This Pride Month, we’re honoring the athletes who have shifted LGBTQ+ culture in women’s sports. From legendary matches to on-screen kisses, these players are making room for more stars to be seen.
Billie Jean King
The great Billie Jean King was never one to fit into anyone’s mold. In the very first moments of her 20+ years in tennis, King recounts being prohibited from taking a photo as a junior tennis player at the Los Angeles Tennis Club because she wore tennis shorts instead of a tennis dress. From that day in 1955, she would go on to spend the entirety of her athletic career dismantling gender-based inequities in women’s sports.
As a co-founder of the Women’s Tennis Association, King is a fierce advocate for equal pay amongst athletes of all genders. Her campaign led to one of the most-watched tennis matches in U.S. history, dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes.” The early 1970s match featured King and Bobby Riggs, a men’s tennis player who openly believed women’s tennis was inferior. King took home the win, while also shifting the cultural perspective of women athletes.
In 1981, King was outed as a lesbian. During a time when much of the public began to scrutinize her sexuality, so did the companies endorsing her. However, King’s global impact was undeniable. Amidst the cloud of public negativity, Billie Jean King never wavered, becoming the LGBTQIA+ legend that we know today. Since retiring from tennis, King has remained active in women’s sports and even serves on the PWHL advisory board.
Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner is a walking testament to the Black, LGBTQ+ experience in women’s athletics. In her first year in the WNBA, the 2013 number-one pick publicly discussed her journey of coming out. The following year, she became the first openly lesbian athlete to secure a Nike endorsement deal.
As a star defensive player, Olympic gold medalist, and WNBA champion, Griner understands what it takes to win. In 2022, this pillar of basketball faced a trial that fundamentally changed her story. As she arrived at an airport in Russia to play for Ekaterinburg, she was detained for having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which remains illegal in the country. In August 2022, Griner was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony after being charged with “smuggling illegal drugs with criminal intent.”
After an early release in December 2022, Griner returned to the court. However, her impact had reached even greater heights as she spoke out about what she was subjected to within the prison system. Griner’s story sparked conversation around the criminalization of Black, LGBTQ+ women in all corners of the world.
To know Griner’s story is to know: she has endured, but she remains triumphant.
Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman
Laughter is a universal language. The WNBA’s beloved duo, the StudBudz, are capturing the hearts of fans everywhere — and they’re doing so by cracking jokes and being fully themselves.
Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman are two best friends who had the pleasure of playing side by side for five seasons, most recently for the Minnesota Lynx. Their fun-spirited personalities led them to pick up a camera and create video content on major social platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch. However, their matching bright pink hair and endless jokes are not the only qualities that have made them stand out. They are also making a statement in proudly identifying as “studs.”
A stud is defined as a Black, masculine-presenting lesbian. Studs have played a significant role in shaping Black and LGBTQ+ culture by pushing against the grain of expectations for how Black women are expected to present themselves. Williams and Hiedeman have embraced their identities so much so that they have begun to shift social understanding of masculine-presenting women in athletics.
Because, well, who doesn’t love the StudBudz?
Abby Wambach
After the U.S. team won the Women’s World Cup in 2015, soccer star Abby Wambach ran to her former partner in the stands and kissed her. It was the first time an openly gay couple had embraced on national TV in a major sports championship.
As a two-time Olympic gold medalist, FIFA World Cup Champion, and six-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year, Wambach is surely one of the greatest ever to set foot on the pitch. She continues to use her platform to represent unapologetically, notably encouraging women in an iconic commencement speech at Barnard College to be “the wolves" instead of accepting exclusion. In her best-selling book, Wolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change the Game, Wambach emphasized the importance of women leaning into their individual talents and creating community among themselves.
There’s no denying that Wambach knows how to make a statement — and make sure it sticks.
Nikki Hiltz
Nikki Hiltz understands that slow and steady wins the race. That’s why this Olympic runner is advocating for queer communities with intention. As an openly non-binary professional runner, the world of athletics does not always make space for their identity. Running remains a valuable aspect of Hiltz’s life, but finding a sense of belonging within gendered sports has certainly not been easy.
Hiltz took matters into their own hands. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, all of Hiltz’s races were canceled. So, they hosted their own. Hiltz began hosting a Pride 5k — an annual race that raises funds for LGBTQ+ non-profit organizations and, most importantly, provides a safe space for queer people to run.
Held in October, the month that honors National Coming Out Day, the Pride5k has raised $290,000 since its inception six years ago, donating to organizations like Point of Pride and The Trevor Project. In many ways, Hiltz is living the reality that professional sports organizations have more progress to make regarding trans inclusivity.