Tom Daley gets unexpected show of appreciation from diving partner Noah Williams.

More LGBTQ+ Athletes
Are Involved in Many Sports

More than 190 LGBTQ+ Athletes participated in the 2024 Paris Olympics. With a few exceptions, they got little media coverage. In addition, more than 4,000 LGBTQ+ athletes participated in the 2024 EuroGames in Vienna in July just before the Olympics. The EuroGames are held every four years in some city in Europe. Then there were the GayGames held in 2023 in Guadalajara, Mexico and Hong Kong that drew over 5,000 participants. The GayGames are held every year, and they have been held in the US five times.

These events receive little or no media coverage in the US even when the games are held in the US. During these events, the coverage is only local media. Why does the national media in the US choose not to cover them? That’s an awkward question that has been left unanswered.

Within the US, many professional athletes in a wide range of sports have come out in recent years. Unfortunately, it is still a touchy issue in terms of what impact that might have on their career. I don’t think sports teams are necessarily more homophobic than lots of other careers.

In recent years, actors and actresses have felt more comfortable in coming out without an impact on their careers. The New York City Theater is heavily gay both in actors and storylines. Business executives still face the social pressure to get married to a woman and have a family. Politics is another field, although we are seeing more freedom among national politics. We still are a small minority in North Carolina government.

I just published an article in Pen & Prism magazine on the Medium.com site about what impact being gay had on my career as a writer. Some writers work only in a niche market, and others write for a more general audience. I have written for both, but I’ve been more focused on the gay market.

Coming out is an individual decision. It is still more difficult for transgender and gender fluid people. It can be more of a challenge depending upon your career field. Athletes for a long time faced more problems, but that has moderated in recent years.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.