Team DC to Honor Washington Nationals, Joseph Gawler’s Sons
The "Night of Champions" ceremony will also honor Dr. Demarco Brooks, Esteban Dilloway, and D. Fox at April 5 event.
Team DC will host its “Night of Champions” awards gala on April 5.
Held annually, the event honors community leaders and organizations that have taken a leading role in LGBTQ sporting associations.
It also honors several local LGBTQ high school athletes who have demonstrated academic, athletic, and leadership excellence.
Team DC has renamed its Community Support Award after Bernie Delia, the longtime Capital Pride organizer who recently passed away. The award honors individuals, businesses, or organizations that demonstrate commitment to equality, champion Team DC’s mission, and have actively supported D.C.’s LGBTQ sporting organizations.
This year’s recipient of the Bernard Jude Delia Community Leadership Award is Joseph Gawler’s Sons, a Friendship Heights-based funeral home. During the early days of the AIDS epidemic, when other funeral homes turned away AIDS victims, Gawler’s served the LGBTQ community.
As part of Dignity Memorial, Gawler’s began offering workplace benefits to same-sex spouses of its employees long before other businesses would embrace such actions. It was also the first funeral home in a major U.S. city to participate in Pride events, with their rainbow hearse appearing in the Capital Pride Parade.
This year’s Clark Ray Horizon Award goes to Dr. Demarco Brooks, a founding member of Cheer DC and a longtime advocate for LGBTQ inclusivity in academics and athletics. As one of the first Black men to lead cheerleading in Northern Virginia, Brooks has helped support LGBTQ student-athletes and foster safe, welcoming environments for them.
Esteban Dilloway, of Rogue League Sports, is the recipient of this year’s MVP Award. Dilloway has been instrumental in growing the competitive cornhole community in D.C., organizing winter and summer leagues and expanding Rogue League Sports’ offerings.
Dilloway has contributed to the Dupont Social Club and even won the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant, using drag as a platform to celebrate diversity.
The 2025 Trailblazer Award goes to D. Fox, of Queer Pickleball, a league that has grown to include more than 300 members and currently boasts an official partnership with the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation.
The Platinum All-Star Award recipient is the Washington Nationals Baseball Team, a longtime supporter of the LGBTQ community and Team DC, in particular.
The team hosts the annual Night OUT at the Nationals celebration, one of the longest-running Pride events in Major League Baseball, and brings together thousands of fans to celebrate diversity and LGBTQ visibility in sports. The team also maintains working relationships and partnerships with various local LGBTQ community advocacy groups.
Team DC’s “Night of Campions” Gala will be held on Saturday, April 5, at the Hilton National Mall/Wharf, 480 L’Efant Plaza SW, in Washington, D.C.
Cocktails and a silent auction commence at 6 p.m., with dinner and the presentation of awards starting at 7:30 p.m. Cocktail attire is requested. For tickets and more information, visit teamdc.org/champions.
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