Top 10 2014 LGBT Moments in Sports
We’ve put together our top ten 2014 LGBT moments in sports around the world.
Our highlights include moments featuring Tom Daley, Ian Thorpe, Robbie Rogers, Michael Sam, and many more.
Barack Obama sends gay delegates to Sochi Olympics
The Sochi Olympics attracted a lot of negative feedback due to the anti gay laws that exist in Russia. President Obama made a clear statement of support for LGBT athletes.
He announced that he, his wife, and the Vice President would not be attending the ceremonies. In his place, he was sending delegates that included two openly gay athletes.
Gay Olympians take home medals at Sochi Olympics
From a story about the opening ceremonies, we head to the actual results of the Olympics for LGBT athletes.
rukkle was thrilled to see that there were seven out Olympians and that they took home six medals and placed extremely well in many of the events.
Five of the medals were won by Ireen Wüst, who is a Dutch speed skater.
UN encourages World Cup LGBT athletes to come out.
The UN Human Rights Commissioner issued a statement during this year’s World Cup encouraging LGBT athletes to come out.
Navi Pillay made the statement with the belief that it would encourage both acceptance and equality for the LGBT community throughout the world.
Robbie Rogers and Leeds launch Beyond It campaign
Speaking of the World Cup, we were thrilled when earlier this year Robbie Rogers and Leeds United partnered together to launch the Beyond It! campaign.
The campaign would run both in the stadium and throughout the community. Leeds’ managing director, David Haigh, stated that part of the campaign would include going into the community to educate individuals about tolerance and acceptance.
Kiss In campaign launches to support Michael Sam
Another campaign that excited rukkle this year in sports was the Kiss In campaign campaign (aka #KissIn) to support the first openly gay American footballer to play in the NFL.
Michael Sam faced some criticism for kissing his boyfriend to celebrate being drafted by the NFL.
To show support for Sam, social media users were encouraged to change their profile picture to an image of two men kissing.
Gay Rugby team makes history
An Australian gay rugby team made history this year by being the first to play in a professional match.
On July 6th, Sydney Convicts headed to Macquarie University to play in a professional match arranged to combat homophobia in sports.
John Barrowman kisses man at opening of the Commonwealth Games
Leave it to fan favourite John Barrowman (Torchwood, Arrow) to add a bit of LGBT spice to the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.
At the games being held in Glasgow, he kissed a kilted man and then those around them cheered, “Here’s to equality!”
Tom Daley named biggest sporting inspiration
Earlier this year, Tom Daley was named one of rukkle’s best coming out videos online.
He added another title to his list of accomplishments this year by being named the biggest sporting inspiration.
The poll was voted on by young people living in the United Kingdom.
Ian Thorpe comes out
After years of denial, Ian Thorpe, finally admitted what many of us had long known, that he was gay. In a year of athletes coming out, Thorpe’s was one of the most surprising.
He’s broken 22 World Records and won 5 Olympic Golds, but it took him a lot of courage to confirm that he was gay in an interview that also covered his battle with depression, drugs, and alcohol.
2014 Gay and Lesbian inductees announced
Our final top 10 LGBT moments in sports features the LGBT athletes that were inducted in the National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.
This year’s list of inductees included Tom Daley, Gareth Thomas, Jerry Smith, Fallon Fox, and Brittney Grenier. As well, Nike, Inc and the Ben Cohen StandUp foundation were inducted in too.
In an outstanding year full of memorable moments for LGBT athletes, rukkle is proud to have put together our top 10 2014 LGBT moments in sports.
