Meet the Outsports Power 100, the most influential LGBTQ people in sports

For Chris Hagstrom-Jones, his job as assistant general manager of the South Bend Cubs makes him a jack of all trades. A typical day could see him designing marketing plans or assembling social media posts, and other parts donning the mascot costume in the community or dressing as Captain America for Marvel Night. What’s most special is how Hagstrom-Jones has melded his love of baseball with the love of his life. He and his partner were married on a baseball field and are continuing the theme this month. “We’re celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary in October. And we’re celebrating it at the stadium club of Four Winds Field,” he said, “So now I get to celebrate again at another baseball field.”

– Ken Schultz

Lori Lindsey is a former professional soccer player who helped Team USA to a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She’s now an analyst for MLS Season Pass, and she also calls NWSL games for CBS. She was previously a sideline reporter for Nashville SC, a trailblazer as a woman working in Major League Soccer. She played college soccer for the Virginia Cavaliers and lives her life openly and proudly as an LGBTQ person in sports media.

– Cyd Zeigler

Take one look at Max The Impaler and you will understand why they have been able to carve out a historic path all their own through the pro wrestling landscape. “The Non-Binary Nightmare” holds a mystique in many’s eyes, and their skill in the ring led them to become the first transmasculine non-binary pro wrestler to hold titles in both the National Wrestling Alliance and prominent Japanese promotion Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling in the last year. For that and other accomplishments, they were named the number one out LGBTQ pro wrestler in the world in the 2023 QWI 200.

– Brian C. Bell

Arlette Fernandez is NASCAR’s Managing Director of NASCAR International. She’s responsible for strategic and operational management of NASCAR’s international series, which include events in Mexico, Canada, Europe, and Brazil. Before joining the International team, Arlette led NASCAR’s Multicultural and Youth Marketing guiding a team responsible for initiatives focused on the Hispanic and African American communities. She is the chair of PRIDE+, NASCARs LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group. Originally from El Salvador, Arlette attended Auburn University at Montgomery and currently resides in Charlotte, N.C.

– Cyd Zeigler

– Jim Buzinski

– Jim Buzinski

Rennae Stubbs was a standout doubles player on the WTA Tour, winning six Grand Slam doubles titles (both women and mixed) and representing Australia at four Olympic Games. Stubbs has been a fixture in the tennis media for over a decade at the Tennis Channel and ESPN, amongst others. She’s also the host of The Power Hour on Amazon Prime Video. In the last few years, Stubbs has even taken a few turns as a tennis coach, working with the likes of Sam Stosur and Serena Williams.

– Cyd Zeigler

Kristin Bernert has spent over two decades working in major American sports, from Ohio State to the Los Angeles Sparks and the NBA. She is now a minority owner of NJ/NY Gotham FC after being the president of business operations for the Columbus Crew. “I’ve worked in sports for almost two decades and we’re experiencing an unprecedented inflection point for women’s sports,” she said. She’s previously been recognized as a “Game Changer” by Sports Business Journal and as one of Crain’s Business Journal’s “Notable Women in Sports.” 

– Jim Buzinski

In a tradition-heavy sports world, it’s hard to get fans to accept change, but Elisa Padilla has excelled in this task throughout her career. When the New Jersey Nets moved to Brooklyn in 2012, Padilla developed the “Hello Brooklyn” campaign to connect them to their new home. Upon joining the Miami Marlins as senior vice president of marketing in 2018, Padilla oversaw their rebranding to distance themselves from former owner Jeffrey Loria with a new logo and uniforms in Miami blue and Caliente red. Padilla currently serves as chief marketing officer for the New York Red Bulls of MLS and hosts an Instagram Live series through her Kick It By EP handle.

– Ken Schultz

Bryden Hattie became an “it girl” with his bestie, Tyler Downs of Team USA, as the two competed in international diving competitions. The online following that Hattie was able to build reflected his connection with an audience on social media, and his bigger-than-life personality. Representing Canada, he had a huge impact on TikTokers and others in the United States and beyond. Earlier in 2024, Hattie won his fourth SEC diving title.

– Cyd Zeigler

Justin Rogers is a dedicated athletic trainer who has proven his skill and dedication at multiple levels of pro hockey over more than a decade. That experience is why the Seattle Kraken promoted him to head athletic trainer ahead of the 2024-25 season, but that promotion also made him the first out gay man to hold that position in NHL history. Breaking a barrier like that is powerful, but the true power in Rogers’ experience shines through in the letter he wrote to his younger self in which he came out publicly last year. “You will live authentically and in doing so you will change and even save lives,” he wrote. “I promise you any struggles or moments of doubt you ever have will be worth it because of each story that you hear and impact you have.”

