A quick look into the history of LGBTQ+ athletes

The sports world hasn’t always been a safe space for LGBTQ+ athletes to come out, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t existed.  

Edge rusher Carl Nassib became the first openly gay active player in the National Football League during the 2021 off-season, but Nassib is just one of many in a long line of LGBTQ+ athletes.  

The first professional athlete in a team sport to come out also played in the NFL. David Kopay played for five teams from 1964-1972. The former running back came out in 1975, three years after retiring.  

The first openly gay athlete in any of the “big four” was Glen Burke. Burke played Major League Baseball from 1976-1979. He was honest about his sexuality with everyone, including the media, but due to how gay men were seen in the 70’s, the media didn’t report on it. 

Basketball is different from most sports when it comes to LGBTQ+ athletes. In the National Basketball Association, there aren’t any openly gay active players.  

In 2013, Jason Collins became the first active gay NBA player, but since then, there hasn’t been any others. It’s unclear who the first player in the Women’s NBA was, but approximately 20% of current players are out.  

Out of the 12 WBNA teams, there are only two that have no players that are openly queer. 

The WNBA also has a non-binary player. Minnesota Lynx guard Layshia Clarendon, who uses she/her/they/them/he/him pronouns, has played in the WNBA since 2013. 

Hockey has probably the least amount of history when it comes to LGBTQ+ athletes. Nineteen-year-old Nashville Predators defenseman, Luke Prokop, is the first and only openly gay player under contract in the National Hockey League. Soccer in the United States also doesn’t have a large history of LGBTQ+ athletes. San Diego Loyal midfielder, Collin Martin, is the only openly gay player in the United States, and one of only a few globally.  

World Wrestling Entertainment superstar Sonya Deville was the first openly lesbian professional wrestler, coming out in 2015. Darren Young came out as gay in 2013, becoming the first actively signed wrestler to come out. 

Women’s soccer has more known queer athletes, but still not many. In the 2019 Women’s World Cup, five women from Team USA were out, one of them being OL Reign forward Megan Rapinoe. Rapinoe is one of the most high-profile LGBTQ+ athletes in not only soccer, but all of sports. 

There are a lot more LGBTQ+ wrestlers that are either out and actively wrestling or that came out after retiring, but this is just a brief introduction. 

Whether a league only has one openly gay athlete, or if 20%of the league identifies as LGBTQ+, they all deserve to be talked about.  

James Taurman-Aldrich can be reached at [email protected]