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Game changers
Pioneering women coaches and researchers share decades of insight
Pat Griffin, Helen J. Carroll and Sue Rankin agree queer women in sports face unique challenges that stem from societal ills. (Photos courtesy Griffin, NCLR and Rankin & Associates respectively)
With Athlete Ally, the You Can Play Project, GO! Athletes, Break the Silence and dozens of others organizations and even gay representation at last in the NBA and NFL, it’s easy to think the era of homophobia in sports is behind us. But three LGBT women who’ve had long and pioneering careers in the field stress two main points: one, it ain’t over yet and two, even in the apparent victories, shades of sexism and stereotypes remain.
Helen J. Carroll, a lesbian, was an acclaimed national championship basketball coach from the University of North Carolina-Asheville before joining the National Center for Lesbian Rights in August 2001 to launch its Sports Project, which works to eliminate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in sports through advocacy, outreach and litigation. The project works on all levels of athletic competition to ensure that LGBT athletes can compete and participate “open and equally.”
After retiring as associate professor of education from Pennsylvania State University in 2013, Sue Rankin runs the consulting firm Rankin & Associates in which she does climate assessment work for universities. She’s the author of several LGBT books such as “The Lives of Transgender People,” “Campus Climate for Sexual Minorities: a National Perspective” and “Our Place on Campus: LGBT Services and Programs in Higher Education.” For 17 years, Rankin, who identifies as queer, was head coach for women’s softball at Penn State.
Pat Griffin is the founding director of Changing the Game, a GLSEN sports project that focuses on K-12 school athletic and physical education programs. She’s professor emeritus in the Social Justice Education Program at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and former director of the It Takes a Team! Education Campaign for LGBT issues in Sport. She’s a two-time Gay Games medalist and the author of “Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sports.”
If there’s anybody in the country qualified to discuss the nuances of LGBT people in sports, it’s these three. During lengthy and wide-ranging interviews last week, they talked freely about the impact of having out players like Michael Sam (the St. Louis Rams) and Jason Collins (the Brooklyn Nets), why out women are often shortchanged by comparison and what hurdles the country is still grappling with on these fronts.
“One thing we’ve realized in the Sports Project is that we still have a large number of people out there who are still being discriminated against in individual cases and certainly with transgender players,” Carroll says. “We’re doing a lot of work in that area right now because you’ll often see policies that are adopted against trans players that are in effect for an entire state. That’s going to continue if you don’t have a [National Center for Lesbian Rights] that can back up people legally and work with them pro bono. … I can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen [coaches come out] and get fired on the spot.”
Griffin says, “so much change has happened in the last five years, it boggles the mind … It’s very exciting, but we’re certainly not home free.”
Although in some ways she longs for a day when an athlete coming out will not be considered newsworthy, she also laments the wildly disproportionate amount of coverage Sam and Collins got compared to, say, Brittney Griner, the Phoenix Mercury (WNBA) center who came out in 2013. She says the reasons are multi-layered.
“The piece I always pick up is that it has so much to do with gender expectation and how society reacts if nobody thinks you’re gay,” Griffin says. “If you’re Michael Sam, he could have gone in as a closeted gay man and nobody would have said, ‘Oh, I wonder if he’s gay,’ but if you’re a woman and an athlete, you’re already going against heterosexual orthodoxy because you’re sweaty, competitive, strong, so you’re breaking all those gender expectations and people automatically go, ‘Oh, she must be a lesbian.’ Any woman who exhibits strength and leadership — ask Hillary — or any woman who tells some guy she’s not interested, they go, ‘Oh, you must be a lesbian.’ It’s reserved as a way to let women know they’ve stepped out of bounds and it’s used very effectively to make women have to apologize. It affects men a little differently because of sexism.”
Variations of this phenomenon can also be seen, Rankin argues, in the varying reactions seen in the coming out of, say, figure skating Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano, whose 2013 coming out at age 50 was seen as wildly overdue, versus still-active players in other sports such as Sam.
“It’s again that sexism and heterosexism coming into play,” Rankin says. “If you’re Brian Boitano in figure skating or even Greg Louganis in diving, these are considered gay sports so having a gay man in them is not seen as a big deal. But in pro football or pro basketball when you have gay players — it’s not really that they’re considered more macho because all sports are grueling — but we see in those sports traits that we traditionally assign to men, if you will or what we think of as a man in our culture, then that sends a different message.”
