When NBA player Jason Collins announced this week "I'm gay", praise for his groundbreaking courage poured in from all directions. Collins' announcement is a very big deal, especially since the worldwide popularity of NBA basketball makes him a highly visible role model for youth. However, we shouldn't lose sight of where the Jason Collins milestone fits into the long history of openly LGBT people's participation in American professional sports. Generally speaking, women athletes have been faster to come out than men, athletes in individual sports have come out more rapidly than those in team sports, and athletes in relatively obscure sports have come out more quickly than those in more popular sports. The reasons for these patterns are complex and debatable, but particular examples of individual courage over the past three decades are clear.
Czech-American tennis great Martina Navratilova came out publicly as bisexual way back in 1981. Then a rising star, Navratilova went on to win a record total of 167 singles tournaments and become arguably the greatest women's tennis player of all time. She says that discrimination based on her sexual orientation "cost [her] plenty of money" over the course of her sports career, given sponsors' reluctance at the time to link their brands to her, but that didn't stop her from being vocal about LGBT issues. Navratilova even participated as one of the plaintiffs in the ACLU/Lambda Legal lawsuit challenging a 1992 anti-gay Colorado ballot initiative that ultimately resulted in the landmark Romer v. Evans Supreme Court decision. Following in Navratilova's footsteps, a number of female tennis and golf players came out of the closet during the 1980s and 1990s. In 2004, LPGA star Rosie Jones publicly announced she was a lesbian at the same time she announced a sponsorship deal with Olivia, organizers of lesbian-themed cruises and vacations, thus proving that the economic effects of coming out need not be all negative.
The WNBA began play in 1997. Despite – or perhaps because of – its reputation as a niche activity for lesbians, the WNBA had no out current players for many years. In 2005, reigning MVP Sheryl Swoopes of the Houston Comets broke through the "lavender ceiling" by publicly identifying herself as a lesbian (though later she married a man and distanced herself from both lesbian and bisexual identities). In the years following, more and more WNBA players have felt comfortable enough to publicly come out. Minnesota Lynx star Seimone Augustus and her fiancée spoke out against a 2012 ballot initiative that sought to write a ban on marriage for same-sex couples into the Minnesota constitution. Brittney Griner, who dominated women's college basketball for the past four years, was picked first in the 2013 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury, days later officially came out as a lesbian, and days after that became the first out athlete to sign a sponsorship deal with Nike.
Women's soccer has also seen a few players come out publicly in recent years. Natasha Kai, then a member of the U.S. Soccer Women's National Team (and later also a member of the U.S. women's national rugby sevens team), mentioned dating a woman in a 2008 interview. Megan Rapinoe, star midfielder for the soccer National Team and formerly of the professional club Chicago Red Stars, gave an "I'm gay" interview just before the 2012 Summer Olympics, saying she felt it was important to do so given the National Team's influence as role models for youth.
Among male athletes, many competitors in sports that rarely get public attention or network television coverage have announced their gay identity to fans en route to Collins' blockbuster announcement. Those who have come out while still actively competing at the pro and/or Olympic level include featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz, gymnast Josh Dixon, figure skater Johnny Weir, bowler Scott Norton, equestrian Robert Dover, and lacrosse player Andrew Goldstein.
Openly transgender athletes at the pro level have been very rare, perhaps because the sex-segregated competition structure in most sports can create unique obstacles for transgender people. However, transgender tennis player Renée Richards made history in 1977 when she won a lawsuit seeking the right to participate in the women's draw of the U.S. Open. Just this year, mixed martial artist Fallon Fox came out as a transgender woman. Several current college athletes have publicly identified themselves as transgender, and a number of governing bodies for college and high school athletics have recently published policies clarifying transgender students' eligibility to participate, hopefully increasing the opportunities transgender people will have to excel at those levels and eventually reach the pros.