– Brian C. Bell

– Jim Buzinski

Christine Castano has been an advocate for LGBTQ inclusion in Major League Soccer for several years. As a director of engagement and inclusion for the league, she has also been instrumental in building a network within MLS for LGBTQ employees. “If being out in the workplace, especially as a woman in a men’s sports league, allows others to see themselves and know they are welcome in spaces they haven’t always felt accepted, then I’m all for that,” Castano told Outsports. “Visibility and representation is so important in creating acceptance.”

– Cyd Zeigler

Kevin Martinez has been with ESPN for over a decade. As ESPN writes: “As an industry veteran, Martinez is responsible for ESPN’s strategic programs that enable both greater access to sports and leadership through sports. He leads ESPN’s sponsorship of Special Olympics, which has helped more than 1.6 million athletes, teammates and coaches join the Unified Sports movement. Additionally, Martinez manages ESPN’s ongoing collaboration and fundraising efforts with the V Foundation, which have generated nearly $100 million toward cancer research programs. He also successfully launched the inaugural Sports Humanitarian Awards, celebrating and honoring athletes, teams and nonprofits for using the power of sports to make a positive impact on society.”

– Cyd Zeigler

Ronnie Gajownik is a trailblazer for women in baseball coaching. She’s worked in Minor League Baseball for several years as a coach and manager. “The visibility aspect of it is huge, because, again, it’s showing little girls and showing women that we’re breaking the glass ceiling and we’re leaving breadcrumbs for everybody behind us for us just to keep adding on to it to see how far we can go,” she told MiLB.com last year. She’s a former player, having competed for Team USA. In 2023, she was manager of the Hillsboro Hops before heading to the Amarillo Sod Poodles.

– Cyd Zeigler

During a stretch in 2020-21, Che Flores made history with their workload, becoming the first known basketball referee to work championship games in the NCAA, NBA G League, and WNBA within the same calendar year. After being hired by the NBA in 2022, Flores (who privately identified as trans) was misgendered in a league press release. Subsequently, they shattered a glass ceiling in an American professional sports by publicly coming out as trans and nonbinary in an October 2023 GQ story. “This is just to let young kids know that we can exist, we can be successful in all different ways,” they told GQ reporter Emma Carmichael.

– Ken Schultz

Thalisa Rhea makes decisions. As the General Manger of the Seattle Storm, she is charged with choices that have an effect on the entire franchise, including draft choices. After growing up in Alaska, she made her mark playing college basketball for teams in Oregon, Washington and Illinois. Now the GM of the Seattle Storm, where she has worked for over nine years.

– Cyd Zeigler

Sam Phillips is an out gay gymnast who shined at the University of Nebraska and added a year of eligibility to compete this season. Phillips has a robust social media presence where he might be seen flexing or wearing a Pride flag and leans in to being an LGBTQ role model. “I choose to be a lighthouse for those younger than me but also those next to me who aren’t ready to come out and live their lives on this lit-up stage. So yes, being a positive role model is so important in this way.”

– Jim Buzinski

Christie Raleigh Crossley has endured three major injuries, being hit by two cars and a ball of ice, that have led to their inclusion in the Paralympics as a disabled athlete. They have since become a star for Team USA, winning five medals at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, mostly at 100-meter events. They were the most decorated out LGBTQ athlete at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. They are married with three kids.

– Cyd Zeigler

Katie Willett’s role as a senior associate commissioner in the Big East Conference didn’t come easy. She had put countless hours of work into her roles, including the Grand Lakes Valley and America East conferences. Willett is a former NCAA athlete in field hockey who wears her orientation on her sleeve, while also doing her job. “At the end of the day, it comes back to helping our student-athletes,” she said of her role in the Big East. Check out our feature story on Willett and her inclusion in the 2024 Outsports Power 100.

– Karleigh Webb

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 Portland State and the Seattle Storm. “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

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

Riley Buss-Drexel has made a splash as an out gay man in the ownership family of the Los Angeles Lakers. Several years ago, he guided the Lakers’ foray into Pride Nights. Now this season, the Lakers are hosting their first-ever regular-season Pride Night, celebrating the LGBTQ community in the Los Angeles area, as well as youth. Buss-Drexel is an influential force around the Lakers’ team, making sure the organization stays true to its inclusive roots.

– Cyd Zeigler

After winning a silver medal in Men’s Freeski Slopestyle at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Gus Kenworthy made national news by coming out publicly as gay in a 2015 ESPN interview. He subsequently competed in two more Winter Games in 2018 and 2022. Since then, Kenworthy has pursued a media and entertainment career, mixing appearances as a reality TV contestant on “Special Forces” with acting roles in films like “80 for Brady.” His most recent project was this year’s remake of “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” He continues to be a hot topic on social media, with the jock strap he wore at Burning Man going viral.

