BALTIMORE — Among the many events for Pride Month will be one featuring athletic opportunities for local LGBTQ+ young people.
A group called Unmatched Athlete is part of the second annual Pride event at Union Collectivein Hampden on Saturday. The celebration will be an all-day fundraiser for Unmatched Athlete, which encourages LGBTQ+ youth - and their allies - to take part in sports and fitness.
"We are mostly volunteer-run, so all the funds go toward making sure that we can reserve fields, that we can compensate our volunteers, because we all have day jobs," said Olanrele Oni, its founder and president. "It's just an opportunity to celebrate Pride, to also fundraise for our organization, and we'll have a lot of fun activities during the day."
Oni started the group in 2020, on the heels of the "Black Trans Lives Matter" movement.
"I always wanted to do something, because when you see our trans sisters being killed... I was just like, 'Something has to happen, and I certainly don't want to run for office,'" he said. "I love sports, I've always enjoyed playing sports, and I think sports is that medium where I feel like it can really be that barometer for change."
He added:
"I feel like it's a really great opportunity, when you don't see enough representation as relates to LGBTQ+ athletes, then if you're younger, you don't really feel you exist in that space. But if you're an ally or if you don't identify as LGBTQ+, how do you empathize if you don't see those people exist? So I figured this would be a great way to start an organization, because I didn't see anything that existed from a participatory standpoint in sports. I said, well, when I was younger, I wish I had this."
He said he was pleasantly surprised and humbled to see there were about 40 to 60 people for the first Union Collective Pride event last year.
The public is invited to a free climbing day for young people, an evening Stoop Storytelling show, and drag performances at Union Craft Brewing.
The event will take place from noon to 10 p.m. at Union Collective, 1700 West 41st Street.