The three women all say, based on personal experience and their research, that significant numbers of lesbian players on teams for which they played and coached in years’ past, did provide opportunities for community.
Upon moving to Massachusetts for graduate school in the ‘70s, Griffin noticed a “community of lesbian friends” and “a discovery process” on the women’s swim team she coached. She says being fully out at sports conferences as early as 1982 made her feel like a lone voice in the wilderness and a “pariah.”
“I’d have women walk out of workshops at conferences after 10 minutes because they were just too scared to stay,” she says. “Scared that if their administrator knew they were seen at a session on homophobia and sports, they’d lose their jobs. It’s amazing how uncomfortable it was in those years.”
Rankin, who coached softball at Penn State until 1996, remembers a “definite underground within the athletic world for lesbians,” she says. “If you played, you were automatically pegged as being gay.”
And Carroll who says basketball has “pretty much been my life,” remembers the “wonderful experience” she had coaching many years in North Carolina where a kind of “don’t ask, don’t tell”-type policy took hold.
So if those kinds of experiences — at least for women — were relatively common, has homophobia in sports really been that big of a problem?
“This really gets into stereotypes,” Carroll says. “Is it easier for lesbians in sports than gay men? The answer is no, it’s not easier, it’s just different. If it’s so easy, why do we not have more women coming out? … Even if people on the teams know, the women don’t talk about it in the media or do anything to help the movement or help the situation. … From the outside, it may look like it’s this culture where everybody knows, it’s not really a big deal but again, it’s that combination of sexism and homophobia at work.”
Griffin argues that just because some women may not have been castigated for their perceived sexual orientations, that phenomenon probably had a scary downside for gay men.
“If we really knew, there probably are more lesbians playing pro sports than gay men and I’d say the reason for that is that in some ways, when you’re a little boy, you get the femininity beaten out of you or the gay,” she says. “There’s actually research to back this up. It’s less likely that you would find young gay men who have persevered who identified themselves as gay early on to get to the professional ranks. That would be one way to explain that.”
Regardless of the challenges that remain, Carroll says the work she, Rankin and Griffin are doing is pioneering and important.
“What Pat and Sue have really done is they’ve laid a groundwork for people who are doing media articles and research to go back and look at,” she says. “People in media are always asking for statistics and asking, ‘What does this look like?’ What little has been done, for years it was Pat and Sue who were doing it and that was really important. They’ve been working on this for decades to we have people who really know the lay of the land and how the attitudes have changed from the ‘70s and ‘80s up until now. People often say, ‘Well, everything’s changed in the last five years,’ and that’s just not true. It’s been changing for the last four decades but just reached a tipping point in the last five years where we started seeing some movement really, really fast. That never would have happened without all that work in the past.”
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Queer highlights of the 2026 Critics Choice Awards: Aunt Gladys, that ‘Heated Rivalry’ shoutout and more
Amy Madigan’s win in the supporting actress category puts her in serious contention to win the Oscar for ‘Weapons’
From Chelsea Handler shouting out Heated Rivalry in her opening monologue to Amy Madigan proving that horror performances can (and should) be taken seriously, the Critics Choice Awards provided plenty of iconic moments for queer movie fans to celebrate on the long road to Oscar night.
Handler kicked off the ceremony by recapping the biggest moments in pop culture last year, from Wicked: For Good to Sinners. She also made room to joke about the surprise hit TV sensation on everyone’s minds: “Shoutout to Heated Rivalry. Everyone loves it! Gay men love it, women love it, straight men who say they aren’t gay but work out at Equinox love it!”
The back-to-back wins for Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein and Amy Madigan in Weapons are notable, given the horror bias that awards voters typically have. Aunt Gladys instantly became a pop culture phenomenon within the LGBTQ+ community when Zach Cregger’s hit horror comedy released in August, but the thought that Madigan could be a serious awards contender for such a fun, out-there performance seemed improbable to most months ago. Now, considering the sheer amount of critics’ attention she’s received over the past month, there’s no denying she’s in the running for the Oscar.