– Ken Schultz

Stephanie White was WNBA coach of the year in the 2022-23 season and followed up this season by leading the Connecticut Sun to the WNBA semifinals. She came to the WNBA from Vanderbilt and immediately showed she belonged. White hasn’t been shy about being LGBTQ and raising a family. “I consider myself an advocate because I have a platform to influence people,” she said in 2015.

– Jim Buzinski

Katie Barnes continues to drive the conversation in the growing story at the intersections of sports and gender. In September 2023, their book Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates became a staple primer on the issue surrounding trans and nonbinary inclusion in sports. Since coming to ESPN in 2015, the award-winning journalist has mixed trailblazing spot coverage of women’s sports with timely features. In 2022, their reporting on trans inclusion in sports for ESPN netted their third GLAAD Media Award nomination. During the recent Olympic boxing controversy, you saw their face on the airwaves actively fighting the misinformation.

– Karleigh Webb

Kevin Maxen is the only out coach in the NFL, in his fourth season as a strength coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Maxen would have made last year’s Power 100 list but he came out after it was published. “I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,” Maxen told Outsports about coming out. “I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else. He continues to shine as an advocate for other LGBTQ coaches, regardless of the sport.

– Jim Buzinski

The only out gay man playing pro soccer in the U.S, Collin Martin is working with brands to ensure his positive experience in sports is better known. “If there’s a young kid out there who needs help as a gay athlete, they can use my story as an example,” he said in a Pride Month 2024 partnership with Legends apparel. The midfielder, who turns 30 in November, moved to Raleigh with boyfriend Zach Ware (a Hyrox athlete) earlier this year after signing for North Carolina FC, who are chasing hard for a USL Championship playoffs spot.

– Jon Holmes

Lorrie-Ann Diaz has spent 24 of her 25 years in the NBA with the Miami Heat, and in her current role she is responsible for community outreach and business initiatives. The Heat calls her a “visible and vocal advocate for the LGBTQ community.”

– Jim Buzinski

Catalina Villegas is a powerful voice in DEI at Major League Baseball. Having grown up in Colombia playing tennis, she learned from her mentor, Billy Bean, at MLB. Check out the feature story about Villegas here.

– Alex Gonzalez

In his role at Warner Bros. Discovery, Ed Romaine is the head of marketing and brand development for sports entities falling under the Warner Bros. Discovery umbrella, which includes TNT and its extremely popular NBA coverage, as well as TBS and its coverage of March Madness and Major League Baseball. Prior to his current position, Romaine worked at Bleacher Report, which he helped= become a leading partner for sponsored content in the sports market.

– Cyd Zeigler

Tim Schlittner has demonstrated incredible prowess in his two-decade career in communications. A graduate of Syracuse, Schlittner worked for several members of Congress before joining the powerful AFL-CIO. In his two-years-plus at the NFL, Schlittner has been an important conduit for LGBTQ efforts both in and around the league. One element of Schlittner’s 2024 in particular that stands out as particularly powerful is his open, honest public conversation about his journey to sobriety, which no doubt resonates with many LGBTQ people, whether in or out of sports.

– Cyd Zeigler

Since his first role with the Phoenix Mercury as communications manager back in 2006, Vince Kozar has come a long way. Now president of the franchise, he has helped make the team a place where WNBA stars such as Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner want to call home. Kozar, who is gay, has spoken about the importance of inclusion: “We were the first local sports organization to have a presence at Phoenix Pride, the first to march in the Pride parade, the first to host a Pride Night at a game, and the first to sign local organization ONE Community’s Unity Pledge in support of non-discrimination in public accommodations and the workplace. And if that made even one person feel like they were seen or not alone or valued or that our games were a safe space, then every bit of it was worth it.”

– Jim Buzinski

For nearly 20 years, Izzy Gutierrez had been a fixture on ESPN until July 2024 when he made the move to Meadowlark Media to team up with fellow ESPN expat Dan Le Batard and perhaps move into his own outlet. At ESPN Gutierrez was a long-time panelist for “Around the Horn” and an NBA reporter. As an out sports media voice, he  has been open about himself and uses his platform to champion LGBTQ people in sports and the community as a whole. He’s shared some of the most personal details of his life, including his experiences with personal tragedy and loss. On Oct. 7, Gutierrez announced he’s getting engaged.

– Karleigh Webb

Raven Jemison was hired as president of the Kansas City Current in the National Women’s Soccer League after stints in the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball. “Rarely are women in revenue-generating leadership roles, such as selling tickets or sponsorships, because there are few role models,” Jemison told Milwaukee Magazine when she was executive vice president of the Milwaukee Bucks about being a gay, Black woman. “A lot of people say, ‘representation matters’ — that is, you can’t be what you can’t see. I say access also matters.”