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Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
President Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender YouthPresident Biden Must Veto Defense Bill Attacking Military Families with Transgender Youth
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate today passed a version of the National Defense Authorization Act that would ban coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth whose parents are active-duty military personnel. The American Civil Liberties Union is opposing final passage of the defense bill over the inclusion of this health care ban and calling on President Joe Biden to veto the bill. Section 708 of the NDAA would prohibit insurance coverage for “medical interventions for the treatment of gender dysphoria” such as hormone therapy and puberty-suppressant medications, which Speaker Mike Johnson says would “permanently ban transgender medical treatment for minors.” The same treatments would be covered by TRICARE for any medical purpose other than treating gender dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis for the psychological distress experienced by transgender people related to their gender identity. “By passing this bill, the House and Senate are forcing thousands of active-duty service members to choose between their careers in the military and the future of their transgender children,” said Mike Zamore, national director of policy & government affairs at the ACLU. “This unconscionable and unjustifiable attack on those families stands in direct contrast to President Joe Biden’s legacy of defending the civil rights of transgender Americans — including when few in his own party showed the courage to do so. President Biden should cement his legacy by vetoing this bill and sending it back to Congress to pass without Speaker Johnson’s last minute health care ban for servicemembers’ kids.” If signed by President Biden, this health care ban would be the first new anti-LGBTQ provision enacted by Congress and signed into law by the president since the enactment of the military’s since-repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy for LGBTQ servicemembers and the since-repealed federal law barring recognition of same-sex marriages known as the Defense of Marriage Act. It is unknown how many transgender youth are currently enrolled in TRICARE or how many of those enrolled are currently receiving coverage for gender-affirming care. In one 2022 analysis, 2,500 minor patients sought care for gender dysphoria through TRICARE Prime insurance at military or civilian treatment facilities in 2017, and 900 received puberty suppressants or gender-affirming hormones. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a landmark case brought by the ACLU, the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump on behalf of three families and a medical provider challenging a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming hormonal therapies for transgender youth on the grounds the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. -
Press ReleaseDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Montana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's LicensesMontana Court Blocks State From Refusing to Correct Sex Markers on Transgender People's Birth Certificates and Driver's Licenses
HELENA, Mont. – A Montana court has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the state of Montana from enforcing policies that bar transgender people from obtaining accurate sex designations on their birth certificates and driver’s licenses. After a prior restriction on amendments of birth certificates was struck down by the courts, in early 2024 the state of Montana enacted a new rule that categorically bars transgender Montanans from correcting the sex designation on their birth certificates. Around the same time, the Montana Department of Justice adopted a policy similarly restricting amendment of driver’s licenses. The plaintiffs challenged these policies in state district court, arguing that they violate various constitutional provisions, including the right to equal protection of the law. In a recent Montana Supreme Court decision, two justices concluded that discrimination on the basis of transgender status – as the state is engaging in here – is a form of sex discrimination that violates the Montana Constitution’s equal protection clause. The plaintiffs, two transgender women, are represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Montana, and Nixon Peabody LLP. Plaintiff Jessica Kalarchik, a veteran who served in the United States Army for 31 years, said: “After finally being able to live my life openly as the woman I know myself to be, I am frustrated that my birth state, Montana, wants me to carry around a birth certificate that incorrectly lists my sex as male. I live my life openly as a woman, I am treated as a woman in my daily life, and there is no reason I should be forced to carry a birth certificate that incorrectly identifies me as male. Fortunately, the court agrees that this ridiculous policy should not be in effect.” “Once again the State of Montana chose to adopt a draconian policy that is clearly intended to marginalize transgender Montanans, only for that discriminatory action to be blocked by the courts,” said Akilah Deernose, executive director for the ACLU of Montana. “Here in Montana we treasure our right to privacy and to live our lives free from governmental intrusion. The State of Montana clearly has not learned any lessons from the past few years, where courts have repeatedly struck down unconstitutional laws targeting transgender Montanans.” “Forcing anyone to carry documents that contradict their identity unjustly violates their rights to privacy, equal treatment, and not being compelled to convey a government message about their sex that they disagree with,” said Malita Picasso, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Project. “Such a policy marks transgender people for further mistreatment and discrimination, essentially requiring them to carry papers that out them as transgender any time they need to provide identity documents. Fortunately, the court has refused to allow the state of Montana to subvert the freedom of transgender Montanans to control their own identity as this case goes forward.” In granting the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, the court held, “[i]f the challenged state actions discriminate against transgender individuals on the basis of their transgender status, they also necessarily discriminate the basis of sex.” The state has the option of appealing the district court’s ruling to the Montana Supreme Court, but the underlying case will proceed in district court. A trial has not yet been scheduled. -
FloridaDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Keohane v. DixonKeohane v. Dixon
On September 30, 2024, the Florida Department of Corrections rescinded its policy regarding treatment of gender dysphoria, which allowed for hormone therapy when deemed medically necessary, as well as access to clothing and grooming standards that accord with one’s gender identity. Under this new policy, grooming and clothing accommodations have been stripped away, and hormone therapy is not permitted unless an exception is deemed constitutionally required. The ACLU brought a class action challenging the policy. -
IdahoDec 2024
LGBTQ Rights
Robinson v. LabradorRobinson v. Labrador
Two incarcerated transgender women have sued the state of Idaho alleging that HB 688, a 2024 law barring state funding for gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, denies them access to the health care their doctors have prescribed for them and is a violation of their Eighth Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. They represent a class of all incarcerated folks within the state of Idaho who face the loss of hormone therapy due to HB 668.