7 Legendary LGBTQ+ Athletes Who Paved a Path Forward
Professional sports hasn't always been the most pleasant arena for LGBTQ+ individuals. Even as society has become more accepting of the queer community, it seems athletics lags behind in many ways. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly has led to the lack of progress, but there are some very courageous people throughout sports history who've helped pave the way forward and let closeted athletes know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Here are some of the most legendary LGBTQ+ athletes going as far back as the early 20th century.
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King has become synonymous with terms like trailblazer, perseverance, and courage for over 50 years. She has been as instrumental as anyone in the fight to bring gender equality to women's sports, winning the battle to make pay equal in the U.S. Open in 1973. King then played Bobby Riggs in a tennis match famously dubbed "The Battle of the Sexes" later in the year and won that match, too.
King's legacy as an LGBTQ+ icon is a melancholy one, as she felt forced to stay in the closet for much longer than she would have due to homphobic parents and pressure she felt from external sources in tennis. King has talked about how she worried coming out would ruin her career and the women's tennis tour as a whole. Fortunately, she is now married to her wife, Illana Kloss.
David Kopay
Before there was Michael Sam or Carl Nassib, there was David Kopay, a running back who played for the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Washington Redskins (now Commanders), New Orleans Saints, and Green Bay Packers in the 1960s and early 1970s. He came out as gay after retirement, becoming the first NFL player to ever publicly come out.
It's hard to put into words how incredibly audacious Kopay coming out was back in this time. Football is one of the most masculine sports in the world, and being gay isn't something that has ever been easily accepted in the sport. He continues to help the community in the present as he has promised a $1 million donation to the Q Center at his alma mater, The University of Washington.
Gottfried von Cramm
When you think of gay athletes, Gottfried von Cramm might not be the first to come to mind. He was a German tennis player whose prime ran through the 1930s and early 1940s, and he never wanted to come out as gay. He had a same-sex relationship with actor Manasse Herbst in the early 1930s and was imprisoned by the Nazi regime because of it. We can't really say that von Cramm had the courage of these other athletes because he never really proudly accepted his sexuality, rather he was outed, but we must take into account the times and the political atmosphere of early 20th century bigotry. He's still someone worth learning about, at least to remember how much progress has been made.
Jason Collins
The NBA tries to be one of the more progressive male sports leagues in the U.S., but it wasn't until Jason Collins came out nearly a decade ago that professional basketball saws its first active gay athlete. Collins continues to be a true champion for LGBTQ+ folks who want to play sports, as he works with the NBA during pride events and other queer campaigns. We know how important his work is, as some of the players in the league still have a lot to learn when it comes to being tolerable of people like Collins.
Abby Wambach
Women's soccer in the U.S. has had a number of LGBTQ+ icons, but Abby Wambach is our selection here due to her leadership and fame for over two decades — Wambach is a symbol of American soccer. Her proud queer lifestyle has never been deterred by the public or anyone else, as she is one of the only athletes on this list who didn't have a major coming out moment. Wambach as always lived in the public eye as a queer women, and normalizing same-sex relationships in this way is daring and pioneering.
Robbie Rogers
Coming out as a European soccer star takes immense bravery because the sport is on such a global stage, but Robbie Rogers was up to the task back in 2013. He was only the second British soccer star to ever come out, and his very public Catholic faith is another way he's been an example to people all over the world. Religion has had a rocky relationship with queerness, but people like Rogers who are able to shine a light on the situation will give queer children who are raised in a religious household hope for the future.
Renée Richards
The argument for trans athletes to get the same treatment as their cisgender pears is one that is still being fought mightly in 2022, so you can imagine what it was like when Renée Richards took to the court in the 1977 U.S. Open after winning a legal battle over gender discrimination. Richards became one of the famous tennis players in the world due to being a transgender trailblazer, but people still debate whether it was fair for her to compete against the cisgnder women on the tour. This is something Richards herself has addressed in the decades since her retirement.