Athlete Ally

As a leading national nonprofit working at the intersection of sport and LGBTQI equality and one of the only LGBTQI sport social justice organizations in the U.S., Athlete Ally works to end the structural and systemic oppression that isolates, excludes, and endangers LGBTQI people in sport. Our efforts focus on education, sport policy research and change, and athlete activism. We focus on policies and practices, while never forgetting that changing hearts and minds is what allows us to propel our work forward.

A key part of Athlete Ally's success - and what makes us so valuable in the larger landscape of organizations working to make change - is our unrivaled ability to mobilize athletes and athletic communities to help advance awareness of LGBTQI equality and equal treatment of LGBTQI people in such a way that it leads to real policy and culture change. 

EDUCATION:

So often, those who most need LGBTQI education end up educated the least. To reverse this, we educate athletic communities at all levels - sport governing bodies, teams, and individual athletes - to understand obstacles to inclusion for LGBTQI people and how best to create and sustain inclusive teams and communities. To date, we've visited over 200 schools to conduct in-person trainings, and trained every incoming NBA player in the past 5 years.

In 2018, we launched Champions of Inclusion, the first ever free, comprehensive online coaches curriculum on LGBTQI inclusion in athletics. We also grew our Campus Chapters to more than 20 across the country, bringing together student athletes to speak out for LGBTQI equality on their campus and in their communities.

POLICY:

One of the major obstacles to LGBTQI inclusion in sports is the fact that there is a patchwork of protections for LGBTQI athletes. To address this, we aim to ensure sport policy reflects the athletes affected by it.

This year, we continued to update and conduct targeted outreach on the Athletic Equality Index (AEI), which measures LGBTQI inclusion policies and practices in the NCAA's Power Five conferences.

We also lobbied for LGBTQI inclusion through a number of policy campaigns, including calling for The International Association of Athletics Federation to rescind its discriminatory ban on female athletes with naturally elevated testosterone, including Caster Semenya; working closely with the United Bid team for the 2026 World Cup in ensuring protections for LGBTQI athletes and fans, and calling upon the YMCA and USA Powerlifting to adopt trans-inclusive policies.

ATHLETE ACTIVISM:

We believe that athlete activism should be accepted and expected. We have an Ambassador program of over 250 Pro, Paralympic and Olympic ambassadors in our network that we organize and mobilize around LGBTQI issues - both related to sport policy but also more broadly.

In the past year, we've added Ambassadors who are pioneering LGBTQI representation in their sport, such as LPGA golfer Melissa Reid, who told her coming out story on Athlete Ally's website, and Tadd Fujikawa, the first openly gay male professional golfer; allies who are proudly standing up and speaking out for LGBTQI equality, including NHL player Georges Laraque, NWSL forward Katie Stengel, and NFL fullback Johnny Stanton; and those who are championing diversity by bringing marginalized communities together, such as intersex activist and ultra runner Su Mitta and Dr. Rachel McKinnon, cycling's first transgender world champion.

We've worked with Ambassadors this year to speak out on discriminatory policies and acts of homophobic violence at sporting events, and to show their support for LGBTQI youth and the LGBTQI community during Spirit Day and Pride commemorations. 

Many of our Ambassadors are also involved in our Playing for Pride campaign, which previously engaged over 100 professional soccer players and their fans to publicly support LGBTQI rights. Players and fans donated to Playing for Pride for every game played, every assist and every goal scored. Players and fan groups then matched donations, raising $25,000 through the month of June to support Athlete Ally's education, policy and advocacy work. Last fall, we announced the campaign's expansion to additional sports and members of the athletic community at all levels to engage in the effort to stand up and support LGBTQI equality.