It is hard to love a sport, because the truth is that sports will never love you back. Sports will never comfort you when the defeat of your favorite team hurts you, they won’t be there for you as you go through the highs and lows of life. Sports can bring us joy and sorrow in equal measure, and we can love them, but they will never love us back.
For minority groups, the reminder that sports don’t love you back can feel heavier, and more dangerous at times. There is a very real difference between being a cisgendered straight sports fan who does not feel fear going to a game with their significant other, compared to a lesbian couple sitting in the stands just trying to enjoy a game in the company of someone they love without encountering hate speech.