– Jim Buzinski

Christina Kahrl became Sports Editors for the San Francisco Chronicle in 2021. It was more breaking of ground for Kahrl, an out trans journalist in a high-level position in American sports journalism. She co-founded  Baseball Prospectus in 1996, which led  to her 10-year stint as an analyst-writer-editor at ESPN. “I look at the impact of integrating LGBTQ narratives into sports as my impact,” said Kahrl. “For me, I look at what more can I do to integrate LGBTQ sports narratives into mainstream sports narratives, and to make clear that LGBTQ people are in the mainstream when it comes to sports.”

– Karleigh Webb

Renee Montgomery was a two-time All-American point guard at Connecticut and a two-time WNBA champion. She’s now a decision-maker off the court as co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream. She has taken her opportunity as an owner to enhance the initiatives she started late in her playing career with the Renee Montgomery Foundation. Montgomery says she enjoys the business side of running a team even more than being on the floor, and she relishes her role as an LGBTQ role model for others to emulate. After marrying her partner, Sirena Grace, Montgomery told GO Mag: “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that everything in my life changed for the better since.” A film about Montgomery debuted in October.

– Karleigh Webb

After leading NJ/NY Gotham FC to its first NWSL Championship title, Krieger hung up her boots and is now Gotham’s first ambassador, tasked with growing the club’s profile and women’s soccer in the region. Her inspirational speech at the White House last month was an ideal start. She’s also been zeroing in on representation in video games and is influential as a CBS Sports pundit. Krieger’s role in securing equal pay for the USWNT in 2022 was pivotal and she remains a fierce campaigner, recently describing reproductive rights as “undeniably a queer issue” when addressing the LGBT caucus at the Democratic National Convention.

– Jon Holmes

Jason Collins came out as a gay NBA player in 2013, making history, and he has continued to be an advocate for LGBTQ people in sports since. He has stayed involved with the league through NBA Cares while being an active public speaker. This month, he spoke at the University  of Wyoming, where in 1998 gay student Matthew Shepard was killed (Collins wore No. 98 in his honor). “I love traveling around the country and just hearing stories — hearing people talk and tell their story,” Collins told the Billings Gazette in Montana. “There’s always a common ground that we can find. … It’s not easy for two straight guys to have a conversation about LGBT issues. I get that. But it is very easy for two straight guys to have a conversation about sports. When they say, ‘Hey, did you see that Nets player who came out?’ it’s an easy way for people to have that conversation. That’s ultimately how people’s hearts and minds are going to change.”

– Jim Buzinski

A former AEW World Tag Team and World Trios champion, there is no denying the star power Anthony Bowens has cultivated during his time on the national pro wrestling stage. Bowens was the first out gay pro wrestler to hold both of those championships, but his impact supersedes title reigns. Bowens has been a vocal LGBTQ advocate, showcased his own pride through his gear and integrated being gay into his on-screen character that is both authentic to him and endearing to wrestling fans. And, of course, all the scissoring. He also got back in touch with his baseball roots over the last year, appearing in videos with notable baseball YouTubers and participating in a celebrity home run derby.

– Brian C. Bell

Hannah Readnour is vice president of Footage and Media Licensing for the National Hockey League. She’s been working in this space for 20 years. In her current role, Readnour works with partners on, among other things, contracts and maintaining the NHL brand’s integrity. She is also one of the leaders of NHL Pride, the league’s LGBTQ employee resource group, working with organizations to support the community and speaking out internally at the NHL on the importance of inclusion efforts. She played rugby at Syracuse University, and she’s still active with the group as part of the Women’s Rugby Alumnae Association.

– Cyd Zeigler

Katie Hill has been the Senior Vice President of Communications at the National Football League for over three years. Before that, she worked closely with Barack Obama, both while he was President of the United States and after. She has incredible experience in the public sector, including working for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “I’ve always known that I wanted to make a difference in some way,” she has said. She and her wife, Andrea, live in New York.

– Cyd Zeigler

During her time as an NCAA soccer player with Northern Arizona University, Noel Guevara was out to her teammates and coaches and found the support she needed to enjoy a successful career. Guevara has been with the Arizona Diamondbacks for 12 years, the last five as manager of the team’s community partnerships. In an essay for Outsports on her role in the D’Backs’ outreach to the LGBTQ community, Guevara wrote: “Being a former Division 1 soccer player, I have the mentality of a workhorse. We were taught to do things the right way, never cut corners and to never let anyone see your struggle. I value integrity. In fact, I tend to overthink things to the point of hiding in many situations.”

