Moffitt Cancer Center will no longer fly pride, Juneteenth flag

Moffitt Cancer Center will no longer fly a rainbow flag in June to commemorate pride month, according to internal emails obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

The nonprofit also will not fly a special flag on June 19 to commemorate Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people.

The decision comes as the Trump administration has threatened to withhold medical research grants to universities and other organizations that have diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Moffitt received more than $55 million in research funding from the National Institute of Health in 2024, records show. It receives additional funds through its partnership with the University of South Florida.

Moffitt officials confirmed the decision but declined to give a reason.

“Moffitt Cancer Center is committed to our mission of contributing to the prevention and cure of cancer — for all populations,“ a statement provided by Moffitt said. ”Moffitt strives to deliver high quality outcomes for all. Every day, our team members show dignity and respect to each other and every patient who walks through our doors. It is the culture of our organization.”

The decision is an abrupt U-turn for the nonprofit, which has flown a pride flag since at least 2017. In 2020, it launched a study aimed at training oncologists to better understand the needs of their LGBTQ+ patients.

Moffitt donated $1,000 to this year’s Tampa Pride event in March, and its employees have regularly taken part in the St. Pete Pride event, which in the past included a Moffitt booth to promote the center.

Other health groups, including Tampa General Hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital, are among sponsors of St. Petersburg Pride, the largest LGBTQ+ festival in the Southeast.

An email announcing the decision was sent Wednesday to Equity at Moffit, a engagement employee network, by Laura Bosselman, manager of patient experience and relations.

“I know this is not the outcome many of us were hoping for,” she wrote. “The flags have served as powerful symbols of recognition, inclusion, and visibility for our communities, and I share in the disappointment this decision brings.”

A significant number of companies and organizations, including Walmart, IBM, Goldman Sachs and United Health Group, have rolled back or ended diversity, equality and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives in the wake of an a series of executive orders from President Donald Trump.

One order requires federal contractors and recipients of grants to certify that they do not operate any “illegal” DEI programs. Another instructs the U.S. attorney general to investigate private sector groups that have DEI programs to see if they violate federal antidiscrimination laws.

One page on Moffit’s website includes a transcript of a 2024 podcast with Elizabeth Olson, the associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Olson and her wife brought Olson’s mother, Gloria Olson, to Moffitt for cancer treatment in 2023. When they arrived for her surgery at the Tampa campus at 5:30 a.m. on June 1, the first thing they saw was the pride flag flying outside the entrance.

“It felt like all of my attention could now be on my mom,” Olson said in the podcast. “And I didn’t have to spend my energy evaluating whether or not Moffitt was a safe space to introduce people to my wife.”

Told by a reporter that the flag would no longer be flown at Moffitt, Olson said it was a shame.

“I recognize that institutions are facing difficult decisions in a shifting political climate, but it’s important to remember that for LGBTQ+ patients and families, symbols of visibility and support are not just performative—they are vital to feeling seen, safe, and supported in healthcare spaces,” she said in an email.