Expansion Valkyries' bond with LGBTQ+ community was forged immediately

Against that backdrop, the Valkyries haven’t hesitated to not only be inclusive of their queer fanbase, but also to center it. Intentionally or not, the Valkyries brand has tons of imagery queer fans connect with. Their colors, “Valkyrie Violet,” are closer to a shade of lavender, which was used to represent queer empowerment during the civil rights movement. The team name is the same as a queer Marvel superhero, “Valkyrie,” played by openly queer actress Tessa Thompson.

Oakland native and lesbian singer Kehlaini voiced the team’s first promotional video,

“I think their marketing definitely is what drew me in,” said Holly Schultz, a San Francisco resident who wasn’t a sports fan before the Valkyries started. “From the very first post that they did, the video that they did, I was like, ‘Oh, this is cool, I could be a part of this.’”

While there have always been queer women’s basketball fans and players, the sport — and WNBA — haven’t always been as explicitly welcoming. Several queer players were closeted or not marketed in the early 2000s, but the league chose to lean into its LGBTQ+ audience later on.

“I’d never had a real desire to go to a game for like the Giants or Warriors much,” Schultz said. “But then I saw there were queer players and how many queer fans there were for the Valkyries and now I feel very passionate about them.”




https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/article/expansion-valkyries-immediately-forged-bond-20399578.php