– Ken Schultz

– Jim Buzinski

One of the great gay athletes of all time, Martina Navratilova won 56 Grand Slam titles, singles and doubles, the second-most of all time. Since them, Navratilova has been a champion of the gay community, but her views have been more controversial in recent years as she has advocated against the inclusion of trans women in the female sports category, prompting major backlash from the LGBTQ community. She continues to be a powerful voice in the sports world in both the tennis media and both pro-gay and anti-trans advocacy.

– Cyd Zeigler

Here’s Johnny! NBC figure skating analyst Johnny Weir has become a fixture during the Olympics, and that now includes the Summer Games, where in Paris he dished during the Closing Ceremony. Weir is also a judge on a roller skating reality competition that aired this month. While he didn’t publicly come out as gay until the publication of his 2011 autobiography, Weir underscored his skills on the ice with a fierce persona and dazzling ensembles combining sequins, glitter, and makeup. His LGBTQ-influenced personal style became the talk of the Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010 Games. Weir is a true original who has never shied from being who he is.

– Ken Schultz

Stephanie Wheeler is a true legend in the world of wheelchair basketball. Currently the long-time head coach of the women’s team at the University of Illinois, this year she has helped with the men’s team as well, as the head coach position has been vacant. An incredible advocate for adaptive sports, Wheeler won two gold medals as a player at the Paralympic Games, and then one as head coach of Team USA. Wheeler was instrumental in helping to get Ballin’ Out produced, which is Outsports’ online video series about the out LGBTQ people on the Team USA women’s wheelchair basketball team.

– Cyd Zeigler

Nothing speaks to the legacy of Amanda Nunes more than how she remains a dominant topic within women’s MMA despite retiring from competition last June. Nunes retired as a UFC double champion, the only woman ever to do so, after becoming the first woman ever to hold titles in two UFC weight classes and the first UFC fighter regardless of gender to defend both successfully. She and wife Nina Nunes welcomed their second child during her time away from the sport. Nunes is one the greatest fighters of all time, and the world might get another chance to see why if UFC president Dana White heeds her recent request to call her.

– Brian C. Bell

Prokop, now 22, was only 19 when he came out as gay, the first player under contract with an NHL team to do so. He has thrived in the minor leagues as he awaits his chance to make history with an NHL team. This summer, he played in the Seattle Pride Classic, a 20-team event with most players being LGBTQ. “They all love the sport, and they should all be able to play the sport,” Prokop said about why he played. “It’s not so much a development tournament or anything like that for me, it’s just kind of more so to go out there and show my appreciation for my community and just have some fun.”

– Jim Buzinski

Nora Cothren never imagined she would be worked at the NHL when she came out as a hockey player many years ago, including a feature article on Outsports. Cothren is the rare manager-level executive included on the Outsports Power 100. However, many people in and around the NHL extolled Cothren’s contributions to the National Hockey League’s LGBTQ-inclusion efforts. “I’m at the point where I honestly have a position I never thought I’d be able to be in,” she told Outsports for a feature article on her Power 100 inclusion. “The excitement around what people I work with can do, it fuels me.”

– Cyd Zeigler

Liz Carmouche’s lengthy MMA career has seen several notable moments: competing in the UFC’s first women’s bout, multiple UFC title fights and battling in the UFC’s first all-LGBTQ fight. But Carmouche’s presence within the sport extends further than her UFC career. “Girl-Rilla” entered the third year of her reign as Bellator Flyweight champion in 2024 and made her Professional Fighters League debut in April. She reached the semi-finals of the PFL Women’s Flyweight playoffs before incurring her first loss since 2020. But her continued presence in MMA means she and her trademark rainbow mouthguard aren’t yet done.

– Brian C. Bell

Brent Miller has played a key role for Procter & Gamble elevating LGBTQ athletes for many years. As an Olympic sponsor, P&G most recently brought together the LGBTQ community, including out athletes like Gus Kenworthy and the US women’s rowing team, for a special event during the Paris Olympics. But Miller doesn’t stop there, with P&G saying in his bio: “Miller created ‘Can’t Cancel Pride,’ an annual recognition of people and organizations advancing LGBTQ+ equality, which has raised more than $17 million for LGBTQ+ organizations since 2020.”

– Cyd Zeigler

Bryan Ruby is one of only about a dozen professional baseball players who have come out publicly. Ruby played college baseball at Rutgers before playing minor league baseball in multiple countries. Now Ruby runs a non-profit organization called Proud To Be In Baseball that advocates for LGBTQ people in the sport he loves, working with various MLB and Minor League Baseball teams. He’s also a successful country-music writer and singer.

