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Sports Media

Anti-gay attitudes are still all too prevalent in the world of sports, and LGBT athletes, coaches and fans are often invisible in media coverage, whether it’s of college football, the NBA and WNBA, or the Olympics. However, as gay and transgender athletes continue to achieve at both the amateur and professional level, sports media have an opportunity to share their stories to help shift the culture in the sports world and encourage athletes be open about who they are.

GLAAD’s Sports Media Program works with gay and transgender athletes – both amateur and professional – and sports media outlets from ESPN to Sports Illustrated to elevate their voices, stories and accomplishments. GLAAD also works to address the persistent problem of homophobia in locker rooms and in the stands by encouraging media outlets to investigate these issues to generate conversation and help change hearts and minds. GLAAD also works to raise the profile of openly gay and transgender athletes through support of LGBT-focused sporting events such as the Gay Games.

At GLAAD, we are in the business of changing people's hearts and minds through what they see in the media. Fair, accurate and inclusive media images shatter stereotypes. They prove that we are connected through common, human experiences. And these are stories that we -- and the media -- have a responsibility to share.

To find out more, contact us at sports@glaad.org.

Did You Know?

• Openly lesbian tennis player Billie Jean King was the first tennis start to be named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year in 1972. 
• When asked if it was okay for openly gay athletes to participate in sports, over three-quarters of Sports Illustrated readers said “yes.”
• Many of the same readers (68%), however, also admitted it would hurt an athlete’s career to be openly gay. 
• Even when openly LGBT athletes win big, like Matthew Mitcham’s Olympic gold in Beijing, the media often doesn’t include details about their stories and families like it does for their straight peers.
• There are more than 600 gay teams and leagues across the country, including basketball, rugby, softball, cycling, water polo, tennis, crew, soccer, football, volleyball and ice hockey.
• An openly transgender athlete has never competed in the Olympics, but media have started talking about the policies that make it hard for trans athletes to participate. 
• Over 20,000 LGBT athletes participated in the Chicago Gay Games and the Montreal World Outgames in 2006.