Bears go all-in for LGBTQ+ community at Pride Bowl 2025 in Chicago 

The Chicago Bears are finding ways to stay active between training camp and preseason. Many team members participated in the city’s Pride Bowl 2025 on the final weekend in June.

Per ChiCitySports, over 50 teams competed in the Pride Bowl weekend, with the goal of connecting members of the LGBT+ community and allies through the sport of football.

The Bears gave donations while also sending out volunteers to the event. The weekend tournament took place at Montrose Beach in Chicago. The event was presented by the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association, with the Pride Bowl bringing together players of all identities competing across seven divisions.

The idea is also to create awareness for the Chicago Metropolitan Sports Association and its flag football league.

This event came while many LGBTQ+ rights are being threatened, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). They are tracking an estimated 598 anti-LGBTQ bills in the United States.

The Pride Bowl included both Open and Women's divisions, with champions crowned across various tiers. This weekend, 32 open+ teams competed alongside 24 women's teams, totaling more than 800 participants. Some of the players were previous college athletes, and they all shared a passion for competing in the cause of pride and equality.

All of the Chicago teams that took part in the weekend festivities were also involved in the Pride parade on Sunday. Pride month officially comes to an end on Monday.

Bears trying to stay active during dead period

The Bears are currently seeking for ways to stay active during the league's dead period, having just completed minicamps. Bears players are scheduled to report to Halas Hall in Chicago until the rookies return on July 19.

Staying active and finding ways to get involved will be important for them over the next little while as new coach Ben Johnson seeks to turn around a franchise that finished last in the NFC North in 2024, the first for former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams behind center.

There is no football going on for a couple of weeks, so Johnson will hope to keep the group active anyway he can.

Chicago will begin the pre-season on August 10 when they welcome the Miami Dolphins to Soldier Field. The regular season officially kicks off for them on September 8 when they host the Minnesota Vikings.