Brenden Aaronson was joined by Rebekah Bass recently for an LGBTQ+ workshop with the Leeds United Foundation ahead of our dedicated Rainbow Laces fixture.
The attacker and the Leeds United Women's captain were both on hand to listen and take part in the educational session that was being delivered to the Under-16s team that are part of the Foundation's RTC programme at Leeds Beckett University.
Julia Hogan, who is the LGBTQ+ lead within the club's official charity, delivered the workshop alongside representatives from our official LGBTQ+ supporters’ group, Marching Out Together, with the trio giving a breakdown on various LGBTQ+ terms, the history of Marching Out Together and the importance in acting as an ally for the LGBTQ+ community.
After listening to the presentation and taking part in a special quiz, the duo took a number of questions from the aspiring female footballers, covering life as a footballer, experiences with discrimination and advice around being a good ally and fulfilling your dreams.
Brenden Aaronson spoke to LUTV and said: "“It was amazing to be here today, it was great to get out into the community and come to this. It’s something that is happening in the world (discrimination), and I am really happy to be a part of LGBTQ+ events like this and I want to use my platform to help people out and let them know I am there for them.
“It’s important to talk about this because you see it nowadays all the time. Especially in my profession, you see it in stadiums, social media, and places like this. The Rainbow Laces campaign is huge, the Premier League’s platform is something we need to be using this campaign for, to really show the world we care and we want to be there for people and we want there to be a change.”
The annual Rainbow Laces campaign will be celebrated at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon as we take on Fulham in the Premier League, with branded assets being used on the pitch, screens, and LED boards. As part of this year's theme 'inclusion has no off-season' the Premier League have created a host of educational Rainbow Laces resources that are being used in school’s across the country, for more information please click here.
If you would like to learn more about the LGBTQ+ awareness sessions being delivered through the Leeds United Foundation, please contact [email protected].