LGBT Speaker
Super Bowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens, three time Pro Bowler and relentless. Just a few great words to describe Brendon, but what might be his proudest accomplishment in the end is his fight for LGBT rights for all. Brendon has a very active voice for the LGBT community, not only for athletes, but every citizen who deserves equal rights.
Brendon’s passion for LGBT rights stems from the monumental 1967 ban on miscegenation laws. Born 9 years after the ban, in Chicago on September 6, 1976 to an Irish-American mother and a Nigerian father, Brendon was taunted over his parents’ right to be married, and this harsh bias left its mark. After living in Nigeria during his early years, Brendon returned with his family to Chicago, and grew up in the Lathrop Holmes housing project. He spent his adolescence in Santa Cruz, California, having the unique experience of living in an “LGBT friendly” college apartment building where his step-father was employed as a building director. These experiences greatly contributed to Brendon’s accepting view of diverse lifestyles. Today he sees the fight to legalize same-sex marriage as the 21st century version of the fight for racial equality, and he has thrown himself into the battle for equal rights with a relentless determination towards victory.
>>> Book Brendon Ayanbadejo to Speak on LGBT Issues