“I really wasn’t expecting all of this because I thought people would like the movie, and I thought people would dig Gladys, but you love Gladys! I mean, it’s crazy,” Madigan said during her acceptance speech. “I get [sent] makeup tutorials and paintings. I even got one weird thing about how she’s a sex icon also, which I didn’t go too deep into that one.”
Over on the TV side, Rhea Seehorn won in the incredibly competitive best actress in a drama series category for her acclaimed performance as Carol in Pluribus, beating out the likes of Emmy winner Britt Lower for Severance, Carrie Coon for The White Lotus, and Bella Ramsey for The Last of Us. Pluribus, which was created by Breaking Bad’s showrunner Vince Gilligan, has been celebrated by audiences for its rich exploration of queer trauma and conversion therapy.
Jean Smart was Hack’s only win of the night, as Hannah Einbinder couldn’t repeat her Emmy victory in the supporting actress in a comedy series category against Janelle James, who nabbed a trophy for Abbott Elementary. Hacks lost the best comedy series award to The Studio, as it did at the Emmys in September. And in the limited series category, Erin Doherty repeated her Emmy success in supporting actress, joining in yet another Adolescence awards sweep.
As Oscar fans speculate on what these Critics Choice wins mean for future ceremonies, we have next week’s Golden Globes ceremony to look forward to on Jan. 11.
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Looking back at the 10 biggest A&E stories of 2025
‘Wicked,’ Lady Gaga’s new era, ‘Sexy’ Bailey and more
Although 2025 was a year marked by countless attacks on trans rights and political setbacks, the year also saw brilliant queer artists continuing to create art. From Cannes and Sundance Award winners now vying for Oscar consideration to pop icons entering new stages of their careers, queer people persevered to tell their stories through different media.
With the state of the world so uncertain, perhaps there’s no more vital time to celebrate our wins, as seen through some of this year’s top pop culture moments. While there’s no collection of 10 stories that fully encompass “the most important” news, here are some events that got the gays going:
10. ‘Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo’ wins big at Cannes
The Cannes Film Festival has become a crucial start for films hoping to make their way to the Oscars, and first-time director Diego Céspedes won the top Un Certain Regard prize for his intimate western “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo.” The film is set in the ‘80s and is intended as an allegory for the AIDS epidemic. Seeing a film that unpacks vital queer history win one of the most coveted awards at Cannes has been a huge point of pride in the independent filmmaking community.
Since the film bowed at Cannes, it has been selected as Chile’s Oscar entry in the Best International Feature race. Speaking with The Blade during the film’s AFI Fest run in October, Céspedes said: At first, I was kind of scared to have this campaign position in the times that we’re living [in] here. But at the same time, I think the Oscars mean a huge platform — a huge platform for art and politics.”
9. ‘The Last of Us’ returns for an even gayer season 2
While the first season of The Last of Us gave us one of TV’s most heartbreaking queer love stories in the episode “Long, Long Time,” Season 2 doubled down on its commitment to queer storytelling with the blossoming relationship between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced). The show expanded on the pair’s relationship in the original video game, making it perhaps the central dynamic to the entire season. That unfortunately came with more homophobic backlash on the internet, but those who checked out all the episodes saw a tender relationship form amid the show’s post-apocalyptic, often violent backdrop. For their performance, Ramsey was once again nominated for an Emmy, but Merced deserved just as much awards attention.
8. ‘Emilia Pérez’ sparks controversy
Jacques Audiard’s genre-bending trans musical “Emilia Pérez” proved to be an awards season juggernaut this time last year, winning the Golden Globe for Best Musical/Comedy. But when the lead star Karla Sofia Gascón’s racist, sexist, and homophobic old tweets resurfaced, the film’s Oscar campaign became a tough sell, especially after Netflix had tried so hard to sell Emilia Pérez as the “progressive” film to vote for. Mind you, the film had already received significant backlash from LGBTQ+ audiences and the Mexican community for its stereotypical and reductive portrayals, but the Gascón controversy made what was originally just social media backlash impossible to ignore. The only person who seemed to come out of the whole debacle unscathed was Zoe Saldaña, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress over Ariana Grande.
