Orlando stands united with LGBT community

Orlando City Soccer Club is in the process of constructing a soccer specific stadium so that they can relocate from the historic citrus bowl. It was recently announced that they were going to make an addition to the facility. Phil Rawlins, who is Orlando City SC's president and founder recently tweeted that the club was in the process of installing 49 multi-colored seats into the stadium. These seats are paying tribute to the 49 people who lost their lives on June 12 in a shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. This move by the Orlando City organization which houses both Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride of the NWSL is being met with tremendous fanfare in the soccer community and nationwide.

This is a classy move by the club to further integrate itself into the Orlando community. Soccer is one of the more inclusive sports and to see them take steps to make the LGBT community feel more welcome is appreciated. It helps to unite us in an effort to stand side-by-side with our brothers and sisters. Major League Soccer introduced the "Don't cross the line" program which aims to eliminate racism, sexism, and homophobia within the game and OCSC is really stepping up and being a pioneer in diversity and inclusion. However, soccer is not perfect as racism, sexism and homophobia are still present in the game in various parts of the world, but to see Orlando stand up and spearhead a campaign here in the United States to be more inclusive is a breath of fresh air.