Professional Athletes

Since 2010, LGBTQ inclusion in sports has received a sharp increase in attention. Prior to this time, only a handful of lesbian professional athletes had come out (i.e., openly disclosed their sexual identity), and not one gay male athlete was out in the major professional team sports. Over the past few years, however, high-profile professional athletes are coming out more frequently in a variety of sports. LGBTQ athletes like National Basketball Association (NBA) player Jason Collins; Canadian Football League (CFL) player Michael Sam; Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) player Brittney Griner; pro soccer players Abby Wambach, Megan Rapinoe, and Robbie Rogers; and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Fallon Fox have come out publicly and all have received support and acceptance from fans and teammates. This ...