Coming out as bisexual in sports can be particularly daunting.
Whether it’s the expectation of awkward questions in the locker room or steeling yourself for fans’ reactions on social media, saying “I’m bi” is rarely an easy experience for an athlete or coach.
Increasingly, however, there will be bi people in sports who feel more confident about their sexuality, even if it’s just by how they respond on a survey form.
That’s true for Gen Z adults in particular — a Gallup poll from March found 20.7% of women aged 18 to 26 in the U.S. identified as bi, while the figure was 6.9% for American men in the same age bracket.
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“Young bi athletes are making it more comfortable for bi people every single day,” wrote Alex Reimer in a feature for Outsports in 2020.
Erasure and stereotypes continue to hold the community back, however. A recent survey for dating app HER found 40% of respondents who are bi said they feel invisible in LGBTQ spaces, while a Stanford University survey from 2017 discovered bi adults were less likely than gay or lesbian people to be out to family or close friends.
To mark Bisexual Visibility Day, which was first observed back in 1999, here are 21 athletes who all showed courage to come out as bi. Their representation continues to make a difference, reassuring many others in sports and inspiring them to share their stories too.
Jack Dunne (rugby union)
The Irish lock came out publicly three years ago and went on to sign for Exeter Chiefs, one of England’s elite clubs. “When I went into the world of pro rugby, everyone was just really supportive,” Dunne reflected in a chat with RTE last year. “It’s been overwhelmingly positive.”
Rayan Dutra (trampoline gymnastics)
Even before competing at his first Olympics, Dutra was a big hit on TikTok and Instagram. The Brazilian spoke publicly about his sexuality for the first time with Outsports in April and a few months later, he finished in the top 12 in Paris. He’s rarely seen without a huge smile on his face.
Amber Glenn (figure skating)
The reigning U.S. national champion, Glenn came out as bisexual / pansexual back in 2019 in an interview with the Dallas Voice. When she became women’s champion in Ohio in January, the 24-year-old memorably posed with a huge Progress Pride flag on the ice.
Jahmal Howlett-Mundle (soccer)
Now playing in non-league football in England, Howlett-Mundle was on the books of Premier League club Crystal Palace as a teenager. A video of the centre-back coming out to his teammates went viral in 2021 and he continues to share his story via TV documentaries, his social channels, and workshops with young people.
@jahmalhm Happy Bisexual Visibility Week 💜💙 Three considerations to add into your daily practice: 1. Avoid assumptions about attraction 2. Awareness of erasure and stereotypes 3. Mental health impact of biphobia Have a blessed week!
♬ Epic Music(863502) – Draganov89
Breezy Johnson (skiing)
Johnson was on Team USA at the Winter Olympics as a 22-year-old for PyeongChang 2018, finishing seventh in the downhill. Injury prevented her from competing at Beijing 2022; later that year, she came out as bi, with U.S. Ski & Snowboard praising her courage. She is currently serving a suspension for whereabouts violations but is on the comeback trail eyeing Milan Cortina 2026.
Nico Keenan (field hockey)
Initially named by Argentina as a reserve for Paris 2024, Keenan went on to play in four matches at the Olympics. He’s now back with his Dutch elite club Klein Zwitserland based in The Hague, which is also where he met his boyfriend, politician Rob Jetten. They’ve been together since early 2022.
Alisha Lehmann (soccer)
With more than 28 million followers across Instagram and TikTok, Juventus and Switzerland forward Lehmann is kind of a big deal. Being open about her relationship status never seems to have fazed her, however. She previously dated teammate Ramona Bachmann, and now she is with boyfriend Douglas Luiz, who is also a Juve player. “My generation grew up in such a way that everyone is accepted,” she told Sky Germany last year.
Evy Leibfarth (canoeing)
Leibfarth was just 15 when she won kayaking gold at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima. Two years later, she was making her Olympic debut in Tokyo and was confidently out as bi on social media. The paddler from North Carolina is now a medal-winning Olympian too, having picked up a bronze in the C1 canoe slalom competition in Paris.
Kieran Lovegrove (baseball)
For Lovegrove, coming out as bi to his Minor League teammates was “an incredible experience,” as he explained to Outsports’ Ken Schultz in 2021. “It really made me fall in love with baseball and clubhouse culture again. Because I was finally able to be myself.” This year, he has been playing in Germany’s Bundesliga for five-time national champions, Regensburg Legionäre.
