Phoenix Mercury to celebrate Pride Night on Friday

The Phoenix Mercury will celebrate Pride Month and the local LGBTQ+ community by hosting a Pride Night for their game on Friday against the Atlanta Dream.

“Pride is a celebration of inclusion and a statement about how we as an organization value equality, and we are excited to host Pride Night in partnership with Hornitos who shares those same values,” Mercury president Vince Kozar said in a release.

“As the first professional sports team in Arizona to host a Pride Night, march in the Phoenix Pride parade, or have a presence at the Phoenix Pride and Rainbows festivals, we take seriously our role in providing visibility and representation to historically marginalized communities, especially those to which our players, staff and fans are deeply connected.”

Six LGBTQ+ organizations from the Valley will have booths in the concourse of Footprint Center during the game to educate fans about their past work and goals.

ONE Community, Equality Arizona, Phoenix Pride, Aunt Rita’s, one•n•ten and Southwest Center will also benefit from an online auction that begins during the game and runs for a week.

The Mercury will auction off a pair of BG42 Nike Blazers created by Brittney Griner, who remains captive in a Russian prison on alleged drug charges.

The team will also be selling Pride socks with the Mercury and Suns logos, and all of the proceeds from those sales will go back into the LGBTQ+ community.

The first 5,000 fans who attend the game with a 7 p.m. tipoff will receive a Mercury Pride flag.

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