USA Lacrosse Celebrates Pride Month with Athletes Unlimited, Outsports

To celebrate Pride Month, USA Lacrosse partnered with Athletes Unlimited and Outsports to share the stories of players, administrators and leaders of the women’s professional lacrosse league that are proud members of the LGBTQ+ community.

We hope to shine a light on the ways the league is helping foster an inclusive environment, while showcasing the unique perspectives of those that will take part in the league this summer.

Lacrosse is a game for all. USA Lacrosse is committed to fostering a national lacrosse community that encourages understanding, appreciation and acceptance of all. We believe that broad representation and participation, through accessibility and availability to everyone, add significant value to the lacrosse experience of each of us.

ALLY KENNEDY AND TAYLOR MORENO

Ally Kennedy: "I didn't know until Taylor and I became closer, and I'm having these feelings of an emotional connection to her and attraction. I told my mom first. I was 23. It was pretty shocking for my family. But to give them so much credit, they were so supportive and didn't even bat an eye. I was so nervous to tell my dad. I remember talking to him in a restaurant about it, which is probably the worst place to do it. We both got super emotional and cried because he's like, ‘I just love you and I don't care. I just want you to be happy.’ When I told them I'm with Taylor, they’re like, ‘That’s sick. We’ve known her for so long and she’s a great person.’"

Read more about Kennedy and Moreno here.

CHARLOTTE NORTH

North: "It was right after I graduated college. It kinda happened over time, but primarily after college. My girlfriend and I told people that we were together. That’s something I’ll never forget, just being surrounded by the people that we love and telling the people that we love our story.

"It’s not something we take for granted, because not everyone receives that. And for some, it’s quite the opposite."

Read more about North here.

CRYSTI FOOTE AND BRITT READ

Crysti Foote: "It’s easy when you have a sport that unites you. We had very similar friends, similar backgrounds. It’s just really easy to connect and live your life. We’re both coaching, we both travel a ton, but we both understand the nature of what it takes to be successful. It makes the relationship a lot easier. We can really have a partnership in making it successful for both us."

Read more about Foote and Read here.

HILARY MEYER

Meyer: "One important objective is to lift our athletes' voices to highlight diverse experiences to our fans. Finding ways to help athletes tell their stories, talk about their lives, and celebrate our athletes as individuals is a core tenet. In so doing, we are able to bring our LGBTQ+ athletes’ stories to the forefront so fans – and other athletes – can learn from each other. We also find ways to offer messages of support to folks in our community who are struggling with their LGBTQ+ identities."

Read more about Meyer here.