a rainbow logo during Pride Month. But it’s faced a series of setbacks, including examples of coaches using homophobic language.
Related: NFL removes 'end racism' from Super Bowl end zones and replaces it
To this day, the league has only ever had one openly gay player, Carl Nassib, who came out in 2021, while on the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL’s commissioner publicly backed him afterwards.
Graf and other NFL staff launched the clinic in 2022 as a way to “publicly show up” for the community, Graf said.
“It’s not to build fandom, it’s to show that there are people here who care,” she said.
Participants of the NFL’s pride flag football clinic practice tearing off flags during the league’s pride flag football clinic on Feb. 5, 2025.Matt Bloom for The Advocate
Each year, the league invites local LGBTQ community centers, along with the National Gay Flag Football League and other organizations, to take part in the clinic. This year’s event was the highest attended ever, according to Graf.
Kyle DeVries, board president of the NOLA Pride Center, said the event came at a good time. Louisiana is one of over two dozen states in the U.S. that have banned transgender students’ participation in school sports by law.
“It’s so important to have representation in sports for youth right now,” he said. “To have this at a moment when other initiatives like this are being clamped down across the country, it really means a lot.”
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At the start of Wednesday’s clinic, nearly two dozen students huddled at the end zone of their practice field. NFL staff and players spoke directly to the group. They included Trey McBride, tight end for the Arizona Cardinals, who was raised by two moms.
“Sometimes it may seem like sports are not necessarily the most welcoming place for people in the LGBTQ community,” he said. “But we’re here to tell you you have plenty, plenty of allies.”
McBride said the NFL “wasn’t very good” towards the community when he first started playing.
“I think every year it’s getting better,” he said. “It’s not where we want it to be yet. But we’re inching towards that goal of freedom for people.”
Israel Sullivan, 18, dances with cheerleaders from the Philadelphia Eagles during the NFL’s pride flag football clinic on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025.Matt Bloom for The Advocate
Speakers also included Ryan Mitchell, an entertainment journalist and the NFL’s first LGBT brand ambassador.
“Community is so important right now,” he said. “Let’s celebrate queer joy.”
After the speeches coaches with the National Gay Flag Football League and its local chapter led participants through a series of drills.
Students who didn’t want to play football had other options too, including making friendship bracelets and dancing with NFL cheerleaders.
New Orleans resident Israel Sullivan, 18, spent the entire clinic learning a routine with cheerleaders from the Philadelphia Eagles.
By the end, she was drenched in sweat and smiling. The day felt special, she said.
“This is baddie stuff,” Sullivan said. “I might join their team, actually.”
