The LGBTQ is known for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer is term that describe a person sexual orientation or gender identity and sportscliffs have taken their time to identify some of the athletes that has come out has gay.
The individuals are united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBT activists and sociologists see LGBT community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society.
The LGBT community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBT community.
LGBT communities may organize themselves into, or support, movements for civil rights promoting LGBT rights in various places around the world.
The gay community is frequently associated with certain symbols, especially the rainbow or rainbow flags. The Greek lambda symbol (“L” for liberation), triangles, ribbons, and gender symbols are also used as “gay acceptance” symbol. There are many types of flags to represent subdivisions in the gay community, but the most commonly recognized one is the rainbow flag. According to Gilbert Baker, creator of the commonly known rainbow flag, each color represents a value in the community:
pink = sexuality, red = life, orange = healing, yellow = the sun, green = nature, blue = art, indigo = harmony, violet = spirit.
People often criticize these people for their believe and their choice of being a gay or a lesbian in the community.
Several athletes have come out to media as being attracted to their same gender which they count as their own choice.
The latest athlete to come as a gay is Blackpool player Jake Daniels and becomes the first active male professional footballer to come out in public as gay since Justin Fashanu in 1990.
Jake Daniels shared his story to the media about how him knew he was gay and how he covered it up until he had the confidence to say it publicly.
After the player came out as being gay, he has been supported by some players in the football world like Tottenham forward Harry Kane and Manchester United shot stopper David De Gea.
There are other athletes that has come out has gay in their various sport environment.
In 2014, Michael Sam came out as gay in an interview with ESPN and made history that same year. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, becoming the first openly gay man to ever be drafted into the NFL.
Ryan Russell played for the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a defensive end before becoming a free agent. But in 2019, he made headlines when he announced he is bisexual in an essay on ESPN.
In 2019, the women’s US national soccer team won the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but it seemed all eyes were on the team’s star player and captain: Megan Rapinoe. The athlete quickly made a name for herself in a series of TV interviews, where she voiced her support of women’s rights and LGBTQ rights as an openly gay woman.
In 2013, Jason Paul Collins made history when he became the first person to openly come out in any of the four major professional sports. When he was a Washington Wizards center, he broke the news in an article in Sports Illustrated stating that he is gay.
Recently the French elite division teams wore special edition shirts over the weekend to increase awareness of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia – which is celebrated on Tuesday, May 17.
The Parisians as well as other Ligue 1 outfits marked the occasions with jerseys having rainbow colouring used on their name and number prints.
However, Gueye opted to pull out of the fixture against Olivier Dall’Oglio’s La Paillade because it is against his Islamic faith – an action that has been criticised.
Like we now know the LGBTQ are people that wants to live their life without been discriminated for what they have chosen to be.
Whether in other profession or in the world of sports the athletes wants them to be taken for their choice.
