“I can only hope that things change for them, so that they can embrace and live out their truth, and be happy-be truly, truly happy.” “For me, it’s really hard to know when you’re looking at other men’s leagues, we know some of ya’ll are part of our community, and all I can do is try and create safe spaces and create that allyship,” she told me on my podcast. The NHL has never had an openly LGBTQ player, but the NWHL features several, and accommodated transgender player Harrison Browne.Īt the 2016 Summer Olympics, there were a record 56 out athletes, and 45 were women.įor Cloud, who started exploring her bisexuality during her second season in the WNBA, the difference comes down to support - or at least the perception of it. The imbalance remains stark throughout professional team sports: The WNBA is led by multiple out stars, including Sue Bird and Elena Delle Donne, while Jason Collins has been the only openly gay active player in NBA history. In the 2019 Women’s World Cup, there were more than 40 openly gay players and coaches however, there were no openly gay athletes or coaches at the 2018 Men’s World Cup. The numbers clearly spell out the disparity. I asked two elite out female athletes, WNBA champion Natasha Cloud and NWHL Players’ Association director Anya Packer, to share their views. With Wednesday being National Girls and Women in Sports Day, it seems like the perfect time to revisit the widely discussed topic. It’s one of the biggest questions in LGBTQ athletics: Why are there so many more out elite women athletes than men?
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