Honorees 61-70: Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports in 2024

After playing lacrosse at the University of New Hampshire, Susie Piotrkowski has spent most of her professional life helping women’s sports reach new heights in popularity. Piotrkowski was recruited to join the NWSL front office as Vice President of Sales in 2018 before she moved on to become Head of Women’s Team Sports at Octagon agency. Then in 2022, she was named Vice President of Women’s Sports Programming and espnW at ESPN, guiding the publication of all espnW content. In that position, she negotiated a media rights deal for the NWSL, signed Ali Krieger as on-air talent, and oversaw an LGBTQ+ Community in Sports panel at the espnW Women + Sports Summit featuring non-binary athletes Nikki Hiltz and Layshia Clarendon.

– Ken Schultz

Theo Rabinowitz has worked with CBS Sports for 21 years, working with the Production and Operations teams on shows such as “The NFL Today,” as well as college basketball. During his tenure, he has supported Super Bowl coverage, including Super Bowl LVIII in 2024 in Las Vegas, and has been on hand at the NCAA Men’s Final Four. Rabinowitz has been a resource for various LGBTQ organizations and is recognized by many leaders as a trusted voice.

– Cyd Zeigler

Raquel Pennington, the woman known in MMA circles as “Rocky,” cemented her place as a pillar of the UFC bantamweight division in 2024. Just over ten years after her UFC debut and in the wake of legendary UFC Bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes’s retirement, Pennington reached the top of the mountain, claiming the championship at UFC 297 in January. The win capped off a near-four-year winning streak for Pennington where she became the fighter with the most fights, most total fight time and second-most wins in UFC Women’s Bantamweight history. She lost her title in a controversial decision in October, but became part of the first same-sex married couple to fight on the same UFC card with her wife Tecia Pennington at the same event\.

– Brian C. Bell

Stevie Johnson, a director of marketing strategy for the NFL, talked about coming out, being out, struggling with her sexuality as a kid and finding widespread acceptance in the NFL front office. “When I arrived [at the NFL] three seasons ago I came as an unapologetically gay woman,” Johnson said in her 2021 video. “I know who I am, and I’m proud and excited to introduce my wife to my family, my wife and my NFL colleagues.” She later told Outsports: “I continue to be amazed by my NFL teammates and how a small gesture to show up authentically and be vulnerable is not only embraced, but also amplified, lifting and centering underrepresented and marginalized communities in sport.”

– Cyd Zeigler

When fans see Breanna Stewart or Natasha Cloud making a promotional appearance away from the court, they have Bonnie Thurston to thank. Since 2005, Thurston has served as the Director of WNBA Player Programs handling marketing events and offseason player development. During her time with the league, she also co-founded NBA Pride, the first known LGBTQ employee resource group in major American professional sports. “Of all the things I’ve done, this is one that will last long after I’ve gone, and it’s been incredibly meaningful in my professional and personal life,” she told Outsports.

– Ken Schultz

As a sports and culture columnist for the Los Angeles Times, on his ESPN L.A. radio show or as a political contributor to ABC News  LZ Granderson has never been afraid to speak up and speak out. In June 2024, he stood fearless again. He publicly revealed being HIV positive for years. Even with the the advances in the fight against HIV, many old stigmas and shame remain as infection rates grow in communities of color. Those facts led him to come forward with vulnerability, grace and candor. “It’s killing Black people because we’re afraid to talk about it. We whisper about it,” Granderson said in an interview with ABC News. “You have queer Black people who are dying. You have heterosexual Black people who are dying and no one’s talking about it. So if you’re not having a conversation and we’re dying in silence, I don’t see a path of joy coming out of that.” Since publicly coming out as gay in 2012, Granderson has seen his career rise in addition to being an influence on a generation of writers and journalist – including this reporter.

– Karleigh Webb

Amber Trapp has established herself as a powerful voice in talent acquisition. She has worked in various industries, coming to the NFL more than three years ago from Sony Music Entertainment. Now vice president of talent acquisition at the NFL, Trapp is instrumental in identifying and hiring the next generation of leaders in the nation’s most powerful sports league. Called a game-changer by a staffing firm, which noted:  “Trapp led the …implementation of a global applicant tracking system that will play a key role as the NFL pursues international expansion.”

– Jim Buzinski

The power dynamics at San Diego Wave FC, where Jill Ellis has been president since 2021, became the subject of legal action in 2024. The former USWNT head coach also showed her ruthless streak in June by firing Casey Stoney, despite last year’s NWSL Shield success. Few in women’s soccer can match Ellis for achievements (she guided the U.S. to two FIFA World Cup wins) but Megan Rapinoe and Ali Krieger are among those who have publicly criticized her coaching methods. Further scrutiny and pressure lie ahead for the 58-year-old.

– Jon Holmes

Suzanne Smith continued her incredible career this year at CBS Sports, part of the team that earned a Sports Emmy Award and doing so as replay director for Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers. Smith started at CBS Sports in 1983 as a production assistant, and has grown into one of the company’s most veteran directors and producers. A trailblazer for women in the industry, she has carved her path with her live game coverage, and in 2014 spearheaded the production of “We Need to Talk,” the first nationally televised all-female sports show. Smith said on her experience as a gay woman working in sports media over the years, “Fortunately, for the gay and lesbian community, there is more acceptance than even five years ago.”

– Cyd Zeigler

Steve Kornacki has greatly expanded his role on MSNBC and NBC after his boffo performance as an elections analyst in 2020. Kornacki now breaks down the playoff picture during the NFL season, discusses medal odds at the Olympics and handicaps the Kentucky Derby. His main love, though, remains politics and as the 2024 election draws near, expect to see more of Kornacki nerding out over county voting in key swing states, all while wearing his signature khakis and with a pen in his mouth.

– Jim Buzinski