The WNBA celebrated their 25th Aппiversary dυriпg the 2022 seasoп. Not oпly was their birthday a hυge milestoпe for womeп’s professioпal basketball, bυt the leagυe’s growth has coiпcided with a growiпg acceptaпce of players that ideпtify as gay, lesbiaп, bisexυal aпd traпs.

Back in 1997 when the league first started out there was obvious pressure for the league to succeed. That meant the players had to present themselves more traditionally-dressed (see: feminine) often with polished nails and make up – this translated to many players that it wasn’t okay to be themselves.

While the WNBA’s rival the ABL acknowledged and embraced their Lesbian fanbase early on, it was clear that the WNBA hoped to reach a broader audience. The WNBA’s efforts into growing their audience was understood, but often the league’s actions alienated the diehard LGBTQ+ community.

We present this history to contextualize how sensitive the WNBA was about their appearance and the prevailing stereotypes about women athletes, masculinity and femininity and their sexuality. These stereotypes lead to being treated differently (discrimination) and ultimately has affected players’ careers on the court (rosters spots, minutes) and off the court (endorsements, contracts).

Those concerns have somewhat softened over the years in the league, but still very much hangs over like a cloud. I remember when the WNBA kicked off and though there was an assumption that there must have been gay players in the league, yet no player was open about their sexuality.

Not until players like Latasha Byears and Sue Wicks were open about their sexuality did the WNBA have players that represented a good number of their fanbase. To be clear, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Byears never came out in the sense that she sat down for an interview or αππουnced it at a press conference. Byears was unapologetically queer and was never closed off about her sexuality.

To be clear, the Los Angeles Sparks’ Byears never came out in the sense that she sat down for an interview or αππουnced it at a press conference. Byears was unapologetically queer and was never closed off about her sexuality.

“I’ve never been in the closet about nothin’,” Byears said to ESPN in 2006. “It’s hot in that closet also!” The New York Liberty’s Sue Wicks was the first player to formally and publicly come out in 2002.

Byears and Wicks then Brittany Griner in 2013 paved the path for current players like Sue Bird, Layshia Clarendon, Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi, Courtney Williams, Dewaппа Воппег and Elena Delle Donne to be comfortable enough to come out.

These players now have the luxury of not only playing professional basketball in the United States, but that the environment has improved; enough that they don’t have to hide the fact that they have a wife or girlfriend from their fans. The WNBA has even launched a LGBT section of their site at WNBA.com/pride. That level of acceptance wasn’t possible twenty-five years ago.

How Many WNBA Players Identify As Gay?

Even though some outlets have approximated of the percentage of LGBTQ players in the WNBA the real number will always be inaccurate as long as homophobia exists in all it’s forms. The true percentage of WNBA players that identify as gay or lesbian will always be determined by how accepting society of differences in sexuality and gender, and thus, how comfortable players are of coming out of the closet in the public eye. That’s the case with our list too. It’s not comprehensive for that reason.

We compiled this list because we know that the question of how many gay WNBA players there are and because there’s not a lot of reputable information to be had; it leads to stereotypes being perpetuated and biased opinions are taken as fact. We saw the lack of available research as an opportunity to provide information that is actually researched within the context of how culture affects the number of out gay and lesbian WNBA players.

Ultimately we believe this list of our WNBA players provides needed visibility and that LGBTQIA+ visibility will in turn allow future WNBA players (and their fans) to be comfortable coming out. So after some extensive research, here is a list of current and former WNBA players that have either come out and/or living authentically as part of the LGBTQIA+ community sorted by last name.

When we say the player is “out” that means that player has officially announced their coming out, are publicly married, have referred to their sexuality in an article, or has shared their personal life on public social media (Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and others).

If you’re counting, there’s 30 retired player on this list – that means 46 players on our list are active. It’s not a coincidence that more players are comfortable being out about their sexuality in 2022 than they were in 1997. That ratio represents progress and we expect this list to grow as the LGBTQ community is more widely accepted around the world. As mentioned in this Washington Post article, queer athletes can be found in relationships with one another

. That’s also true in the WNBA where All-Stars Dewanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas are engaged, former teammates Penny Taylor and Taurasi are married, current teammates Allie Quigley and Courtney Vandersloot have also wed, Natisha Heideman and Jasmine Thomas are coupled up and Breаппа Stewart and Marta Xargay have a child together.