– Cyd Zeigler

If Diana Taurasi ends her career in 2024, she leaves the stage as perhaps the greatest ever to grace it. She won her sixth Olympic gold medal at the Paris Olympics this year, to add to three WNBA championships. She’s the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer. During the WNBA’s 25th anniversary season in 2021, fans voted Taurasi as the GOAT. You could fill a lot of space with the awards and accomplishments she earned since she came to the University of Connecticut as a true freshman in 2000. Get her wings in Springfield and Knoxville ready now. She’ll also be remembered for her moxie, her cheeky quotes, and her honesty. Whether it about her process on the court, her view of a hotshot rookie, or coming out in 2017 and being spouse and mother, Taurasi always told it like it is even if it makes teammate-turned-wife Penny Taylor groan a little.

– Karleigh Webb

When then-Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib came out in 2021, he cemented his place in sports history by being the first active out gay NFL player. He thrived with the Raiders and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring prior to the 2023 season. Since retiring, he has focused on his app for nonprofits but still is making an impact in the NFL. On National Coming Out Day in October, he announced a $100,000 donation from the NFL to the Trevor Project. “When I came out in 2021, it was important to me to let LGBTQ+ young people know that they are not alone,” Nassib said. “It has been an absolute honor to use my platform to shine a light on The Trevor Project’s life-saving services.”

– Jim Buzinski

As the Chief Business Officer for Atlanta United FC, Sarah Kate (Skate) Noftsinger is “responsible for overseeing day-to-day business strategy for the club, including marketing, sales, sponsorship and ticketing,” according to the team. It’s her second stint at Atlanta United FC, having spent a few years as the U.S. soccer marketing head for Adidas. Noftsinger is a former college soccer player herself, also playing a couple seasons for the Washington Freedom, once a women’s pro soccer team in Washington, D.C.

– Cyd Zeigler

Jamila Wideman found some success playing for three teams in the WNBA over two decades ago. Yet since then, she has built a career as an attorney before her hiring in 2018 by the NBA as Vice-President of Player Development. A big part of her role with the NBA is working with rookies as they transition from a life in high school or college to the pros. She now oversees the league’s mental health initiatives with players. In 2023, she was named a “Game Changer” by the Sports Business Journal.

– Cyd Zeigler

When Outsports talks with people in baseball about efforts to build LGBTQ visibility and inclusion, Roscoe Mapps‘ name comes up all the time. From the Giants’ description of Mapps’ role with the franchise: “In his current role, he collaborates with cross-functional teams to implement strategies that enhance representation, foster cultural understanding, and cultivate inclusion and belonging.” Mapps has been instrumental in building a relationship with other teams, including the rival Los Angeles Dodgers, to foster joint inclusion efforts.

– Cyd Zeigler

As a member of the Yale women’s crew team in the late 1970s, Ginny Gilder participated in a protest where she and teammates wrote TITLE IX on their naked bodies and marched into the athletic director’s office to advocate for basic necessities like locker room access. Despite her coach insisting she was too small, Gilder later pushed herself to qualify for two US Olympic Rowing teams, winning a silver medal at the 1984 Games. She founded multiple entrepreneurial firms and became a co-owner of the Seattle Storm in 2008. During her tenure, the Storm have won three WNBA championships.

– Ken Schultz

Kahleah Copper took home her first gold medal this summer as she sparked Team USA with a fourth-quarter performance that garnered praise from her teammates. Copper has also won the WNBA Championship in 2021 with the Phoenix Mercury, when she was the WNBA Finals MVP. She’s also a four-time WNBA All-Star.

– Outsports

Breanna Stewart just completed a special double. In Paris she won her third Olympic gold medal for Team USA. On Sunday, she helped the New York Liberty win its first  WNBA championship. Off the floor, she also making moves as a co-founder of Unrivaled with Minnesota Lynx all-star Naphessa Collier, who Stewart’s Liberty played for the championship this season. The venture is a professional women’s 3-on-3 league scheduled to start in January 2025 to keep more top players  in the U.S. during the WNBA offseason. The undertaking is on brand for a player known to stand up for the greater good. Stewart has been an activist as much as athlete. As one of the players to take the lead in dedicating the 2020 season to Breonna Taylor, Stewart then helped the Seattle Storm to the WNBA championship and was named one of Sports Illustrated’s  Athlete Activist Sportspeople of the Year. Stewart also claimed the league’s MVP award in 2018, in addition to winning a WNBA championship that season.  

– Karleigh Webb

In his first season as a head men’s college basketball coach for the University of South Carolina Salkehatchie by being named coach of the year in his conference. Lynch, the only out gay men’s college basketball coach in the country, took over a program that had been disbanded, built a roster from scratch and ended up winning his conference tournament. As he enters his second season, Lynch is providing a model for how someone can be out as a head coach in a men’s program.

