Tag Archives: Sheryl Swoops

Women’s Basketball Coaches and Athletes Demand LGBT Inclusiveness

For all of the fouls, steals and on-court rivalries, basketball is a sport that’s all about respect. As a teammate or an opponent you should respect and appreciate the other players on the hardwood no matter who they are.

That’s why it’s so baffling that in many sports (not just basketball), a culture of inclusiveness has not been fostered. Instead, due to a homophobic minority, societal pressures and the very real prospect of losing your job (as is the case in some USA states) LGBT players and coaches feel that they cannot be honest about themselves.

However, something needs to change. Now, in a new campaign by Br{ache the Silence, famous figures from the world of basketball have spoken up campaigning for LGBT inclusiveness in the sport.

In the some three minute video, such faces as Nikki Caldwell (Head Coach at Louisiana State University), Renee Brown (Chief of Basketball Operations, WNBA), Stephanie White (Head Coach of the Indiana Fever), Sheri Murrell (Head Coach at Portland State University), Mary Wooley (Associate Head Coach at University of Hawaii), and ESPN writer Kate Fagan are all present. Discussing their experiences within the world of basketball, they detail how they were afraid of being who they are, how it held them back and how others were reluctant to accept them just because they were queer.

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But they aren’t just using the platform to raise awareness. Instead of just bringing the need for inclusiveness to light, BTS say that every $20 donation made to their cause will go towards LGBT training on a college level. While it might seem unusual that they aren’t just going straight to the top and training people at the professional WNBA level, this method makes good sense.

Training the coaches and athletes in college basketball automatically means that those who rise to the professional ranks will have more inclusive mind-sets. These generations of young players will be in the game for years to come and so it will be their words, thoughts and opinions that we’ll be hearing the most.

Click here to read more about the campaign.

7 Lesbian Athletes Who Stood Up for Gay Rights

Here’s a list of seven openly gay women behind some of the most crucial milestones in the LGBT sports world. These women have helped challenge this sexist double standard, and show that both genders have made equal progress for LGBT rights in sports.

Billie Jean King – Tennis, USA

In 1981, the tennis star Billie Jean King became the most prominent openly gay female athlete upon revealing her relationship with her secretary, Marilyn Barnett. Unfortunately, King was unable to come out on her own terms, as a palimony lawsuit filed by Barnett brought their relationship into the public eye. However, King is now an icon in LGBT community, recently selected by President Obama to serve on the U.S. delegation to the Olympics.

Martina Navratilova – Tennis, USA

Shorty after the outing of her on-court rival Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova followed King’s suit by revealing her sexual orientation in a column in the Dallas Morning News. Unlike King, Martina came out on her own terms, setting a precedent for many LGBT athletes to come.

Patty Sheehan – Golf, USA

Patty Sheehan is one of the most successful female golfers of all time, winning the LPGA tour on 35 occasions, including six major victories. Her golfing prowess earned her a spot in the Golf Hall of Fame, and her decision to become one of the first female golfers to come out as gay has made her an influential spokeswoman for lesbian athletes.

Sheryl Swoops – Basketball, USA

When WNBA star Sheryl Swoops became one of the first African-American female athletes to come out as gay in 2005, she was arguably the most famous athlete ever to do so in American professional sports. Swoops is a three-time WNBA MVP, one of the league’s founding players and perhaps its greatest talent. She is currently the head women’s basketball coach at Loyola University in Chicago.

Brittany Griner – Basketball, USA

The most recent openly gay female athlete in the sports world is current WNBA center Brittany Griner. Griner was perhaps the greatest female college basketball player of all time at Baylor University, where she gained notoriety from her dominant statistics and her rare ability to dunk in the women’s game. In the interview in which she publicly came out, Griner detailed the bullying she endured growing up because of her sexual orientation. She is now one of the leading advocates of anti-bullying in schools, especially when directed at the LGBT community.

Megan Rapinoe – Footbal, USA

Megan Rapinoe gained her first foray into the public spotlight following her stellar performance as a midfielder on the U.S Women’s National Footbal Team silver medal effort at the 2011 World Cup. Following the tournament, Rapinoe revealed her relationship with a fellow female soccer player to Out magazine. Her courage and advocacy for gay rights earned her a board of directors award from the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center in 2012.

Leigh-Ann Naidoo – Volleyball, South African

Naidoo was a member of the South African women’s volleyball team in the 2004 summer Olympic games. Though not a household name, Naidoo became the first African ambassador to the Gay Games, a landmark achievement for a continent not known for its progressive attitudes about gay rights.