THE MOST FAMOUS HOMOSEXUALS OF THE HISTORY
1. The Man Prague (5000 A.C.)
2. Sappho of Mytilene (600 A.C. – B.C.) Greek poet
3. Socrates (470-399 A.C. – B.C.) Greek philosopher
4. Plato (427-347 A.C. – B.C.) Greek philosopher
5. Alexander the Great (356-323 A.C. – B.C.) King of Macedonia
6. Wu (140-87 A.C. – B.C.) Chinese Emperor
7. Julius Caesar (100-44 A.C. – B.C.) Roman Emperor
8. Adriano (76-138 D.C.) Roman Emperor
9. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Holy and Father the Catholic Church
10. Benedict IX (1012-1056) Pope
11. Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199) English king and Crusader
12. Eduard II (1254-1327) English king
13. Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) Renaissance artist, inventor and Italian scientist
14. Michalengo Buonarrotti (1475-1564) Architect, sculptor and painter Italian
15. Montezuma II (1480-1520) Aztec emperor
16. Julius III (1487-1555) Pope
17. Ieyasu Tokugawa (1542-1616) Japanese Shogun founder of the Edo Shogunate
18. John Alexander Normandy (1545-1640) French journalist and poet
19. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British statesman
20. Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593) English poet and playwright
21. William Shakespeare (1564-1616) Playwright, poet and English actor
22. Christina Alexandra (1626-1689) Swedish queen
23. Philippe of Orleans (1640-1701) French Prince of Bourbon Dynasty
24. Peter the Great (1672-1725) Tsar of All Russia
25. Frederick the Great (1712-1786) King of Prussia and military leader
26. Madame de Staël (1766-1817) French writer and intellectual
27. Lord Byron (1788-1824) British poet
28. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) Danish poet and writer
29. Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) Euro-American writer and journalist
30. Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) Euro-American philosopher and poet
31. Herman Melville (1819-1891) Euro-American writer
32. Walt Whitman (1819-1892) Euro-American poet
33. Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Russian composer
34. Paul Verlaine (1844-1896) French poet
35. Edward Carpenter (1844-1929) British author
36. Chief Crazy Horse (Tashunca Witko) (1849-1877) Chief tribe Oglala Sioux Chief
37. Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) English writer and playwright
38. Ethel Smyth (1858-1944) Songwriter and English artist
39. Sir Alfred Douglas (1870-1945) English writer and poet
40. Marcel Proust (1871-1922) French writer
41. Sergei Diaghileff (1872-1929) Russian Ballet businessman
42. Willa Cather (1873-1947) Euro-American writer
43. Sidonie Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954) French writer
44. Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) American writer and poet
45. William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) British writer and playwright
46. Alice Babette Toklas (1877-1967) Euro-American writer
47. Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) British Writer
48. Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) Novelist, essayist and British writer
49. John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946) British economist and Nobel Prize
50. Ernst Röhm (1887-1934) German Nazi Military
51. Thomas Edward Lawrence -Lawrence of Arabia- (1888-1935) British soldier
52. Gabriela Mistral (1889-1957) Poet, diplomat, and feminist pedagogy Chilean
53. Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) French naturalist and writer
54. Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950) Russian ballet dancer
55. Vita Sackville-West (1892-1962) British writer
56. Cole Porter (1893-1964) Euro-American composer
57. Bessie Smith (1894-1937) American black singer
58. Federico García Lorca (1898-1936) Poet, playwright and prose writer Spanish
59. Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) German actress and singer
60. Marguerite Yourcenar (1903-1987) Belgian-American british writer
61. Salvador Novo (1904-1974) Poet, essayist, playwright and Mexican historian
62. Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) British author and writer
63. Greta Garbo (1905-1990) Swedish nationalized American actress
64. Frieda Kahlo (1907-1964) Mexican artist and Activist
65. Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973) Writer and poet
66. Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) Writer, teacher and French philosopher
67. Bayard Rustin (1910-87) American Human Rights activist
68. Alan Turing (1912-1954) British mathematician
69. Tennessee Williams (1914-1983) Euro-American playwright
70. Chavela Vargas (1919-2012) Mexican singer
71. Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922-1975) Writer, poet and Italian film director
72. Truman Capote (1924-1984) Euro-American author
73. James Baldwin (1924-1987) Novelist, essayist, playwright, poet and social critic
74. Gore Vidal (1925- ) Euro-American writer
75. Andy Warhol (1928- ) Plastic artist and American filmmaker
76. Harvey Milk (1930-1978) Euro-American political
77. Andy Warhol (1930-1987) Euro-American Pop Artist
78. Audre Lorde (1934-1992) African-American writer and activist
79. Alejandra Pizarnik (1936-1972) Argentina poet
80. Rudolf Nureyev (1938-1993) Russian dancer
81. Ian Mckellen (1939- ) British actor of stage and screen
82. Antonio Arbulú Neira (1944- ) Peruvian psychologist
83. Freddie Mercury (1946-1991) Pop British singer/songwriter/musician
84. Elton John (1947- ) British Singer/songwriter/musican, singer
85. Pedro Almodovar (1949- ) Film director, screenwriter and producer Spanish
86. Juan Gabriel (1950- ) Mexican singer and composer
87. Janis Ian (1951- ) Euro-American Singer/songwriter/musician
88. John Travolta (1954- ) Actor, singer, dancer and pilot American aviator
89. Nathan Lane (1956- ) Euro-American actor
90. Martina Navratilova (1956- ) Czech tennis champion
91. Miguel Bosé (1956- ) Spanish actor and singer
92. Ellen Degeneres (1958- ) Euro-American Comedian/actor
93. George Alan O’Dowd (1961- ) Singer, musician and British disc jockey
94. Melissa Etheridge (1961- ) Euro-American Singer/songwriter/musician
95. Tom Cruise (1962- ) American Actor
96. Alan Cumming (1965- ) British Actor
97. Ricardo Fort (1968-2013) Singer, actor and producing Argentinian
98. Ricky Martin (1971- ) Singer, songwriter, actor and Puerto Rican writer
99. Nein Patrick Harris (1973- ) Actor, singer and the American director
100. Leonardo di Caprio (1974- ) Actor and producer of American cinema
101. Cristian Castro (1974- ) Singer, actor and Mexican composer
102. Pablo Ruiz (1975- ) Argentine singer
103. Emiliano Rafael Boscatto (1981- ) Conductor argentine television
104. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (1985- ) Portuguese footballer