# Homosexuality in sports in the United States

The homosexual sports community in the United States has one of the highest levels of acceptance and support in the world and is rapidly growing as of 2020. General public opinion and jurisprudence regarding homosexuality in the United States has become significantly more accepting since the late 1980s; for example, by the early 2020s, an overwhelming majority of Americans approved of the legality of same-sex marriages.
In regard to sports in the United States, in 2002 researcher Eric Anderson found "more openly gay runners and swimmers than football and baseball players." He then hypothesized that this occurred because gay men likely abandoned some sports in favor of sports that were more accepting of homosexuality. In 2006, a Sports Illustrated poll of roughly 1,400 professional athletes found that a majority would be willing to accept a gay teammate. As well, professional ice hockey (NHL) athletes seemed to be the most accepting of such teammates as 80% of its players approved of having a gay teammate.

## Individual sports
### Golf

In 1996, Muffin Spencer-Devlin became the first LPGA player to come out as gay.
In 2018, Tadd Fujikawa came out as gay, becoming the first male professional golfer to do so.

### Squash

In 2018, Todd Harrity came out as gay, thus becoming the first openly gay professional male squash player in the world. At the time he was ranked No. 1 in the United States out of all male squash players.

### Tennis

American tennis player Billie Jean King acknowledged her relationship with Marilyn Barnett when it became public in a May 1981 palimony lawsuit filed by Barnett, making Billie Jean the first prominent female professional athlete in the world to come out.

## Team sports
### Baseball

Glenn Burke was the first Major League Baseball player to come out as gay, announcing it in 1982 after he retired.

### Basketball

In 2002, Sue Wicks came out as gay, making her the first openly gay person playing in the WNBA. Many female players have since come out as gay; for example, Sheryl Swoopes came out in 2005, Brittney Griner came out in 2013, and Elena Delle Donne came out in 2016. However, Swoopes later married a man.
In 2013, Jason Collins publicly came out as gay. President Barack Obama contacted him offering his support. In 2014, Jason Collins played for the Brooklyn Nets of the NBA, making him the first openly gay athlete to play in any of the four major North American professional sports leagues.

### Flag football

In 2002, the National Gay Flag Football League was founded.

### Football

In 1975, former football player David Kopay became the first professional athlete from a major team to come out.
Football player Alissa Wykes of the Philadelphia Liberty Belles became one of the first active American athletes to publicly come out as gay when she announced that she was a lesbian in an article in the December 2001/January 2002 edition of Sports Illustrated for Women.
In the 2014 NFL draft, the St. Louis Rams drafted Michael Sam in the seventh round, the 249th of 256 players selected, which made him the first openly gay player to be drafted into the NFL. However, on August 30, St. Louis released Sam as part of a final round of cuts to reduce their roster to the league-mandated 53 players before the start of the regular season.
In June 2021, Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Carl Nassib came out as gay via Instagram, making him the first openly gay active player in the NFL. He later became the first openly gay player in an NFL playoff game on January 15, 2022.

### Hockey

In 1985, the Los Angeles Blades was organized as the first gay hockey team in the United States.
In 2021, Canadian Luke Prokop, who was drafted by the Nashville Predators in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, became the first active player signed to a National Hockey League contract to come out as gay. On November 17, 2023, Prokop became the first openly gay player in the American Hockey League's history, by making his first appearance in a game as a player for the Milwaukee Admirals.

### Rugby

In 1998, the Washington Renegades RFC was formed as the first gay rugby team in the United States.

### Soccer

In 2013, Robbie Rogers publicly came out as gay. President Barack Obama contacted him offering his support. Thierry Henry, at the time playing in Major League Soccer, was quoted in a column for New York Daily News as saying "he (Rogers) is a human being, first of all. And that’s good enough." Later in 2013, Robbie Rogers became the first openly gay man to compete in a top North American professional sports league when he played his first match for the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer.
Many female soccer players have been openly gay while actively playing for American teams, such as Joanna Lohman and Megan Rapinoe. Megan Rapinoe came out in 2012, while a midfielder for the Seattle Sounders and while on the United States women's national soccer team.