Awards

Jaron Thomas is one of the best hurdlers in the history of the Univ. of Colorado. He's also one of the school's first publicly out athletes.

Luke McAvoy won the Minnesota football team's Character and Community Service Award, named for anti-gay former player and coach Tony Dungy.

Kentucky high school basketball player Dalton Maldonado exhibited rare courage by coming out privately then publicly, refusing to be quieted even in rural Kentucky.

Billy Bean has taken his position in Major League Baseball and made leaps and bounds for LGBT equality and visibility in the sport. He was the perfect person for the job.

He and his partner won a world gold medal after he came out.

Two of the stars of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team were out and visible.

Bucknell men's soccer player Jesse Klug, who is openly gay, is a finalist for the prestigious Senior Class Award. You can vote for him once a day.

Out magazine features six LGBT athletes as part of their annual Out 100, including Outsports features Dalton Maldonado and Mason Darrow.

Courtney Pollack, ESPN's first employee to transition on the job, shares her joy at the ESPYs and meeting Caitlyn Jenner.

Caitlyn Jenner is somehow unworthy of the Arthur Ashe Courage Award tonight at the ESPYs, but I don't remember the same complaints about other former athletes.

The New York Gay Football League started as an idea in my living room a little over 10 years ago. Now it's one of the largest leagues in the country.

Matt Allen and his women's fastpich softball players revitalized the Laurier University team this year.

Cole Fox, a devout Catholic and a wrestler for Don Bosco High School, has been awarded a Matthew Shepard Scholarship. He wants to bridge the gaps between the Catholic Church and wrestling world & the LGBT community.

The Academy Awards are decided by a bunch of voters, some of whom never saw the movies they vote for or against. I'll stick to the Super Bowl, thanks.

Anthony Nicodemo has been named co-Coach of the Year by his basketball coaches association.

Outsports' popular story on football player Conner Mertens has been nominated for a GLAAD Media Award.

His coming out was the talk of the country, even among non-sports fans.

Tony Dungy continues to push gay athletes deeper into the closet and deny his motivation is homophobia. Vladimir Putin, our runner-up in the "Asshole" category, isn't any better.

The defender was a key cog in helping the L.A. Galaxy win the MLS title and has inspired others to come out. Figure skater Eric Radford is our runner-up.

The Outsports editorial staff will hand out six awards to honor the people who helped make change – and in one case the person who stood defiant of said change.