If you’re going to be the world’s first openly gay boxer, then you might as well use your position and voice to do something good. Which is exactly what Orlando Cruz has planned for his upcoming world title fight this weekend.
In a post to Twitter, Cruz revealed that he would be accessorizing a little bit in order to raise awareness for some key issues in his life: gay rights and breast cancer.
@LGBTPR, a twitter account dedicated to the queer scene in Puerto Rico, posted the above photo online, showing off Cruz’s fighting attire, including the caption “Orlando (@ElFenomenoCruz) Cruz will wear rainbow colors in his saturday Las Vegas fight.”
Considering how macho the world of boxing is — hell, the entire world of sports is almost singularly hetero-male — it’s nice to see someone step up and try to get people to remember the rights of LGBT people, as well as calling attention to women’s health. And then both parties will start trying to punch each other unconscious, somewhat undercutting the message. The world is funny like that sometimes.