7. ‘Sorry, Baby’ establishes Eva Victor as major talent
Back in January at the Sundance Film Festival, Eva Victor (known by many for her brand of sketch comedy) premiered their directorial debut “Sorry, Baby” to rave reviews, even winning the Waldo Salt Screening Award. Victor shadowed Jane Schoenbrun on the set of “I Saw the TV Glow,” and seeing Victor come into their own and establish such a strong voice immediately made them one of independent cinema’s most exciting new voices. A memorable scene in the film sees the main character, Agnes (played by Victor), struggling to check a box for male or female, just one example of how naturally queerness is woven into the fabric of the story.
Most recently, Victor was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the film, and she’s represented in a category alongside Jennifer Lawrence (“Die My Love”), Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet”), Julia Roberts (“After the Hunt”), Renate Reinsve (“Sentimental Value”) and Tessa Thompson (“Hedda”). The film also received four Independent Spirit Award nominations overall.
6. Paul Reubens comes out in posthumous doc
While Paul Reubens never publicly came out as gay before passing away in 2023, the two-part documentary “Pee-wee as Himself” premiered back in May on HBO Max, giving the legendary comedian a chance to posthumously open up to the world. Directed by Matt Wolf, the documentary explores how Reubens found his alter ego Pee-Wee Herman and why he kept his private life private.
The documentary won an Emmy in the Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special category and remains one of the most critically acclaimed titles of the year with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. Also worth noting, the National Geographic documentary Sally told the posthumous coming out story of Sally Ride through the help of her long-time partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy.
5. Lady Gaga releases ‘Mayhem’
Lady Gaga entered a new phase of her musical career with the release of Mayhem, her seventh album to date. From the frenzy-inducing pop hit Abracadabra to the memorable Bruno Mars duet featured on “Die With a Smile,” seeing Gaga return to her roots and make an album for the most die-hard of fans was especially rewarding after the underwhelming film releases of “House of Gucci” and “Joker: Folie à Deux.” Gaga has been touring with The Mayhem Ball since July, her first arena tour since 2018. She even extended her tour into 2026 with more North American dates, so the party isn’t stopping anytime soon. And Gaga is even set to make an appearance next May in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
4. Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande perform at the Oscars
While “Wicked: For Good” didn’t quite reach the heights of the first film, we will forever have Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s breathtaking live performance that opened the 97th Academy Awards. The pair sang a rendition of “Over the Rainbow,” “Home,” and “Defying Gravity,” paying proper homage to the original 1939 “Wizard of Oz.” Even non-Wicked fans can’t deny how magical and brilliantly staged this performance was. With both Erivo and Grande up for acting Oscars last year, they’re hoping to repeat success and make history with consecutive nominations. Either way, let’s hope there’s another live performance in the making, especially with two new original songs (The Girl in the Bubble and No Place Like Home) in the mix.
3. Indya Moore speaks out against Ryan Murphy
Indya Moore has consistently used social media as a platform for activism, and in September, posted a 30-minute Instagram live speaking out against “Pose” co-creator Ryan Murphy. Moore claimed that Murphy wasn’t being a true activist for trans people. “Ryan Murphy, we need you to do more. You need to address the racism, the violence, and the targeting of people on your productions, Ryan Murphy. You do need to make sure trans people are paid equally. Yes, Janet did the right thing,” Moore said. Murphy was also back in the headlines this year for the critically panned “All’s Fair” and the controversial “Monster: The Ed Gein Story” starring Laurie Metcalf and Charlie Hunnam.
2. Cole Escola wins Tony for Best Leading Actor
Few pop culture moments this year brought us together more than Cole Escola winning a Tony award for “Oh, Mary!” the Broadway show they created, wrote and starred in (we love a triple threat!) Escola made history by becoming the first nonbinary person to win a Tony in the leading actor category, and seeing them excitedly rush to the stage wearing a Bernadette Peters-inspired gown instantly became a viral social media moment.
The cherry on top of Escola’s major moment is the recent news that they are writing a Miss Piggy movie with Jennifer Lawrence and Emma Stone producing — news that also broke the internet for the better. We cannot wait!
