The Golden State Warriors held their first-ever gay night last week. Not only were there gay fans, but the Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus sang the national anthem and Cheer San Francisco (incorrectly dubbed the “world’s only gay-identified cheerleading team” by the San Francisco Chronicle) performed at halftime. From the Chronicle:

Although no public announcement was made during the game that it was LGBT appreciation night, the audience clapped enthusiastically for the performers.

The Golden State Warriors held their first-ever gay night last week. Not only were there gay fans, but the Oakland-East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus sang the national anthem and Cheer San Francisco (incorrectly dubbed the “world’s only gay-identified cheerleading team” by the San Francisco Chronicle) performed at halftime. From the Chronicle:

Although no public announcement was made during the game that it was LGBT appreciation night, the audience clapped enthusiastically for the performers.

Earlier in the day, members of the San Francisco Gay Basketball Association were invited to play a pickup game on the Warriors’ court.

“I just remember playing sports as a kid and never feeling like I could tell people I was gay, so this is a special thing for the NBA to acknowledge players like me,” said Rockdogs point guard Mikey Survillion, 25.

Although this is not the first time an NBA team has held a gay night – the Philadelphia 76ers did it in 2004 and the Toronto Raptors did in 2007 – many gay fans seated in the LGBT section at the game said it was especially poignant that the Warriors reached out, given former player Tim Hardaway’s notorious “I hate gay people” comment in February 2007, for which he later apologized.

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