Braintree Athlete First Professional To March In Pride Parade

BRAINTREE, MA — A Braintree native became the first active professional athlete to march in the Boston Pride parade. New England Revolution midfielder Scott Caldwell, as an ally, marched in the 49th annual Boston Pride Parade, which marked 50 years since the Stonewall Riots, widely considered a pivotal event in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community's civil rights movement.

In 2013, former Boston Celtic Jason Collins became the first professional athlete in America's five major sports to march in the parade. Collins came out as a gay man in May 2o13. He was a free agent at the time and didn't sign with another NBA team until well into the 2013-2014 season. Former Patriots offensive lineman Ryan O'Callagan, who came out as gay in 2017, marched in the 2018 Pride Parade. Caldwell on June 8 became the first professional athlete to march in the parade while an active member of a team in one of the five major sports leagues.

"For me, I just really don’t think it matters who you are, how you identify, who you love," Caldwell said after marching in the parade. "It just matters about coming together as a group, having fun, enjoying each other’s company, and I thought everyone did that today and it was a lot of fun!"

Caldwell grew up in Braintree, attended Milton Academy, and as just a 21-year-old college athlete, signed with the New England Revolution in 2012.