1. Jonathan Bailey makes gay history as ‘Sexiest Man Alive’
The same year as his on-screen roles in blockbusters “Jurassic World Rebirth” and “Wicked: For Good,” Jonathan Bailey made history as the first openly gay man to be named People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive.” The fact that it took 40 years for an openly gay man to earn the title is a signifier of how far we still have to go with queer representation, and seeing Bailey celebrated is just one small step in the right direction.
“There’s so many people that want to do brilliant stuff who feel like they can’t,” he told PEOPLE, “and I know the LGBT sector is under immense threat at the moment. So it’s been amazing to meet people who have the expertise and see potential that I could have only dreamed of.” In 2024, Bailey founded the charity titled The Shameless Fund, which raises money for LGBTQ+ organizations.
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Your guide to D.C.’s queer New Year’s Eve parties
Ring in 2026 with drag, leather, Champagne, and more
With Christmas in the rear view mirror, we can turn our attention to ringing in a much-anticipated New Year with a slew of local LGBTQ parties. Here’s what’s on tap.
Pitchers
This spacious Adams Morgan bar is hosting the “Pitchers’ Perfect New Year’s Eve.” There will be a midnight Champagne toast, the ball drop on the big screens, and no cover, all night long. The bar doesn’t close until 4 a.m., and the kitchen will be open late (though not until close). All five floors will be open for the party, and party favors are promised.
Trade
D.C.’s hottest bar/club combo is leaning into the Shark motif with its NYE party, “Feeding Frenzy.” The party is a “glitterati-infused Naughty-cal New Year’s Even in the Shark Tank, where the boats are churning and the sharks are circling.” Trade also boasts no cover charge, with doors opening at 5 p.m. and the aforementioned Shark Tank opening at 9 p.m.. Four DJs will be spread across the two spaces; midnight hostess is played by Vagenesis and the two sea sirens sensuously calling are Anathema and Justin Williams.
Number Nine
While Trade will have two DJs as part of one party, Number Nine will host two separate parties, one on each floor. The first floor is classic Number Nine, a more casual-style event with the countdown on TVs and a Champagne midnight toast. There will be no cover and doors open at 5 p.m. Upstairs will be hosted by Capital Sapphics for its second annual NYE gathering. Tickets (about $50) include a midnight Champagne toast, curated drink menu, sapphic DJ set by Rijak, and tarot readings by Yooji.
Crush
Crush will kick off NYE with a free drag bingo at 8 p.m. for the early birds. Post-bingo, there will be a cover for the rest of the evening, featuring two DJs. The cover ($20 limited pre-sale that includes line skip until 11 p.m.; $25 at the door after 9 p.m.) includes one free N/A or Crush, a Champagne toast, and party favors (“the legal kind”). More details on Eventbrite.
Bunker
This subterranean lair is hosting a NYE party entitled “Frosted & Fur: Aspen After Dark New Year’s Eve Celebration.” Arriety from Rupaul Season 15 is set to host, with International DJ Alex Lo. Doors open at 9 p.m. and close at 3 p.m.; there is a midnight Champagne toast. Cover is $25, plus an optional $99 all-you-can-drink package.
District Eagle
This leather-focused bar is hosting “Bulge” for its NYE party. Each District Eagle floor will have its own music and vibe. Doors run from 7 p.m.-3 a.m. and cover is $15. There will be a Champagne toast at midnight, as well as drink specials during the event.
Kiki, Shakiki
Kiki and its new sister bar program Shakiki (in the old Shakers space) will have the same type of party on New Year’s Eve. Both bars open their doors at 5 p.m. and stay open until closing time. Both will offer a Champagne toast at midnight. At Kiki, DJ Vodkatrina will play; at Shakiki, it’ll be DJ Alex Love. Kiki keeps the party going on New Year’s Day, opening at 2 p.m., to celebrate Kiki’s fourth anniversary. There will be a drag show at 6 p.m. and an early 2000s dance party 4-8 p.m.
Spark
This bar and its new menu of alcoholic and twin N/A drinks will host a NYE party with music by DJ Emerald Fox. Given this menu, there will be a complimentary toast at midnight, guests can choose either sparkling wine with or without alcohol. No cover, but Spark is also offering optional wristbands at the door for $35 open bar 11 p.m.-1 a.m. (mid-shelf liquor & all NA drinks).
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