LGBTQ Professional and Amateur Sports Coaches

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There is a large international field of LGBTQ professional and amateur sport coaches. These individuals are present in a wide range of sports categories. Most have made their mark previously as athletes in their chosen sports, including Olympic medal winners, world champions or national champions. Some are coaches of their national team. A few have earned the title of 'Coach of the Year' in their respective professions.

LGBTQ sports coaches play an important role in sports. They are not only mentors and leaders for the overall community, they also represent role models for individual LGBTQ athletes in sports, and often within their own teams. It is important for them to be proactive in rooting out homophobia on and off the field of play. As noted in the articles below, surveys have found that 84% of gay men and 82% of lesbians have heard homophobic slurs in locker rooms. There have been several LGBTQ organizations created to promote tolerance in sports, including Sports Equality Foundation, Athlete Ally, and PrideSports UK.

Regrettably, some of these individuals were fired (or 'contracts not renewed') from their position when they came out. In all of these particular cases, this made them LGBTQ activists to eliminate homophobia in professional sports. Others on the list are prominent LGBTQ activists regardless and have become notable specialists in the field of diversity.

There are several firsts in the list. Eric Anderson is considered to have been the first high school coach to have come out as gay and has written a book about this - today, he is a noted Professor of Masculinities, Sexualities, and Sport. Tennis sensation Renee Richards is a noted transgender leader in sports. Katie Sowers, Assistant Coach of the San Francisco 49ers, is considered the first out professional coach in the National Football League.

The range of sports represented in the list is notable. The most popular sports are basketball, soccer/football, and tennis. These are followed by figure skating and track & field. Such a wide variety of sports begs the question why there is not greater success in challenging homophobia in sports?

We have identified the following individuals as LGBTQ professional and amateur sports coaches. They hail from Canada, Venezuela, Brazil, Australia, Cuba, Great Britain, Germany, United States, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, and Sweden. Simply click on their names to read their fascinating biographies.


Basketball

Biathlon

Bodybuilding

Boxing

Cross-Country Skiiing

Cycling

Diving

Equestrian

Field Hockey

Figure Skating

Football (American)

Ice Hockey

Lacrosse

Rock Climbing

Rugby

Soccer/Football

Softball

Speedskating

Swimming

Tennis

Track & Field

Trampoline

Triathlon

Volleyball

Weightlifting

Wrestling

See Also

Further Reading/Research


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