Harger: Seattle shouldn’t hide Pride because Iran and Egypt demand it
Dec 15, 2025, 8:40 AM | Updated: 2:16 pm
Praise where praise is due. Good on you, Mayor-elect Katie Wilson, for helping remind the world why American values are good values.
On June 26, Iran plays Egypt in a World Cup match right here in Seattle. June. Seattle. That’s Pride Month around here. And it’s now an international incident.
Officials from both countries are furious about the scheduling. The Egyptian Football Association sent a formal letter to FIFA demanding they “avoid including activities that could provoke cultural and religious sensitivities.” Iran’s federation president says he’ll raise the issue at a FIFA Council meeting next week. They want Pride festivities canceled, or the game moved.
Let me tell you about those cultural sensitivities.
In Egypt, authorities use morality laws to target gay people. Entrapment through dating apps. Arrests for possessing condoms. Prison sentences of three to 12 years. Even displaying a rainbow flag can land you in jail.
In Iran, it’s simpler. Being gay is punishable by death. Hanging. They’ve executed thousands since 1979. If you’re lucky, you get flogging instead.
That’s what Egypt and Iran want to protect their fans from seeing. A pride parade. Rainbow flags. The radical notion that the government doesn’t get to tell you who to love.
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Respecting a country’s culture
During the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, FIFA demanded that visiting fans respect the host nation’s values. They threatened players with yellow cards for wearing rainbow armbands. Security confiscated rainbow flags and hats from fans entering stadiums. The message was clear: when you visit a country that criminalizes homosexuality, you will respect their cultural sensitivities.
Apparently, that’s a one-way street.
Now Iran and Egypt want to visit a country that celebrates Pride Month and demand we hide our values. They want the same FIFA that enforced Qatar’s rules to suppress Seattle’s now. Cultural sensitivity for thee, but not for me.
Seattle’s local organizing committee isn’t backing down. They’re moving forward as planned with Pride programming outside the stadium. Mayor-elect Wilson put it plainly: “We get to show the world that in Seattle, everyone is welcome.”
I haven’t always agreed with Katie Wilson. But on this? She’s right. We shouldn’t cave to pressure from countries that execute people for being gay.
This is what American values look like. Two consenting adults can get married here. The government doesn’t imprison you for who you love. Americans have worked hard to get to this point: you can march down the street with a rainbow flag, and the worst thing that happens is someone disagrees with you. That’s it. Disagreement. Not prison. Not flogging. Not death.
Maybe it will be good for audiences in Egypt and Iran to watch this match. To see the Pride flag flying next to the American flag. To see that a city and a country can celebrate and support their entire community. To witness what freedom actually looks like in practice.
That’s worth showing the world.
And if Egypt and Iran don’t like it? We played by their rules in Qatar. They can play by ours here.
And that’s the commentary for Dec. 15. You can always weigh in. Shoot us a note on the text line (888) 973-5476 or leave a comment on MyNorthwest.
Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here.
