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Homosexuality in sports in the United States

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The homosexual sports community in the United States has one of the highest levels of acceptance and support in the world[1][2][3] and is rapidly growing as of 2020.[4][5] General public opinion and jurisprudence regarding homosexuality in the United States has become significantly more accepting since the late 1980s;[6][7] for example, by the early 2020s, an overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the legality of same-sex marriages.[6]

In regard to sports in the United States, in 2002 researcher Eric Anderson found "more openly gay runners and swimmers than football and baseball players."[8] He then hypothesized that this occurred because gay men likely abandoned some sports in favor of sports that were more accepting of homosexuality.[8] In 2006, a Sports Illustrated poll of roughly 1,400 professional athletes found that a majority would be willing to accept a gay teammate. As well, professional ice hockey (NHL) athletes seemed to be the most accepting of such teammates as 80% of its players approved of having a gay teammate.[8]

Individual sports

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Golf

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In 1996, Muffin Spencer-Devlin became the first LPGA player to come out as gay.[9]

In 2018, Tadd Fujikawa came out as gay, becoming the first male professional golfer to do so.[10][11]

Squash

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In 2018, Todd Harrity came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay professional male squash player in the world. At the time he was ranked No. 1 in the United States out of all male squash players.[12][13]

Tennis

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American tennis player Billie Jean King acknowledged her relationship with Marilyn Barnett when it became public in a May 1981 palimony lawsuit filed by Barnett, making Billie Jean the first prominent female professional athlete in the world to come out.[14]

Team sports

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See also: Homosexuality in American football

Baseball

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Glenn Burke was the first Major League Baseball player to come out as gay, announcing it in 1982 after he retired.[15]

Basketball

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In 2002, Sue Wicks came out as gay, making her the first openly gay person playing in the WNBA.[16] Many female players have since come out as gay; for example, Sheryl Swoopes came out in 2005, Brittney Griner came out in 2013, and Elena Delle Donne came out in 2016.[17] However, Swoopes later married a man.[18]

In 2013, Jason Collins publicly came out as gay.[19] President Barack Obama contacted him offering his support.[20] In 2014, Jason Collins played for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, making him the first openly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues.[21][22][23]

Flag football

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In 2002, the National Gay Flag Football League was founded.[24]

Football

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See also: Homosexuality in American football

In 1975, former football player David Kopay became the first professional athlete from a major team to come out.[25]

Football player Alissa Wykes of the Philadelphia Liberty Belles became one of the first active American athletes to publicly come out as gay when she announced that she was a lesbian in an article in the December 2001/January 2002 edition of Sports Illustrated for Women.[26][27][28]

In the 2014 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams drafted Michael Sam in the seventh round, the 249th of 256 players selected,[29] which made him the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL.[30][31] However, on August 30, St. Louis released Sam as part of a final round of cuts to reduce their roster to the league-mandated 53 players before the start of the regular season.[32][33]

In June 2021, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib came out as gay via Instagram, making him the first openly gay active player in the NFL.[34][35] He later became the first openly gay player in an NFL playoff game on January 15, 2022.[36][37]

Hockey

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In 1985, the Los Angeles Blades was organized as the first gay hockey team in the United States.[38]

In 2021, Canadian Luke Prokop, who was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, became the first active player signed to a National Hockey League contract to come out as gay.[39][40][41] On November 17, 2023, Prokop became the first openly gay player in the American Hockey League's history, by making his first appearance in a game as a player for the Milwaukee Admirals.[42]

Rugby

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In 1998, the Washington Renegades RFC was formed as the first gay rugby team in the United States.[43]

Soccer

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In 2013, Robbie Rogers publicly came out as gay.[19] President Barack Obama contacted him offering his support.[20] Thierry Henry, at the time playing in Major League Soccer, was quoted in a column for New York Daily News as saying "he (Rogers) is a human being, first of all. And that’s good enough."[20] Later in 2013, Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay man to compete in a top North American professional sports league when he played his first match for the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer.[44][45][46]

