The Golden State Valkyries held Pride Night at Chase Center on Friday, putting LGBTQ+ inclusion at the center of a home game before the franchise had even played its first one. Natalie Nakase said the team has made deliberate choices to make people feel welcome, and that message was visible in a building filled with fans looking for more than basketball.
That is why Friday mattered. The Valkyries have treated inclusion as part of the club’s identity from the start, and Nakase said the goal is for people to feel comfortable being themselves. “We’re all about inclusivity and I love it,” she said, adding that the team takes intentional steps so everyone feels welcome and can find community in Ballhalla.
The Pride Night game also gave the team a stage to show how that identity plays in practice. Gabby Williams said a night like this can mean a kiss cam featuring two women or two men, and she described the atmosphere in the Bay Area as open and normal, with people able to be themselves unapologetically. The Valkyries have also celebrated Pride across the Bay Area through partnerships with local organizations and artists, along with halftime drag performances that turned a promotional night into part of the game experience.
For Megan Doherty-Baker, who helped organize the ValQueeries, that visibility is the point. The grassroots LGBTQ+ fan group formed last year and has already held watch parties, meetups and community events around the team. Doherty-Baker said it feels special to know the club sees the group: “[The Valkyries] know we exist, so that feels pretty special for us when we realize, ‘They’re very much on our radar, and we’re on theirs,’” she said this month.
There is a reason the messaging lands so strongly here. The Valkyries have leaned into a WNBA culture where LGBTQ+ athletes have long been embraced, but they are also doing it in a broader sports world where that kind of visibility has not always been treated as routine. Williams said the Bay Area celebrates history, pointing to the Black Panthers and Harvey Milk as part of the region’s legacy. Friday’s Pride Night suggested the franchise is not treating that history as decoration. It is building around it, and the next test is whether that same welcome keeps showing up every time fans walk into Chase Center.