– Jim Buzinski

Carley Knox is a former DI soccer player and Minnesota Lynx president of business operations who spearheaded the creation of the Lynx President’s Circle club for supporters to get more involved with the team and give back to their community. She was the Grand Marshal of 2024 Twin Cities Pride. “Carley’s continued dedication to the LGBTQIA+ community has not gone unnoticed,” Twin Cities Pride said. She and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve have been married since 2011 and have a son, Oliver. 

– Outsports

The 77-year-old Hall Of Fame coach has been a part of women’s basketball — and the march for respect for women’s sports — for 54 years. Now, all these years after her foray into sports, she’s a 2024 Outsports Power 100 honoree. Dunn is a legend in the women’s sports world, having advocated for inclusion for over five decades

– Karleigh Webb

One thing remains a constant throughout Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Natalie Williams’s career in the sport: excellence. She compiled honors as a four-time WNBA All-Star, Olympic gold medalist and two-time All-American during her playing career, and added more after assuming the role of general manager with the Las Vegas Aces in 2022. She helped lead the team to back-to-back WNBA titles in her first two years. Her legacy of success contributes to the power of the WNBA and women’s sports overall in showcasing the ability of LGBTQ athletes and executives and breaking down cultural barriers within sports.

– Brian C. Bell

A longtime member of the Baltimore Orioles front office, Greg Bader continues to live his boyhood dream of working within the sport that enamored him as a child. Since joining the team as an intern in 1994, Bader rose to be the team’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President during the 2024 season, the team’s first consecutive playoff appearances since 1997. He is now set to take on a new role with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN), the regional sports network that broadcasts Orioles and  Washington Nationals games, as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the network.

– Brian C. Bell

Even though she retired as an active player last year, Megan Rapinoe has remained front and center as an influential LGBTQ voice in the sports world. Along with wife Sue Bird, Rapinoe co-hosts a podcast called “A Touch More” addressing topics like racism in the WNBA and Alex Morgan’s retirement. She was also in attendance at the Paris Olympics to witness the U.S. women’s return to soccer glory. With a 2012 Olympic gold medal and two Women’s World Cup titles to her credit, Rapinoe is quite familiar with USWNT triumphs on the world stage.

– Ken Schultz

Two years after hanging up her kicks as a WNBA legend, Sue Bird remains a driving force in LGBTQ and female advancement in sports. The four-time WNBA champion added her first title as an owner with Gotham FC’s NWSL championship while keeping the conversation around equity and intersectionality in women’s sports on the front of mind amid the rising profile and investment in female athletics with the restart of the podcast she hosts with fiance Megan Rapinoe. Her legacy got a permanent location in August when the Seattle Storm icon had a street near Climate Pledge Arena named in her honor.

– Brian C. Bell

Sam Rapoport has been a champion for women and LGBTQ people in football for many years. Utilizing her role at the NFL she has fostered programs that have resulted in the hiring of over a dozen women in coaching positions, as well as officials. She has also been instrumental in the league’s efforts to promote women and girls flag football.

– Outsports

When Christine Vicari married her wife and came out to her NFL colleagues in 2014, she was shocked. “I had a line outside my office the next morning of people who were just completely shocked,” she told Outsports. “Everyone was so amazing and so supportive, and that shifted my mindset, too, of thinking about the NFL differently.” The former college softball player is now an integral member of the business side of the National Football League, part of a team that sets the annual salary cap, revenue sharing and other key components that allow the NFL to function.

– Outsports

Earlier this year, Candace Parker announced her retirement from playing in the WNBA saying in her announcement, “I promised I’d never cheat the game and that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it.” She left the WNBA as a player in style, last season winning her third WNBA Championship as part of a dominant Las Vegas Aces team. She won those three titles with three different teams and is regarded as one of the greatest all-around players ever. Candace Parker didn’t cheat the game. She evolved it. Now she’s a popular TV commentator for the NBA and the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament for TNT.

– Karleigh Webb

Clay Allen is the general counsel for the Houston Rockets and one of the most high-profile gay man in a pro sports front office. Allen came out publicly as gay in 2022 and is not shying away from being an advocate for more representation and visibility. A proud Baylor University law school alum, Allen was asked by the school’s website this month what achievements he was most proud of: “I’m most proud of having spent over 17 years with the Houston Rockets. When I left the Rockets in 2007 to attend Baylor, I had no idea I would end up back with the team as a lawyer. I’m also proud of my career path: I began my career as a part-time Marketing Associate throwing T-shirts to fans during timeouts of Rockets games, and now I’m the team’s General Counsel. Finally, I’m proud to have been named #21 on the Outsports Power 100 list of the most influential LGBTQ people in sports, alongside sports royalty such as Billie Jean King, Jason Collins, and Baylor’s own Brittney Griner. Being an advocate for DEI initiatives and the LGBTQ+ community has always been important to me, and being named to this prestigious list with such sports heavyweights was an amazing honor.”