Jeff Molina (MMA)
It’s a whole new ball game to come out in a sport as hypermasculine and aggressive as men’s MMA and although the circumstances were awful for Molina, he found a silver lining. “As much as I’m getting hated/shitted on, I’m getting an equal amount of support & it means a f**k ton,” he wrote in March 2023. No longer in the UFC, he did win a fight in Missouri in June and has built an audience on OnlyFans. Earlier in the year, he shared a photo on his public Instagram with his boyfriend for the first time.
Jordan Rand (motorsport)
A multi-talented model and racer of eSkootrs and bikes, Rand posted a coming out message to Instagram in January. “My first step was quietly adding “bi” to my IG bio without saying anything to anyone, then I customized my helmet,” she wrote. She’s since leaned heavily into LGBTQ activism and has built a social media following of over 800,000.
@jordan.rand I see you! 🫶🏽🩷💜💙 #bi #bisexual #bitok #lgbtq #lgbt #fyp ♬ original sound – alli_bellairs
Sha’Carri Richardson (track and field)
Back in 2015, Richardson dropped a tweet that reads “My family knows I’m bi”. Now she’s a global track and field superstar, and became the sixth fastest woman in history when she ran the 100 meters in 10.65s to claim the 2023 world title. At her first Olympics in Paris, she claimed gold and silver medals. The track at her old high school in Dallas has just been named after her.
RK Russell (NFL)
One of 16 players in NFL history to have come out publicly as gay or bi, Russell shared his personal news via an ESPN interview just over five years ago. “My truth is that I’m a talented football player, a damn good writer, a loving son, an overbearing brother, a caring friend, a loyal lover, and a bisexual man,” he said. His memoir, “The Yards Between Us”, has received rave reviews.
Luke Strong (trampoline gymnastics)
Fearless, intrepid and down to earth, the Liverpudlian came back from multiple serious injuries to win a World Championships silver medal in 2017. When Strong spoke publicly about being bi in June 2020, he insisted he’d “never hidden anything” and he was commended for his openness. He’s since retired from the sport and is a self-confessed travelholic and speedos enthusiast.
Zach Sullivan (hockey)
The UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League was holding its first-ever Pride weekend in January 2020 when Manchester Storm defenseman Sullivan posted to social media about being bi. That made him a trailblazer in his sport and he’s still playing for the Storm now, with the 2024-25 EIHL season starting up this weekend.
Jessica Thoennes (rowing)
Now a two-time Olympian, Thoennes helped the US women’s eight to a silver medal at the World Rowing Championships in Belgrade last year. She only just missed out on a podium spot in Paris in the women’s pair.
Thomas Vanderbrook (swimming)
Vanderbrook was on the Indiana University swim team when he penned his coming out story for Outsports in February 2021. “Concealing one’s sexuality takes up a lot of effort and energy,” he wrote. He went on to compete in the U.S. Olympic Trials, showing how relaxed he had become by forming a mini-conga line with an Indiana teammate.
Jaden Vazquez (college football)
Vazquez was a senior for the Fordham Rams playing Division 1 college football when he came out publicly as bi via a memorable video in which he literally emerged from a closet. “People understand that people are gay, people are bi, people are straight, and people are more open to understanding that now,” he said.
Haleigh Washington (volleyball)
Washington won Olympic gold with Team USA in Tokyo, and was named Best Middle Blocker of the tournament. In Paris, she was part of the team that won silver. A tweet she posted in November 2020 about being bisexual gave her visibility, although she quickly followed it up to say: “Wait I’m screaming, was my tweet yesterday considered as coming out??? I always thought my Bi-Vibes™️ were VERYYY apparent!”
Tyler Wright (surfing)
Wright was unfortunate to come up against eventual gold-medal winner Caroline Marks in the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics. The Australian is married to Lilli Baker and says her wife keeps her grounded as there isn’t much LGBTQ visibility in her sport: “I’m the only queer person on tour, so my wife is the only other queer person I know most of the time.”
Ireen Wüst (speed skating)
The greatest out bi athlete of all time? Almost certainly. Wüst has now hung up her skates after a career in which she won 13 Olympic medals (six of them gold) and many more at world championship level. She spoke about being bi in the media as far back as 2009 and despite appearing uncomfortable with her visibility during her career, she has since married her wife Letitia (also a former Dutch speed skater) and paid tribute to her on Instagram in March 2022.
If you are an out LGBTQ person in sports and want to tell your story, email Jim ([email protected])
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