Super Bowl 50 is already filled with more storylines than you can keep up with, but one of the lesser-publicized ones you should be following is how the city of Santa Clara, where the game will be played, is LGBT protected.
What does this mean?
According to reports, San Francisco and nearby Santa Clara have laws in place that make it illegal to discriminate in employment, public accommodations and housing, ensuring LGBT members who attend Super Bowl 50 will face zero legal discrimination of any kind.
Super Bowl 50 will also mark the first time in history the event's minority-contracting program is open to LGBT-owned entities. Roughly 50 LGBT-owned businesses were reportedly able to bid on contracts directly dealing with the Super Bowl.
You may think these practices should exist without question, but it appears that won't be the case at next year's Super Bowl in Houston.
Apparently, voters in Houston recently chose to rescind the existing nondiscrimination ordinance, which protected the LGBT community. Now, privately-owned businesses can legally discriminate against LGBT people.
Super Bowl LI, to be played in Houston's NRG Stadium, probably won't be moved, but the NFL needs to acknowledge the message its sending by hosting one of the biggest sporting events on the planet in such a narrow-minded city.
Citations: Hero to zero: LGBT protections differ sharply for Super Bowl host cities (National Sun Times)
