First Ever NFL Sponsored / LGBT Focused SuperBowl Inclusion Party

MINNEAPOLIS - Jan. 24, 2018 - PRLog -- What: Esera Tuaolo's Super Bowl "Inclusion Party" Presented by Adidas

Who: Host, Esera Tuaolo (Former NFL Vikings Player) with Performances By: "The Voice" contestants (Team Blake) Rebecca Brunner, Adam Cunningham, Anna Catherine DeHart, Dennis Drummond, Kristi Hoopes, Mitchell Lee, Red Marlow, Keisha Renee, Ryan Scripps, Natalie Stovall. With other Special Celebrity Appearances

When: Wednesday, January 31^st, 2018 - Red Carpet opens at 7 PM

Where: The Pourhouse,10 S 5th St, Minneapolis, MN 55402

MINNEAPOLIS TO HOST FIRST EVER NFL-SPONSORED INCLUSION PARTY CELEBRATING DIVERSITY AND LGBT EQUALITY DURING FOOTBALL'S BIGGEST WEEK

Event To Be Presented by Adidas, Hosted By Out Former Vikings Player Esera Tuaolo, and Will Feature Performances from "The Voice" Contestants and Other Notable Celebrity Appearances

Minneapolis, MN (January 25, 2018) – Esera Tuaolo is hosting the first ever NFL-supported Inclusion Party during Super Bowl week in Minneapolis to foster diversity and inclusion—especially LGBT inclusion—in the National Football League ("NFL").   Through the popularity of the world's largest professional sporting event, organizers hope the party will promote equality and acceptance in all professional sporting disciplines, and in society as a whole.

The Super Bowl Week's Inclusion Party will be a yearly event administered in the city hosting the Super Bowl and is the first and only event of its kind. The party will consist of a night of dancing, food & refreshments; and live performances featuring contestants from Season 13 of "The Voice."  Hosted at the Pourhouse in Downtown Minneapolis, nearly 1000 guests are expected to attend the inaugural event.

A significant portion of the money obtained through the party will be donated annually to diversity centers and anti-bullying organizations within the host city.  This year's donations will go specifically to the Hate In Any Form Is Wrong non-profit, the PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center, and Avenues for Homeless Youth – all based in Minneapolis.   The event is media sponsored by GLAAD, a dynamic media force who protects all that has been accomplished for LGBTQ Acceptance and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love.

LGBT diversity in the NFL has remained extraordinarily low, and during almost a century of its existence, there have been only seven known gay NFL players –David Kopay, Jerry Smith, Ray McDonald, Esera Tuaolo, Kwame Harris, and Ryan O'Callaghan.  Four additional players came out as gay, but were released before playing a single regular season game – Wade Davis, Dorien Bryant, Brad Thorson, and Michael Sam.

Orgainizer Esera Tuaolo said,  "In my NFL days I learned first hand what It is like to feel different or not included, especially in the professional sports world where there are unfortunately a lot of stigmas that still exist.  While we have made some great progress in this movement, we have a long way to go.  This is an event which is well overdue and I'm so happy to have the official support of the NFL to make the Inclusion Party the first of its kind.  This is not a gay party or a straight party, It is a party to celebrate diversity in all forms, and for anyone who has ever felt that they don't belong."

The Inclusion Party's three objectives:

-       Eliminate the explicit and implicit bias and stereotypes that the NFL requires the utmost stereotypical masculinity, brute force, and callous strength and that LGBT people and athletes are weak, fragile and easily subdued, by bringing the NFL and the LGBT communities closer together.

-       Support the idea that inclusion comes from changing the whole NFL environment, not just relying on LGBT players to do all the work. The party will bring together people of all identities—coaches, players, team owners, fans, and the like of all sexualities and genders—to publicly show support for inclusion and change in and around the NFL.

-       Cultivate a hate-free zone on which gay athletes can rely, whether closeted or open with their sexuality. Players will have a whole organization and many readily identifiable allies for support.


For more info/tickets see http://hateiswrong.org/