Pro athletes who have come out as gay: Sports stars who identify as LGBTQ

The word ‘inclusion’ is very much a buzz word today, but like many other buzz words, it doesn’t carry with it the weight that it should. Sadly, there are few places where this is more evident, than in the world of sports. It is a fact, that there are countless men and women playing and participating in professional sports today, who are homosexual and hide it from public knowledge. Why? Simply because of the justifiable fear, of what might happen to them if fans, coaches, teammates and yes sponsors discovered the truth.

Which professional athletes have ‘come out’ as gay?

Billie Jean King - Tennis

Easily one of the most recognizable names in professional tennis, Billie Jean King is a living legend. During a career that ran from 1966 to 1975, King won 39 Grand Slam titles. This after all, is the woman who beat Bobby Riggs in the now famous “Battle of the Sexes” match. Yet, it’s interesting to note that despite her long list of achievements, there are many who will most remember King for when she was publicly outed as a lesbian. At the time, her publicist implored her to deny the claim, but in true champion fashion King held firm.

“I said: ‘I’m going to do it. I don’t care. This is important to me to tell the truth.’” King said 44 years later during an interview. “The one thing my mother always said, ‘To thine own self be true.’”

Renée Richards - Tennis

Though not as famous for her on court exploits as the above-mentioned King, Renée Richards was no less impactful off of it. Having transitioned in the ‘70s, Richards applied to participate in 1976′s US Open. Famously, she refused to take the required Barr body test, a blood examination that would have confirmed her sex. When she was rejected by the US Open, Richards took the decision to sue the United States Tennis Association on the basis of gender discrimination and she won. She would later retire in 1981, at which point she began a career as a coach. Interestingly, Richards has maintained that she doesn’t like to be considered a trans activist.

“Years ago I was the pioneer, no question about it. They all quoted me and my court case,” she told Sports Illustrated in 2019. “But I am not anymore.”

Michael Sam - Football

Switching sports for a moment, let’s go to the NFL. Few sports place an emphasis on overt masculinity like American Football. Indeed, as a full-contact sport which has a brutal reputation for physicality, there is no room for insecurity. It is for that reason, that Michael Sam’s 2014 announcement about his sexual preference, was historic. With the NFL Draft following shortly after, Sam became the first openly gay man to be drafted into the NFL when he was selected by the St. Louis Rams.

“Since February and my big announcement, this has been a whole [lot of] speculation of the first openly gay football player, but you know what? It’s not about that. It’s about playing football,” Sam said in a press conference shortly after being drafted. Ultimately, Sam was released by the team in 2015, after which he announced he would not be returning to the sport.

Ryan Russell - Football

Sticking with football for a bit, allow us to draw your attention to the story of Ryan Russell. A former defensive end for both the Cowboys and the Buccaneers, Russell was the talk of the town in 2019 when he announced via an essay on ESPN, that he was bisexual.

“Let that sink into your brain: Even though openly LGBTQ people are thriving in every area of public life — politics, entertainment, the top corporations in America — they are so invisible in pro sports that a gossip blogger is doing a favor for a bisexual football player by not disclosing that he happens to date men,” Russell’s essay read. “Nobody should need a favor to live honestly. In nobody’s world should being careful mean not being yourself. The career you choose shouldn’t dictate the parts of yourself that you embrace.”

Carl Nassib - Football

When the news broke in June of 2021, many were shocked. Defensive end Carl Nassib announced he was gay via a social media post, before also explaining that he had donated $100,000 to The Trevor Project - an organization that focuses on suicide prevention in LGBTQ youth. Indeed, Nassib even admitted that he himself had struggled with his sexuality for 15 years.

“I just want to take a quick moment to say that I’m gay,” Nassib said in the video. “I just think that representation and visibility are so important. I actually hope that like one day videos like this and the whole coming-out process are just not necessary, but until then I’m going to do my best and my part to cultivate a culture that’s accepting, that’s compassionate.” Following two seasons with the Raiders, Nassib recently signed with the Bucs. Nassib is the first openly gay active player in the league.

Jason Paul Collins - Basketball

Proving that this is not limited to any specific sport, let’s jump to the NBA where in 2013, Jason Paul Collins made history by becoming the first person to openly come out in any of the four major professional sports. A center for the Washington Wizards at the time, Collins broke the news in a Sports Illustrated article, writing, “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation,” he said. “I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, ‘I’m different.’ If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.” Just one year later, Collins retired from the NBA after 13 seasons in the league.

Sheryl Swoopes - Basketball

Largely regarded as the Michael Jordan of the WNBA, Swoops has a list of accolades that’s comparable to “His Airness,” including three Olympic gold medals. Yet, as you’ve surely noticed by now, a large part of what people talk about when it comes to the former star, is not her prowess on the court, but rather her 2005 admission that she is gay.

