Becky Pepper-Jackson comes from a family of avid runners. (ACLU) An 11-year-old trans kid and her mum have filed a lawsuit in West Virginia to allow her to run on the girls’ team at school. Becky Pepper-Jackson, a cross country runner, was told by her school principal in May that if she wanted to try
Sport
Members of Biarritz Olympique sporting Grindr-sponsored uniforms. (Biarritz Olympique/Grindr/Twitter) Grindr has hooked up with a top rugby team to design a versatile jersey set – all the while making sports more inclusive. The queer dating app announced on its Twitter page Wednesday (26 May) as the new sponsor for French professional rugby club Biarritz Olympique. In
Israel Folau speaks to the media during a press conference at the Hilton Hotel on 21 May 2021 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images) Disgraced athlete Israel Folau said he has “no regrets” as he announced his comeback to Australian rugby, two years after he was sacked for homophobia. Folau announced he hopes to
Katie Sowers made Super Bowl history on Sunday (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group/Getty) National Football League (NFL) coach Katie Sowers was once stopped from coaching a basketball team because parents had “concerns” about her sexuality. Before she became the first openly gay and first female coach in Super Bowl history, Sowers competed a basketball
Fallon Fox. (Noam Galai/WireImage Venerable mixed martial arts fighter Fallon Fox, once hesitant to be openly trans, is set to have a biopic made about her life and career. The 45-year-old, who picked up odd jobs as a truck driver to raise money for gender affirmation surgery, became the first openly trans MMA athlete after
North Dakota governor Doug Burgum speaks at a press conference announcing plans for the clean up of the Oceti Sakowin protest camp on 22 February 2017 in Mandan, North Dakota. (Photo by Stephen Yang/Getty Images) North Dakota governor Doug Burgum vetoed an anti-trans sports ban, but signed a “free speech” bill that critics warn allows
Rebekah in the ACLU video “Meet the girl who lawmakers want to ban from playing sports”. (YouTube/Human Rights Campaign) A 14-year-old girl who plays field hockey at school has told lawmakers considering anti-trans bills that she just wants to play sports with her friends. In a three-minute Human Rights Campaign video, Rebekah says sports are
Yasiel Puig. (Getty/ David Maxwell) The woman accusing Major League Baseball (MLB) star Yasiel Puig of sexual assault has said they couldn’t have had consensual sex because she’s an “out and proud lesbian”. The woman filed a lawsuit against Puig in 2020, alleging that he sexually assaulted her in 2018 in the bathroom at a
Emily Bridges. (Instagram) The mum of trans cyclist Emily Bridges has hit out at “hysteria” surrounding her daughter after an unnamed coach allegedly shared “misinformation and lies” about her. Emily’s mum Sandy issued a statement on Twitter on Saturday (3 April) in which she sought to debunk some of the misinformation being circulated online. “Somebody
Tennessee became Friday (26 March) the third US state to cruelly pass a bill banning trans girls from playing in middle and high school sports as their correct gender. State governor Bill Lee announced on Twitter he had signed Senate Bill 228 to “preserve women’s athletics and ensure fair competition”. Such a view, the American Civil
WWE legend Mickie James has come out swinging for trans rights after Arkansas passed legislation banning trans athletes. Mickie Laree James-Aldis, who wrestles under the name Mickie James, has won six WWE women’s championship titles, making her the 12th greatest female wrestling superstar in the company’s history, according to the WWE Network. So when she
Lewis Hamilton spoke out against the Vatican’s ban on same-sex unions. (Dan Istitene/Getty) Lewis Hamilton has described a Vatican ban on priests blessing same-sex unions as “unacceptable”. On Monday (15 March), the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith responded to the question of blessing same-sex unions on behalf of the Vatican, and insisted that God
WNBA star Natasha Cloud with her professional softball player wife Aleshia Ocasio. (Instagram/ t__cloud9) WNBA star Natasha Cloud has revealed that she married her softballer girlfriend in a secret wedding, fearing her rights would be taken away. Cloud and her and professional softball player partner Aleshia Ocasio, who plays for the Chicago Bandits, announced their
Former Welsh rugby captain Gareth Thomas announced he is HIV positive after “evils” threatened to out him. (Clemens Bilan/AFP/Getty) Welsh rugby star and TV personality Gareth Thomas has described being “petrified” each time someone knocked on his door, while he was blackmailed over being HIV-positive. In 2019, Thomas was forced to publicly reveal his HIV
Referee James Child during the Super League match between Wakefield Wildcats and Castleford Tigers at Etihad Stadium on 18 May 2014 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) Rugby Super League referee James Child has spoken publicly about his sexuality for the first time and the vile homophobic abuse he encountered in his career.
