Pride and prejudice

Area LGBTQ+ sports figures applaud gains but fear rights will be eroded

LGBTQ+ San Antonians viewed the Spurs’ inaugural Pride Night last season as a step toward greater acceptance locally.

“It gave the LGBTQ+ community permission to enter that space as a fan,” said Angel Flores, a transgender activist and weightlifter.

“... For a huge figure like Gregg Popovich to say, ‘Everybody belongs in the stands and on the court,’ it really gave the community amazing space to be with family, and the Spurs are most definitely family in San Antonio.”

But as Pride Month — the annual homage to the Stonewall Uprising in June 1969 in New York City — nears its halfway point, the Spurs’ message of inclusivity has faded as many in the LGBTQ+ community are on edge.

In the wake of the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, LGBTQ+ people fear same-sex marriage and other decisions relying on the “right to privacy” outlined in the ruling that legalized abortion nationwide nearly 50 years ago also could be in jeopardy.

A wave of anti-transgender legislation in Republican-governed states, including Texas, also has spiked anxiety.

“An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” Flores said.

She is one of five LGBTQ+ members of San Antonio’s sports community the Express-News interviewed recently about a variety of Pride Month topics, including concerns about a possible looming loss of rights.

Here are edited excerpts:

How does your family mark Pride Month?

“I come from a generation where (being gay) just wasn’t accepted, and now we have at least made some strides, so for me, it is a

Josie Norris/Staff photographer Angel Flores, 23, came out as transgender two years ago after competing in weightlifting since she was young. She says the biggest benefit for transgender athletes is “simply being in those sports spaces, doing what they love, being with their friends.”