Many female soccer players have been openly gay while actively playing for American teams, such as Joanna Lohman[47][48] and Megan Rapinoe.[49][50][51] Megan Rapinoe came out in 2012, while a midfielder for the Seattle Sounders and while on the United States women's national soccer team.[52][53]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Zeigler, Cyd. "Each of America's big 5 sports currently has an out gay man in the pros. That's never happened". OutSports.
  2. ^ "Meet the LGBTQ Athletes Participating in the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games". Human Rights Campaign. February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Meet the out-and-proud LGBTQ athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games". South China Morning Post. August 25, 2021.
  4. ^ Derks, Marco; van den Berg, Mariecke (2020). Public Discourses About Homosexuality and Religion in Europe and Beyond. Springer International Publishing. p. 338. ISBN 9783030563264. ...(the United States and [Western] Europe) as "already in crisis" for their permissive attitudes toward nonnormative sexualities...
  5. ^ Leveille, Dan (December 4, 2009). "LGBT Equality Index: The most LGBT-friendly countries in the world". Equaldex. Retrieved January 26, 2023. 13.) United States
  6. ^ a b Garretson, Jeremiah (2018). "A Transformed Society: LGBT Rights in the United States". The Path to Gay Rights: How Activism and Coming Out Changed Public Opinion. New York University Press. ISBN 9781479850075. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, a dramatic wave began to form in the waters of public opinion: American attitudes involving homosexuality began to change... The transformation of America's response to homosexuality has been — and continues to be — one of the most rapid and sustained shifts in mass attitudes since the start of public polling.
  7. ^ McCarthy, Justin (June 1, 2022). "Same-Sex Marriage Support Inches Up to New High of 71%". Gallup, Inc. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Anderson, E. (2011). "Masculinities and Sexualities in Sport and Physical Cultures: Three Decades of Evolving Research". Journal of Homosexuality. 58 (5): 565–578. doi:10.1080/00918369.2011.563652. PMID 21534070.
  9. ^ Garrity, John; Nutt, Amy (March 18, 1996). "No More Disguises - Muffin Spencer-Devlin stands tall in her chosen role: the first LPGA player to declare she's gay". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  10. ^ Rudolph, Christopher (September 12, 2018). "Pro Golfer Tadd Fujiwaka Comes Out as Gay". NewNowNext.
  11. ^ Dethier, Dylan (2018-09-12). "Tadd Fujikawa becomes first male pro golfer to come out as gay". Golf. Retrieved 2019-12-24.
  12. ^ Buzinski, Jim (April 30, 2018). "Top American pro squash player Todd Harrity comes out as gay". Outsports.
  13. ^ Todd Harrity (2018-04-28). "Todd Harrity on Twitter: "‌ "". Twitter.com. Retrieved 2018-05-02.
  14. ^ Hingston, Sandy (June 17, 2011). "Billie Jean King: Racquet Revolutionary – Page 4 of 5 – Philadelphia Magazine". Philadelphia Magazine. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  15. ^ "Glenn Burke, 1st openly gay MLB player, is shunned no more — 40 years after coming out". TODAY.com. July 3, 2022. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
  16. ^ II, Howard Nixon (July 24, 2015). Sport in a Changing World. Routledge. ISBN 9781317383789 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Hine, Chris; Thompson, Phil (August 3, 2016). "Elena Delle Donne engaged, comes out: 'I'm not at all going to hide anything'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  18. ^ "Maya Rupert: What Sheryl Swoopes' Engagement Means: Understanding the Role of Identity and Combo Guards". Huffingtonpost.com. August 1, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2011.
  19. ^ a b Slater, J. (2013-09-17). "Openly Gay Male Athletes Jason Collins, Robbie Rogers, and Orlando Cruz struggling for impact". Huffington Post.
  20. ^ a b c Bondy, Stefan (2013-05-18). "Landon Donovan says Robbie Rogers' decision to go public with his sexuality 'must have been overwhelmingly good for him". New York Daily.
  21. ^ Pincus, Eric (February 23, 2014). "Lakers' rally falls short in 108–102 loss to Nets". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 24, 2014.
  22. ^ "Openly gay basketballer Jason Collins signs landmark NBA deal with Brooklyn Nets". The Sydney Morning Herald. AFP. February 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 5, 2014.
  23. ^ Mazzeo, Mike (February 23, 2014). "Rapid Reaction: Nets 108, Lakers 102". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014.
