Obnoxious Sports! The Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club today announced plans to participate in the 45th Atlanta Pride Festival, the largest event of its kind in the Southeast, as well as the largest event in the country to coincide with National Coming Out Day. Hawks and Philips Arena employees and their families will have a large presence at pre-activation events on Oct. 10, carrying over into the Pride Parade the following day, when the group will march through Atlanta with thousands of Pride supporters.
“The Atlanta Hawks are proud to join the Atlanta community in celebrating 45 years of Pride,” said Nzinga Shaw, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer of the Atlanta Hawks & Philips Arena. “We are committed to engaging with our community in a meaningful way that widens the welcome of underrepresented groups and emerging communities.”
Roughly 50 representatives from the Hawks and Philips Arena will march in the Pride Parade, beginning at the Civic Center MARTA station and following the route to its official end in Piedmont Park. The group will wear and distribute a Torch Red, jersey-inspired version of an officially licensed Adidas t-shirt featuring the number 45 to commemorate Pride Festival’s run in Atlanta. Three additional versions of the t-shirts and a Pride-themed hat, each displaying the message “True Comes in All Colors,” will be available for purchase in Hawks Shop, located inside Philips Arena.
The Hawks, winners of TAG’s 2015 Business Champion of Diversity Excellence Award, continue to make strides in diversity and inclusion, recently launching a new webpage devoted to detailing efforts the organization is making to remain ahead in the diversity and inclusion space.
