By Joanie Juster—
Pride Month provided San Francisco with some high-profile examples of what leadership and true allyship should—and should not—look like.
First, thank you to everyone who marched in, volunteered for, and helped create the first-ever Trans Ally Rally on Saturday, June 27. A collaborative effort between San Francisco Pride, People’s March, Trans March, San Francisco Dyke March, Dykes on Bikes®, and Indivisible SF, the event drew a large, supportive crowd that marched up Market Street and through the Tenderloin, providing a great kickoff to the celebration in Civic Center.
The night before presented difficult choices. Valkyries Pride Night fell on the same evening as San Francisco Opera’s Pride Concert. Much as I adore the Valkyries, I chose the opera—and was rewarded with an evening that offered far more than just splendid singing by some of today’s top queer opera artists. It was an immersive celebration, from the rainbow lights inside and outside the Opera House to a display of panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt in the upper lobby. Emcee Sapphira Cristál brought humor, history, fierce inspiration, and stunning gowns to the program, and legendary DJ and activist Juanita MORE! rocked the afterparty. Executive Director Matthew Shilvock spoke passionately about San Francisco Opera’s deep commitment to inclusion and equity, making it clear that SF Opera stands firmly with the LGBTQ+ community—and that this commitment extends from the top down through every level of the company.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Valkyries hosted a Pride Night that was, by all accounts, an exuberant celebration of inclusion, community, and pride. Every detail of the event made sure their LGBTQ+ fans, team, and staff all felt welcomed, valued, and celebrated. In her post-game press conference, Head Coach Natalie Nakase said, “Part of our culture is to allow everyone to be their authentic self … . The beauty of that is that we don’t even really have to talk about it, the care and the love and acceptance is already within.” The Valkyries know who their fans are, and make sure their fans feel the love. The message was clear and consistent from the front door to the front office: All are welcome here.
By contrast, the San Francisco Giants managed to tarnish their longstanding reputation as one of the most inclusive teams in professional sports. Yes, they planned festive Pride-themed events in coordination with some of San Francisco’s most prominent LGBTQ+ leaders. Everything was in place for a welcoming, inclusive night at the ballpark, but then they struck out, big time, because, once the game started, it became clear that not all the players were on board with the theme of Pride Night. As opposed to the Valkyries, who were all clearly excited to be playing a game that celebrated Pride, four of the Giants players chose to signal their opposition to the night’s theme, three of them by adding a biblical verse to their Pride caps, and a fourth by opting not to wear the Pride cap at all.
Unfortunately, the cap debacle was just the beginning of the Giants’ screw-up. What followed was a weeks-long jaw-dropping example of incompetent crisis management. The reaction from Giants fans, both queer and straight, was fast and furious. It was clear that the actions of the four players caused damage to the community, and the community needed to hear from the Giants that they understood the damage that had been caused, and were working to heal the wounds. Yet, day after day, the Giants’ leaders—Manager Tony Vitello, President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey, and CEO Larry Baer—all showed a stunning lack of leadership by refusing to take the issue seriously, and even refusing to discuss it. The result? So much of the good will that the Giants had built up with the LGBTQ+ community over the past 32 years, since they started holding annual Until There’s a Cure Days to raise money and awareness around HIV/AIDS, has been damaged. Their allyship now feels skin-deep, instead of genuine. I’m a lifelong fan, having stuck by the Giants through thick and thin since they moved to San Francisco in 1958, but now it feels like the Giants have betrayed the city they call home. And, worse yet, it feels like they just don’t care.
While the Giants’ public relations disaster was growing into a national news story, San Francisco Pride and the Commonwealth Club hosted the day-long Human Rights Summit on June 25. The day opened with an enlightening onstage discussion between San Francisco Pride President Suzanne Ford and the CEO of Philz Coffee, Mahesh Sadarangani. They shared the story of a public relations fiasco that resulted in strengthening community bonds—a stark contrast to the Giants’ leadership disaster.
They walked us through what happened in April when Philz Coffee removed the rainbow flags that had long festooned their store in the heart of the Castro. The immediate, intense backlash from their employees and the community caught Sadarangani and his team by surprise when Ford led protests, the community rose up to denounce Philz, and outrage was expressed—but then something extraordinary happened: Ford and Sadarangani started talking to each other, and started listening to each other. They started building a relationship, and understanding each other’s point of view. Ford learned what had gone into the Philz decision to unify the look of their stores. Sadarangani learned just how much the Pride flags mean to LGBTQ+ people, and that his queer employees should have had a say in the decision. Mutual respect was earned. Real growth and change took place. The Giants could learn something from their example.
Speaking of Real Leadership
The celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence offered starkly contrasting visions of what our country is, and where it should go from here.
On July 3, our current president chose to stand in front of Mount Rushmore and deliver a dark, threatening speech in which he tried to convince listeners that the biggest threat to the United States is communism—and that Democrats, and, basically, anyone who doesn’t agree with him, are communists. “They don’t want good. They don’t love God and they don’t want God … . They have no respect for law, justice, principle, tradition, or your God-given rights. It’s an ideology of mass theft, mass control, mass lies, and mass murders … . You can be a communist or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both.”
The next day, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani also gave a speech about our country’s 250th birthday, but it couldn’t have been more different. Surrounded by newly naturalized citizens, he walked listeners through 250 years of American history—the good, the bad, and the ugly. But, instead of giving in to despair and pessimism, he chose hope and encouragement:
“Those ideals upon which our nation was built—they are strong enough to endure any authoritarian regime, but only if we reach for them. Ours is a nation working each day towards the perfection in which it was conceived. A nation striving each day to better itself. Therein lies the work of America—the striving, the bettering, the reaching towards perfection … . What a privilege each of us has, to live in a nation that every one of its inhabitants can shape. What a responsibility each of us possesses, to prove ourselves worthy of all those who came before. What power each of us holds, to bring America ever-closer to the greatness so many have seen when they looked upon these shores—the greatness that, for 250 years, has been America.”
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
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Published on July 16, 2026
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