There are a lot of reasons to feel conflicted about the Tokyo Games, even setting aside the positive coronavirus cases (Japan is currently under a state of emergency) and the fact that the majority of Japanese citizens don’t want them to happen. The Olympics are known to be terrible for the countries that host them. And, despite the joy of having more openly queer competitors to root for than ever, Japan is a country known to be hostile toward the LGBTQ+ community. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee’s anti-Black racism prevented bisexual icon Sha’Carri Richardson from competing, and led to the disqualification of other Black track athletes due to shoddy “science” about testosterone.
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All that said, these are set to be the queerest Games on record, with more than 160 openly LGBTQ+ athletes competing. According to numbers compiled by Outsports, the United States has the most out athletes at these Olympics: 30, which is one-fifth of all the out athletes attending the Games. Outsports also found that openly queer women at the Games will outnumber openly queer men by about a 8-1 margin, with women’s soccer having more than 40 openly queer players across all the countries (who’s surprised?). Here is a list of all the known out queer and trans Team USA Olympic athletes. I’ll be rooting for everybody gay. Now you can, too.Stefanie Dolson: Dolson plays in the WNBA as a member of the Chicago Sky and credits the league with helping her come out; she has said she never considered dating women until she entered the W. Big Mama Stef, as she’s known on Instagram is always dancing—when she’s not posting pictures capturing her femme realness. She’s also been extremely outspoken when it comes to violence against the trans community.Sue Bird: Bird is probably one of the most famous gays on this list. A member of the WNBA’s Seattle Storm, she came out publicly in 2017, after she started dating soccer star Megan Rapinoe (see below). They posed naked together in the ESPN Body Issue, they posed nearly-naked together in an issue of GQ, and now they’re engaged. Together, they are the most dominant couple in sports. Bird will be competing in her fifth Olympics, aiming for a record fifth consecutive gold medal.Chelsea Gray: Gray is a member of the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces and is known as the Point Gawd. She married her wife, Tipesa, in 2019. For Pride 2020, the two hosted a video series about queer history.
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Brittney Griner: Griner, a member of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, has said she’s been open about her sexual orientation since high school. In 2013, after being drafted into the W, she spoke about the homophobia she experienced as an athlete at Baylor University. She posts a lot of cute photos on Instagram with her wife, Cherelle. This will be Griner’s second Olympics.Breanna Stewart: Stewart is a WNBA MVP as a member of the Seattle Storm, and one of the most decorated players in women’s basketball. She will be competing in her second Olympics in Tokyo, and she got engaged to her girlfriend, professional basketball player Marta Xargay, in May. They also post very cute content together on TikTok.Diana Taurasi: Taurasi joins Bird in her record-breaking fifth Olympics and is a member of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. Taurasi is married to her former Mercury teammate Penny Taylor. Taurasi is known for sinking three-pointers and also for always having something to say to the refs (including her now-infamous, “I’ll see you in the lobby later”). During quarantine, she got drunk and made very funny Instagram content with Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe.
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Gia Doonan: Doonan competes in the women’s eight. Last October, she posted a defiant message on Instagram: “Due to the increased homophobia directed towards me recently and also in the country, I have never felt more empowered,” it said, under a photo of Doonan holding hands with her partner. “I am so glad these h8ers are thinking about us more than ever. I mean I understand, hating on other people helps distract you from your own self loathing.”Meghan O’Leary: O’Leary competes in the women’s quadruple sculls. She has written that, because she was raised in a conservative environment in the South, realizing she was gay “was one of the toughest things I have ever faced” and that “gripping self-hatred and shame” kept her in the closet for years. She came out publicly at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. Ellen Tomek: Tomek also competes as a member of the women’s quadruple sculls team. She is an 11-time U.S. Rowing National Team member and is heading to her third Olympics.Julian Venonsky: Venonsky is the only out male rower on this list. He was out in college at the University of California, Berkeley, so he has always been out as a member of Team USA. He is the coxswain for the men’s eight, an Athlete Ally ambassador, and owns a cat named Harvey Melk. The cat has its own Instagram account, you’re welcome.
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