Former WWE superstar Gabbi Tuft has shared a powerful nude in an emotional post about finding her “authentic self” after coming out as trans. Tuft – who wrestled under the stage name Tyler Reks between 2008 and 2012 – opened up about being transgender earlier this month. She’s now revealed more about her journey on
‘You can count on us’, German footballers say to LGBT+ players (John MacDougall/AFP/ Getty) Over 800 German footballers have pledged their support to any teammates who may be struggling with their sexuality and afraid to come out while playing. To date no male footballer has ever come out while actively playing in any of the
Lily Parr (b. 1905) was a well-known lesbian footballer who lived her life proudly and freely. (Getty/Creative Commons) LGBT+ History Month is all about remembering our forefathers, foremothers and forepeople who paved the way for the rest of us, and there are few UK figures who are more trailblazing than chain-smoking lesbian footballer Lily Parr.
Israel Folau. (Matt King/Getty) Disgraced Australian rugby star Israel Folau was welcomed to the Catalans Dragons with a barrage of gay porn in the team’s WhatsApp group. Folau was signed to the France-based RFL Super League club in January 2020 after being sacked from Australia’s national team and the New South Wales Waratahs for his homophobic
Martina Navratilova at Wimbledon, 2019. (Visionhaus/Getty Images) Tennis bigot Martina Navratilova is calling on Joe Biden to introduce special rules that would prevent trans people from gaining a foothold in elite sports. Navratilova, a vocal opponent of trans inclusion in sport, has in the past supported laws that would ban trans girls from participating in
Israel Folau. (Photo by Anthony Au-Yeung/Getty Images) Talks for Israel Folau to join the George Illawarra Dragons have fallen through following backlash from fans and sponsors. Folau, who was sacked from the New South Wales Waratahs and Australia’s national team in 2019 after claiming that “hell awaits” gay people, has spent the last year in France
Justin Thomas at the Sentry Tournament Of Champions on 10 January (Cliff Hawkins/Getty) Ralph Lauren has terminated its sponsorship deal with disgraced golfer Justin Thomas after he blurted out a homophobic slur at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. The world number three golf star had worn the company’s clothing since he turned pro, reaching number
Amanda Chidester and Anissa Urtez are engaged to be married, and they’ll battle against each other at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. (Instagram) A recently-engaged lesbian couple, both softball players, are set to face off against each other at the Tokyo Olympics on separate teams. Amanda Chidester plays for the United States softball team, while
Gay ex-footballer Thomas Beattie has said he struggled with a lack of role models before coming out. The English-born footballer played for clubs in Canada and across Singapore before retiring in 2015 after a head injury. In June this year, he became the first professional English footballer to come out as gay in three decades.
Jake Bain opened up about his experience of sexual abuse (It Gets Better campaign screenshot/YouTube) Jake Bain, the high-school football star who made headlines when he came out as gay, has opened up about being sexually abused by his father. Bain became one of the first openly queer athletes at the NCAA Division I level
Danell Leyva, three-time USA Gymnastics Olympic Medalist, attends a viewing party of the Olympic Opening Ceremony hosted by the filmmakers of “Icarus” at the Hollywood Athletic Club on February 9, 2018 in Hollywood, California. (Rich Fury/Getty Images for Netflix) Three-time Olympic gymnastics medallist Danell Leyva has explained how stereotypes about male gymnasts held him back
Hayling Island Bowls Club, where trans woman Stella Moore has played for nine months. (Hayling Island Bowls) A women’s bowling club has removed advice on its website saying that “transsexual” women shouldn’t “vamp up” after backlash to its “archaic” policy on transgender inclusion. The first part of the Portsmouth & District Women’s Bowling Association policy,
Michael Gunning will compete in next year’s Olympics. (E!/Getty) Michael Gunning, the first openly Black gay man to swim for Team Jamaica, has opened up about the horrific bullying he endured as a child. The Olympic hopeful, who is one of only a handful of Black swimmers at the sport’s elite level, talked to BBC
The New York Yankees high-five each other after winning 6-3 against the Philadelphia Phillies on August 3, 2020 (Sarah Stier/Getty) For the first time in four years, a season of Major League Baseball has passed without a single homophobic slur being uttered on the field. The 2020 season ended on Sunday after coronavirus shortened it
US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been blasted by LGBT+ activists for her rollbacks of trans protections. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Betsy DeVos, the US education secretary, should “butt out” of trans teens’ lives and the sports they play, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said Monday (21 September). The Democratic party lawmaker and business leader tore