We’ve done a pretty exhaustive search on the above list, but it is not 100% representative of the league’s different communities and identities because of the stigma and discrimination that can hang over a player when they come out.

What Perceпt of WNBA Players Ideпtify As LGBTQ?

The W25 are the WNBA’s superstars and greatest players. They’re paid the most money by the WNBA. They get the most media coverage. They get the most endorsements. They have a higher level of job security.

All that said being one of the top players doesn’t exclude you from experiencing homophobia or the feelings of fear, anxiety and shame. One of the W25, Angel McCoughtry revealed that after she came out in 2015, the international team that she was playing with in Turkey directed her to go back in the closet: “My last overseas team threatened my job if I didn’t write a fake letter on social media saying my relationship was a lie.

” McCoughtry posted on Instagram at the time that her leaving the team was contractual, but a site that covers European basketball transactions posted that Fenerbahçe “released” McCoughtry on Feb. 18. The site has since removed that page. Elena Delle Donne should feel empowered to be herself after winning the WNBA MVP twice, but she didn’t. “I came into the league and was not out, so over the years I was able to truly come into myself,” Delle Donne said.

“I often felt like I was a robot at times because I wasn’t able to truly be myself until I was open and honest about my sexuality.” “Just being me was hard, to be honest,” Seimone Augustus told the New York Times, explaining that she was bullied in high school. “Every day walking down the hallway it was like: ‘She’s gay. She’s gay.”

Being bullied, having feelings of not being accepted for being gay or not fully coming out aren’t unique to WNBA players whatsoever. And every WNBA superstar that is out now including Augustus, Griner, Bird, McCoughtry, Candace Parker, Stewart, Katie Smith, and Jonquel Jones to name a few have all spoke to the glass closet they’re working against and homophobia that they’ve experienced that have silenced them.

Gay, Black and Female We’ve focused on coming as gay or lesbian and haven’t even approached the subject from the cross section of the multiple identities that are at play. In addition to sexuality we should also remember that almost all WNBA players identify as female (gender) shouldn’t forget that approximately 80% of the league is Black (race) and as you read this know that each of these identities has faced (and is facing) discriminated. Let’s acknowledge that being a Black woman already puts you at a major disadvantage when it comes to media coverage, endorsements and marketing opportunities.

According to this study led by Risa Isard and Dr. E. Nicole Melton Black WNBA players are severely underrepresented in the media even when they’re the most-accomplished players in the league. [Black WNBA players] won 80% of postseason awards, including: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player of the Year, and Sixth Woman of the Year.

And they are championing social justice advocacy. Yet the media gives them half the play. Literally. Despite the accolades and the fact that 80% of the players are Black, the three names most mentioned by the media? White players.

By also then identifying as Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Queer or Trans Black woman, well that pretty much takes all offers off the table. This is what happened with 2021 league MVP Jonquel Jones. After making the 2019 NBA All-Star Game, Jones came out in pants and short sleeve shirt.

Next year, The Bahamas Telecommunications Co. decided not to renew her endorsement contract even though her on-court performance in both the United States and internationally had improved across the e board.

“The only difference is that I’m openly out and dressing differently,” Jones told ESPN. Being at the intersection of being Black, queer and female puts you at a significant disadvantage. Sue Bird dumbed down how racism, sexism, and homophobia comes together to work against the WNBA in an ESPN interview: “To be completely blunt, but also kind of simple, soccer players generally are cute little white girls.” Bird said “And I think basketball players, we’re all shapes and sizes. It’s 70-80% Black women, a lot of gay women. We’re tall; we’re big. And I think there’s just maybe this intimidation factor with that.

People are quick to talk about it, judge it, put it down. And soccer, you just don’t see that just based on how they look.” You can see why choosing to come out as LGBTQ+ isn’t a simple decision as “just be yourself” – especially if you’re a Black woman. It adds another heavy layer that affects how you’re viewed. How many endorsements you get. How much the media covers you. Your post-career opportunities. At the end of the day as a queer Black woman you get way less money for objectively doing your job better.

The Wυbble Steps Up