NFL defensive tackle Khalen Saunders is putting his muscle where his heart is — by launching a groundbreaking LGBTQ+-inclusive football camp aimed at making sports a safer, more fabulous space for queer youth. The New Orleans Saints player made the announcement during the 2025 GLAAD Media Awards, sending a bold message to the hyper-masculine world of American football: this game is for everyone.
“Being an ally is more than just saying ‘I support’ — it’s also showing up,” Saunders told NFL Network, shaking up the straight-laced image of the league with a refreshingly candid approach. “There’s not really a space for the LGBTQ+ community in this very male-dominant and heterosexual-dominant sport,” he said, underscoring the toxic culture that keeps queer athletes sidelined.
Saunders’ plan is no token gesture. He’s already collaborated with GLAAD and the NFL Pride Football Combine to launch the camp, which kicks off July 5. This isn’t just a statement — it’s a playbook rewrite. Inspired by his experience attending the Pride Football Clinic, where he said he had “great conversations” with queer fans and athletes, Saunders is turning support into action. “These are people who feel they have to be hidden,” he said. “Although they love the sport, they kind of shy away from it because of orientations or other outside things.”
The camp comes at a tense time for LGBTQ+ athletes. The Trump-Vance administration’s latest assault on inclusion — banning trans women from participating in women’s sports — has rattled queer sports communities nationwide. Trump’s executive order, brashly titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” has been widely criticized as baseless and cruel. In that context, Saunders’ initiative feels not just powerful, but necessary. It’s a declaration that football fields aren’t just for locker-room bravado — they’re battlegrounds for visibility and belonging.
As the NFL continues to grapple with its image, Saunders is proving that you don’t have to wear glitter to be fabulous — but it doesn’t hurt if you do. His camp won’t just teach routes and tackles; it’ll teach young LGBTQ+ players they don’t have to hide who they are to love the game. And that kind of empowerment? That’s Hall of Fame energy.
For queer kids dreaming of making plays instead of staying quiet, Saunders is more than an ally — he’s a game-changer.