Honorees 71-80: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports in 2024

Jennifer Azzi has had a career steeped in basketball. She was the Naismith Player of the Year and NCAA tournament MVP at Stanford, an Olympic gold medalist for Team USA before moving on to being college head coach. Since 2021 she has been chief business development officer for Las Vegas Aces, with the team winning WNBA titles in 2022 and 2023. Azzi married  Blair Hardiek in 2015, announcing it publicly for the first time a year later, making Azzi the only out Division I basketball coach at the time. 

– Jim Buzinski

From 2002 to 2012, Molly Gallatin held what appeared to be a dream sports job, working in communications with her hometown Minnesota Twins. But thanks to MLB’s culture in that era, she didn’t feel comfortable being out in the workplace. That changed when she moved to Florida and began a marketing job with the LPGA and PGA in 2014. Starting that year, Gallatin vowed to be her true self as a gay woman on the job and found complete acceptance. While working for the PGA, Gallatin shared the story of having a baby through IVF during the COVID pandemic. After taking a brief break to be a full-time parent with her wife and son, Gallatin moved back home in 2023 to become VP of Communications for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in the Twin Cities.

– Ken Schultz

Waukeen McCoy is shifting the landscape in the sports world — both on the field and behind the scenes. A lawyer by trade, and a sports agent for the love of the game, McCoy is one of the most powerful forces in the realm of athletics, one of this year’s Outsports Power 100 honorees. He represents various athletes in the NFL, and others attempting to play in the NFL, NBA and other leagues.

– Alex Gonzalez

Few wrestlers anchored the success of All Elite Wrestling over the past year in the sapphic-centric fashion of “Timeless” Toni Storm. Spending the majority of that time atop the women’s division in her third reign as AEW Women’s World champion is a symbol of that, but Storm’s presence and how her storylines spoke to the company’s audience set her apart. From her “Timeless” persona embodying the golden age cinema starlets celebrated by queer queen lovers to the overt yet authentic (and often humorous) expression of love and sexuality between Storm and protege-turned-nemesis Mariah May, Storm was key to a women loving women story in pro wrestling unlike anything seen on televised pro wrestling.

– Brian C. Bell

Chris Mosier was the first transgender American to make a U.S. national team in any sport and the first transgender American to compete in a U.S. Olympic Trials. Mosier has been a strident voice his against the wave of anti-trans legislation against trans youth  and his internet clearinghouse Transathlete.com serves as a portal of information on the legal and regulatory landscape for transgender athletes. He has also reached out to young trans athletes seeking direction in these difficult times. From social media to the statehouse floor, Mosier has been vocal and vital.

– Karleigh Webb

Mike DeFusco has been a creative executive at CBS Sports since 2007. In that time he’s risen up the ranks, now a senior director. Over the last couple years, DeFusco has played a critical role in creating LGBTQ-inclusive programming for CBS Sports, including multiple spots highlighting inclusion in the Boston LGBTQ flag football league, with the partnership of the New England Patriots and the NFL. He’s also a board member with the National Gay Flag Football League.

– Cyd Zeigler

– Jon Holmes

Kenny Dow is part of the increasingly popular team with the Portland Timbers, having previously worked for the University of Portland. “Growing up in a sports family in Montana, I never imagined that it would be possible to be openly gay and work in this industry,” Dow told Outsports. “I am grateful for the incredible people in sports who have supported and uplifted me along the way.”

– Cyd Zeigler

When West Virginia passed a law banning transgender women from competing in sports according to their gender identity, then-eighth grade runner Becky Pepper-Johnson decided to fight back. A student who has identified as transgender since third grade, Pepper-Johnson challenged the law in court along with the ACLU and Lamba Legal. In April, a federal appeals court ruled in her favor and found West Virginia’s law in violation of Title IX. “I want to keep going because this is something I love to do, and I’m not just going to give it up,” Pepper-Johnson said.

– Ken Schultz

As Adam Rippon’s social bio states, he’s an “Olympic athlete turned dramatic monster” – and he continues to entertain devilishly. He won last year’s Fox reality show “Stars on Mars” and this summer made us giggle as an NBC pundit for the Paris Olympics who was grounded in Connecticut. He’s a must-follow whose posts range from art collections to carpet cleaning, often featuring dogs Tracy and Tony, and sometimes husband Jussi-Pekka gets a mention too… but really, this remains “The Adam Rippon Show” and we’ll always be in love with America’s sweetheart. And he’s also impressing back on the ice rink, showing that he’s lost none of his skating style and sass.

– Jon Holmes