“I was at a point in my life where I am just tired of having to pretend to be somebody I am not,” Swoopes told The New York Times in 2005. “I was basically living a lie. For the last seven, eight years, I was waiting to exhale.” After becoming an openly gay woman in the league, Swoops would go on to retire in 2011.

Robbie Rogers - Soccer

Into the world of soccer we go, where we find Robbie Rogers who played professionally in England up until 2013 when he announced he was gay and leaving the sport. When speaking later of his decision to depart, Rogers disclosed that he didn’t want to deal with the increased attention.

“I’d just want to be a footballer,” Rogers said in 2013. “I wouldn’t want to deal with the circus. Are people coming to see you because you’re gay? Would I want to do interviews every day, where people are asking: ‘So you’re taking showers with guys – how’s that?’” Incidentally, Rogers joined the Los Angeles Galaxy just a few months later, making him the first openly gay man to play in a major professional league in the United States.

Megan Rapinoe - Soccer

If you’re reading this article, then chances are you probably know of Megan Rapinoe. While we’re hoping you know of her, because of the fact that she captained the women’s US National Soccer Team to a FIFA World Cup title in 2019, it’s highly likely you’ve heard her name in relation to her being openly gay and very vocal about LGBTQ rights. Indeed, Rapinoe has been at the fore of the battle for better treatment of people within the community and thankfully, she shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

“I think female athletes, in general, are at the forefront of every protest in general because we’re gay, we’re women, we’re women of color, we’re sort of everything all at one time,” Rapinoe said back in 2019. “We’re unfortunately constantly being oppressed in some sort of way. So I feel like us just being athletes, us just being at the pinnacle of our game is kind of a protest in a way and is sort of defiant in and of itself.”

Sue Bird - Basketball

Though we’ve made our way back to the WNBA with Bird, we thought it worthwhile to mention that in 2017 she came out as gay and moreover, disclosed that she was dating the above-mentioned Megan Rapinoe.

Considered by many to be one of the greatest WNBA players of all time, Bird admitted that the timing of her announcement “felt right,” before adding that those who know her were not in the dark about her lifestyle. In 2020 Bird and Rapinoe got engaged.

Glenn Burke - Baseball

Often referred to as the first gay man in MLB, Glenn Burke joined the league in 1977 where he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers. What’s interesting to note, is that while playing, everyone on the team knew Burke was gay, however, the general public did not.

Three years later in 1980, Burke left the game for good and made a move to San Francsico, where just two years later he would publicly come out as gay in 1982. Tragically, Burke died of AIDS in 1995 at the age of 45-years-old.

David Denson - Baseball

The year was 2015 and at the time David Denson was playing for the Milwaukee Brewers, when he announced that he was gay during an interview. With that, the California native became the first person to be openly gay while playing in the league.

Speaking in 2017, Denson reflected on who he is and his hopes for others like him. “I think I opened the door. I showed just because I’m gay doesn’t make me any different or less of a person,” he said at the time. “If there are others who want to come out, hopefully, they have my story to fall back on and see it’s OK.” Shortly thereafter, Denson announced that he would be retiring, while stating his decision was not related to the fact that he came out.

Orlando Cruz - Boxing

Like the NFL, Boxing is an arena where there is little to no room for insecurity or what some wrongly perceive in homosexuality as softness. To that point, Orlando Cruz’s 2012 declaration is all the more poignant. A Puerto Rican native, Cruz announced he was gay stating, “I have always been and always will be a proud gay man. ...I don’t want to hide any of my identities,” he said at the time.

“I want people to look at me for the human being that I am. I am a professional sportsman that always brings his best to the ring. I want for people to continue to see me for my boxing skills, my character, my sportsmanship. But I also want kids who suffer from bullying to know that you can be whoever you want to be in life, including a professional boxer, that anything is possible and that who you are or whom you love should not be impediment to achieving anything in life.” In 2016, Cruz dedicated a match to the victims of the horrific mass shooting at a gay at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Isaac Humphries - Basketball

Just last November, we saw another athlete take the monumental step, when Australian basketballer Isaac Humphries came out as gay. A former NBA player who now plays professionally in his homeland, Humphries made the announcement in front of his teammates. In an emotionally charged video which he posted on social media, Humphries could be seen explaining to his teammates and coaches who he truly was and why he decided to share that information with them.

“Look, this is probably going to be one of the hardest conversations I’ve probably ever had in my life, but life is about doing hard things and learning from them, and making a difference through those hard times,” Humphries said.