Posted on by

Outsports Power 100 highlights influential LGBTQ people in sports

Outsports Power 100 highlights influential LGBTQ people in sports

The Outsports Power 100 is back.

It’s been 16 months since Outsports released its selection of the 100 most powerful and influential out LGBTQ people in American sports. Now, in the second half of LGBTQ History Month, we share our 2024 list of these great people in sports.

The list will be published starting Monday and 10 new honorees will be announced each weekday until our No. 1 selection is announced on October 25th. They will include people from every sport in the United States, including the NFL, NBA, WNBA, MLB, MLS, NHL, NASCAR and more.

Our task was hard. This year, we had approximately 400 LGBTQ people in sports on our “Consideration” list, and many others in lower positions across the American sports landscape were not included. Just a few years ago, it seemed impossible to have so many people influencing American sports.

The list will of course be the Outsports list. Outsports’ influence will be visible throughout the selection. No two lists – not even two lists among the Outsports staff – will ever be the same. This is our collection list.

Related


One element will be obvious: the influence that the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA’s performance had on our selections this year.

Another element will be the loss of Billy Bean from the list. While more than a third of this year’s honorees will be new, Bean is the only one from 2023 who has passed away. Last year he was No. 11. This year, on National Coming Out Day, we’re starting the list with a feature about an out gay man in professional baseball.

The Power 100 is designed as a snapshot. Even in the last few weeks there have been new hires and layoffs that have influenced our selection. While our first Outsports Power 100 in 2023 was heavily influenced by the past, this year’s list will be much more reflective of our view of the state of the sport and the position of LGBTQ people there in 2024.

Come back on Monday for the first unveiling of the 2024 Outsports 100.

Subscribe to the Outsports newsletter to keep up with your favorite athletes, inspiring LGBTQ sports stories and more.