NFL: HERO Defeat ‘Will Not Affect Our Plans For Super Bowl LI’

The NFL today quickly responded to petitions and a growing call for the organization to boycott Houston after an LGBT civil rights ordinance failed.

There is a Twitter hashtag, many LGBT activists and allies calling for a boycott of the City of Houston, and at least two Change.org petitions, calling on the NFL to move the 2017 Super Bowl, in the wake of voters’ striking down an equal rights ordinance.

The NFL this afternoon – less than 24 hours after Houston voters defeated the ordinance that would expand protections, especially for LGBT people – has attempted to get ahead of the growing anger, by issuing a statement on Super Bowl LI.

The defeat of HERO, Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance, “will not affect our plans for Super Bowl LI in 2017,” NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy says, according to the Washington Blade.

“We will work closely with the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee to make sure all fans feel welcomed at our events. Our policies emphasize tolerance and inclusiveness, and prohibit discrimination based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or any other improper standard.”

The NFL did not define “improper standard.”

The 2017 Super Bowl is scheduled to take place on February 5, 2017 at NRG Stadium (photo) in Houston, Texas.

 

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Image by Enrique A Sanabria via Flickr and a CC license