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New England Patriots to be first NFL team to sponsor LGBT flag football championship

Since 2002 an annual national championship tournament for LGBT flag football teams called the Gay Bowl has taken place across North America. Over 40 teams compete in the tournament in several divisions, including a women’s division.

The Patriots will become the first NFL team to endorse the annual tournament this year. The sponsor by the Patriots comes as no surprise as the team has long supported the LGBT community.

In 2003 when Boston hosted the Gay Bowl, former Patriot Andre Tippett attended the event. Tippett was there to officiate the tournament’s ceremonial coin toss. The Patriots also wrote an amicus brief supporting same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court case Obergefell v.