Gay Athletes

Friday, Aug 14, 2020, 5:07 pm

By:Tony Williams

1.Lori Lindsey

Coming out over a beer at Applebees, Lori Lindsey admits that her mother is also a lesbian. The US soccer champ tweeted to her roughly 24, 000 Twitter followers about her sexual identity when she came out. Playing for the US National Team, she wanted to publicly support the LGBT and be proud of who she is.

2.Orlando Cruz

Featherweight boxer, Orlando Cruz, came out in October of 2012, when he was active in his career. With a twenty four year career, he was skyrocketing to the top when he made the decision to be true to himself. Looking to be a role model for kids who were having trouble with their sexual identity, Orlando is a self proclaimed "proud Peurto Rican" who also has pride in gay men and the gay community as a whole.

3.Wade Davis

In 2012, former national football star, Wade Davis came out of the closet after leaving football behind. Speaking up against Chris Culliver, of the San Francisco 49ers, who ranted about gay players in the NFL at Super Bowl XLVII, Davis couldn't believe that this arena was where this conversation was taking place.

4.Sarah Vaillancourt

Hailing from Quebec, Canada, the hockey star, Sarah Vaillancourt, hid her sexual identity until she was a freshman at Harvard University. Throwing caution to the wind, Sarah, came out while on the college hockey team, stating "if they weren't going to accept me on the team, I wasn't going to stay," Sarah told the Seattle Times in an interview.

5.Chris Tina Bruce

Chris Tina Bruce doesn't identify as male or female, but instead prefers to call her/him self a middle of the gender person. Becoming the first transgender bodybuilder to compete in San diego in 2011. Chris Tina is a motivational speaker as well as an LGBT rights activist and fitness trainer.

6.Gus Johnson

Gus Johnson, the Australian hockey star, came out on a YouTube video after retiring from the sport. Quoted as saying, "I regret immensely that I wasn't strong enough as a leader, that I didn't step up when I was playing and share this about myself." Most athletes in the public eye fear that coming out will ruin their careers, with coaches, team members, the media and fans, all reacting negatively to gay men in sports.

7.Seimone Augustus

Olympic athlete, Seimon Augustus, only received positive feedback after coming out as a lesbian. She is really happy with who she is is quoted as saying that she doesn't care what anybody else thinks. Even endorsements like Nike have been incredibly supportive, and hosted the first LGBT Sports Summit.

8.Ji Wallace

Austrailan Olympic Silver Medalist, Ji Wallace, came out of the closet, and to the world, in 2005, but in 2012 he announced to the world at the Summer Olympics that he was HIV-positive. He claimed that while watching a Greg Louganis interview on television, he was inspired to admit to his status.

9.Greg Louganis

The first man to win two gold medals in diving in 56 years, Greg Louganic capured the double golds in 1984. Eleven years later, he shocked the nation on the Oprah Winfrey Show, with his admission of being HIV-positive, confirming that he was indeed gay. Only close family and friends were privy to his sexuality before the media blasted the news following the show.

10.Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King's outing was not of her own accord. In 1981, at the peak of the tennis pro's career a female ex-lover sued her for palimony. As a result the superstar almost lost all of her commercial endorsements, but she powered through, not losing her self to the scrutiny. In 2000, she coached an olympic team as the first open lesbian.

11.Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir faced media pressure and scrutiny before coming out. Using his published memoirs, the folor figure skater, outed his sexual orientation in the hopes that people won't stay in hiding, for fear of what it will do their career. People are preferring to kill themselves rather than be who they truly are. The gay community became angry at Johnny's silence, until he finally broke.

12.Martina Navratilova

Martina Navratilove was born in Prague and came out as bisexual in 1982. The tennis pro is a leader in opening dialogue sexuality in sports. Coming out at the peak of her career, she blew the lid off what it meant to be a gay athlete. Taking a stance on keeping the sport and sexuality as different, she put the barrier in place for future atheltes.

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