Sports

GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to the sentencing in Russia of beloved American basketball star Brittney Griner. On her 168th day in custody in Russia, the out LGBTQ athlete was sentenced to 9 years in prison after being accused of smuggling less than one gram of cannabis oil in her luggage while traveling to play for Russia’s UMMC Ekaterinburg women’s basketball team. Many have viewed Griner’s arrest and imprisonment as a power move by Russian authorities seeking to use her as a political pawn.

Contact: press@glaad.org

GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, along with Athlete Ally, a national nonprofit working to elevate and advocate for LGBTQ athletes, and Pride House Tokyo, a consortium and comprehensive LGBTQ center in the Shinjuku area of Tokyo endorsed as an official program of Tokyo 2020, are releasing a “Guide to Covering LGBTQ Athletes at the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics” as a resource to journalists and media professionals.

(New York, NY) — Athlete Ally and GLAAD responded today to news that NCAA Division 1 Softball championship sites for 2021 include schools in states with transgender athlete bans. This coincides with news that Division 1 Baseball regionals and super regionals potential sites also include states which have passed transgender athlete bans.