  24. ^ Sastre, Sole (2016-06-28). "South Africa's rugby team Jozi Cats defy gay stereotypes". Miami Herald. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
  25. ^ Naito, Jon (December 2008). "Husky legend and gay icon David Kopay is at peace and at home". University of Washington Magazine. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  26. ^ Bonham, Mark S. (2017). Lesbian Football/Soccer Players. Bonham & Company. pp. 96–97. ISBN 978-0993960031. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  27. ^ DuLong, Jessica (19 February 2002). "Out in the field: pro footballer Alissa Wykes talks about breaking new ground for out lesbian athletes--and the flak she's gotten along the way". The Advocate. pp. 32–35. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
  28. ^ Rothaus, Steve (April 28, 2003). "Ex-Padre shows pride out of the closet". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved May 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Rams reportedly took Michael Sam in 2014 draft in deal with NFL". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2016-03-24. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
  30. ^ Belson, Ken (May 10, 2014). "In Historic Pick, Rams Take Michael Sam in Final Round of Draft". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014.
  31. ^ Carter, Chelsea J. (May 10, 2014). "Michael Sam makes history: First openly gay player drafted in the NFL". CNN. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
  32. ^ Farmer, Sam (August 30, 2014). "Michael Sam, NFL's first openly gay player, is cut by St. Louis Rams". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 31, 2014.
  33. ^ Wagoner, Nick (August 30, 2014). "Michael Sam cut by Rams". ESPN. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  34. ^ Middlehurst-Schwartz, Michael. "Raiders' Carl Nassib comes out as first openly gay active NFL player". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
  35. ^ Belson, Ken (June 21, 2021). "Raiders' Carl Nassib Announces He's Gay, an N.F.L. First". The New York Times. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  36. ^ "Carl Nassib becomes the first openly gay player to play in a NFL postseason game". GAY TIMES. January 16, 2022.
  37. ^ "Carl Nassib Makes History: First Openly Gay Player To Play In NFL Postseason Game". January 16, 2022.
  38. ^ “About Us.” Los Angeles Blades, 2020, www.bladeshockey.com/.
  39. ^ Kaplan, Emily (19 July 2021). "Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop says he is gay, hopes living 'authentic life' helps NHL career". ESPN. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  40. ^ Kaplan, Emily (July 19, 2021). "Nashville Predators prospect Luke Prokop says he is gay, hopes living 'authentic life' helps NHL career". ESPN. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  41. ^ Hernandez, Joe (2021-07-19). "NHL Prospect Luke Prokop Makes History As League's First Gay Player". NPR. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  42. ^ "Milwaukee Admirals' Luke Prokop becomes first openly gay player to appear in AHL game". The Athletic. The New York Times. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  43. ^ Majores, Kevin. “Nice and Rough.” Washington Blade, 15 Feb. 2013, www.washingtonblade.com/2013/02/15/nice-and-rough/.
  44. ^ Witz, Billy (May 27, 2013). "Milestone for Gay Athletes as Rogers Plays for Galaxy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  45. ^ Lalas, Greg; Firchau, Nick (May 25, 2013). "It's official: Robbie Rogers joins LA Galaxy; Chicago Fire get postseason hero Mike Magee in exchange". MLSsoccer.com. Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2013.
  46. ^ "Los Angeles Galaxy (1996–present)". Sports E-cyclopedia. Retrieved April 6, 2007.
  47. ^ "Joanna". Archived from the original on 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  48. ^ Pittman, Sam (June 17, 2022). "Washington Spirit Signs Six National Team Replacement Players » Washington Spirit".
  49. ^ "Soccer star Megan Rapinoe comes out - Windy City Times News". Windy City Times. July 3, 2012.
  50. ^ "Reign's Megan Rapinoe voted NWSL player of week". News Tribune. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  51. ^ "China and Seattle Reign FC played on the cusp of a women's soccer revival". May 28, 2015.
  52. ^ Klemko, Robert (July 3, 2012). "U.S. women's soccer player: 'I'm gay'". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 12, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  53. ^ "Fever Pitch". Out Magazine. July 2, 2012. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
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