The Kansas City Chiefs offer a “Pride Collection” of merchandise for the team’s LGBTQ+ fans. But social media posts are making the unsupported claim that the team “Refuses to Participate in Pride Month” this year. The claim apparently originated in a satirical article, and we could find no announcement from the team regarding this year’s Pride Month.
Pride Month commemorates the Stonewall Uprising for gay rights in Manhattan on June 28, 1969, and celebrates the contributions of LGBTQ+ people with parades and other events throughout June.
But this year’s observance of Pride Month has been met in the U.S. with increasing anti-gay hostility, following passage last year of what ABC News said were a record number of state laws negatively affecting the LGBTQ+ community. The anti-gay sentiment has also been reflected in misinformation on social media, as we’ve written before.