Two Time Super Bowl Winner Holds LGBTQ+ Friendly Youth Football Camp originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
I first met Khalen Saunders at the 2019 Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Khalen, who goes by the nickname Bink, was a standout player from Western Illinois. In many ways Khalen, coming from such a small school, beat the odds by just getting selected for the postseason all-star game. However, he would go on to accomplish so much more.
Back in 2019, Saunders competed admirably against the nation’s best players. At the same time he had to make the difficult choice to stay in Mobile and not be with his fiancé Ayanna when she gave birth to their daughter Kambridge. It was a smart decision and his hard work paid off as a couple months later, Saunders was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs and would go on to win two Super Bowls.
Today in Saint Louis, Khalen and his brother Kameron held a youth football camp and made it a point of emphasis to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ kids.
Saints Player Khalen Saunders Teams up With Dancing Brother Kameron Saunders For LGBTQ-Friendly Football Camp https://t.co/8PC6XhZQYT
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 30, 2025
Saunders believes that “football is for all” and that being an ally means taking action and not just stating support.
Saunders talked to CNN’s Ben Morse about his brother Kameron, a famous dancer and choreographer who most recently has been featured on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Kameron was a big source of inspiration to Kalen wanting to take action. He said, “I think [Kameron] has been to almost every single game that I’ve had, from when I was eight until now…So my intention with this camp is to unify everybody and just promote positivity and empathy amongst others as far as just being accepting of everybody and showing everybody love.”
Khalen also sat down with Jemele Hill on her podcast and opened up more on how deeply personal this is for him. He said, “There was a strong need for it, especially in today’s climate. You know, what we consider being different in today’s society. Obviously, my brother Kameron, who is openly gay, has been gay my entire life. [He] was my driving factor behind intentionally putting that tag on it…I feel like in college was my first time experiencing him not being comfortable in a crowd of one of my games because we were actually about to play an openly gay player on the other team. And we’re in my home town at my college and they were saying they were going to do a display or demonstration against LGBTQ with my brother in the crowd! I got defensive, obviously, because they’re coming to my home field and disrespecting my brother. That’s when the idea [for the camp] started.”
My guest this week on SPOLITICS is New Orleans defensive tackle @khalenNOTkaylen. Khalen made national news after he announced his annual youth football camp will also be LBGTQ+ inclusive. Khalen explains why it was important to make LGBTQ+ kids feel welcome, how watching his… pic.twitter.com/sa2CWta3J3
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) July 3, 2025
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 6, 2025, where it first appeared.