– Jim Buzinski

As the assistant general manager and vice president of basketball strategy for the Phoenix Suns, Ryan Resch is one of the highest-profile out gay men in pro sports. “I finally told myself, ‘You need to stop running away from the obvious, and the obvious is that you’re gay,’” he said when he came out in 2022. “That’s probably something that I knew the entire time, but that path to acceptance was rocky, and far longer than it should have been.”

– Jim Buzinski

Nikki Hiltz is a two-time U.S. outdoor and indoor national champion at 1,500 meters and the first nonbinary athlete to reach an Olympic individual event final, which they did in Paris. Hiltz made an impact far beyond the track with their unflinching LGBTQ advocacy. Hiltz came out as trans and nonbinary on Trans Day of Visibility in 2021 and has never looked back. After winning a 2023 race in Des Moines, Iowa, Hiltz spoke passionately about the plight of trans people in the state. “Trans people live in Iowa and they deserve access to healthcare and access to sports,” Hiltz said to Citius Magazine after the race. “It meant more being in a state where there is so much hateful legislation.”

– Karleigh Webb

Becky Hammon in 2023 won her second consecutive WNBA title as head coach of the Las Vegas Aces. Hammon earned her position as head coach of the Aces after several seasons. She had been an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA for numerous seasons. Since taking over the top spot with the Aces, she’s led the team to two consecutive WNBA league championships.

– Outsports

Richardson, 24, came up short in her attempt to win the Olympic gold in Paris in the 100 meters, winning a silver, though she anchored the 4×100 relay team that won the gold. Richardson is a superstar in track and field and unabashedly her own person with a distinct flair that made her one of the faces of the Olympics. Richardson came out as bisexual in 2015, though she’s famously tight-lipped about her personal life and let’s her running on the track do her talking.

– Jim Buzinski

Reeve’s 15 seasons in Minnesota as head coach and President of Basketball Operations of the WNBA’s Lynx are a statement of greatness. With four WNBA titles under her belt, Reeve helmed her seventh WNBA Finals squad, in 2024. Her efforts earned her both the WNBA Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year awards, joining Curt Miller as the only two to win both awards in the same season. Reeve kept that pedigree in her first Olympics as head coach for Team USA as the American women captured their eighth-straight gold medal at the Paris Games.

– Brian C. Bell

George Cheeks has a long title that shows his power in media: President and CEO, CBS and Chief Content Officer, News and Sports for Paramount+. In the sports realm, Cheeks was “Paramount’s point person on discussions with the NFL for the massive rights renegotiation” in 2022. In a previous job, Cheeks was at NBCUniversal for seven years in various roles, including being head of late-night programming for NBC Entertainment.

– Jim Buzinski

Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss are legends in the sports world. As athletes, the two women each won multiple Grand Slam titles. King won 39 — third most of all time — and Kloss with two. As advocates they have been iconic champions of women and LGBTQ people in sports, King one of the Original Nine professional women’s tennis players and Kloss, a few years younger, joining the push for female athletes not long after. They have never relented. The women aren’t just in love — they have been for over 40 years — but they approach their work in sports as a business partnership as well. “I’m the dreamer and Ilana is the builder,” King told Outsports. “People give me credit when so often they should give Ilana credit. I get upset about it.” As a bonus this year, the two part-owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers get to see their team play in the World Series. As a double bonus, King will be the grand marshal of the Jan. 1, 2025, Rose Parade.

– Cyd Zeigler

When Erik Braverman came out publicly on Outsports in 2015, he blazed a trail taken by few out gay men in sports, leading the way all the way to the C Suite of the Dodgers. Since then he’s helped lead the team’s LGBTQ efforts including the most successful Pride Night in all of sports. Earlier this year, he and a group of investors that includes his husband, Jonathan Cottrell, purchased Gym Sportsbar and Grill in West Hollywood, renaming it Gym Bar WeHo and elevating it as a go-to spot for LGBTQ sports fans, athletes and even those who don’t know their Shohei from their Ohtani.

– Cyd Zeigler

When the Ricketts family bought the Chicago Cubs in 2009, Laura Ricketts immediately made history by becoming the first out LGBTQ owner in MLB history. Seven years later, she was front and center during the celebration when the Cubs won their first World Series in 108 years. In 2023, she led a group of investors to purchase the Chicago Red Stars and was instrumental in the club hosting a match at Wrigley Field this summer which broke an NWSL record with an attendance of 35,038.

– Ken Schultz

Brittney Griner has won an NCAA championship, a WNBA title and three Olympic gold medals for Team USA. But her selection as No. 1 on our list comes after she survived nearly 10 months in a Russian prison, never losing faith. Her resiliency in the face of such a trauma has made her a unifying force for the country.

– Karleigh Webb