The Tamesis
Between a toxic culture in locker rooms and Supreme Court challenges to transgender athletes, it’s no wonder queer and trans people don’t often feel welcome in the sports world — which in 2026 still manages to feel overwhelmingly straight and male.
However, the cultural discourse surrounding LGBTQ+ athletes has shifted recently, thanks in large part to Fierce competition. Crave’s wildly popular “The Gay Hockey Show,” which premiered on HBO Max in November, manages to break through as Hollywood is deprioritizing queer stories, told by actress and transgender rights advocate Laverne Cox. “Everyone is scared,” Cox recently told tailoring. “I know people who have been told straight up, ‘We’re not doing anything weird right now. There are no weird stories at all.'” If I wanted to pitch a TV show now, I’d be turned down in most places. “
Of course, no series can change hearts and minds overnight, but it’s hard to deny that fierce competition It had a beneficial impact on the still-conservative world of hockey, as well as the wider sport. Real-life hockey player Jesse Kortuem recently said the show inspired him to come out as gay. go out Magazine: “I know a lot of closeted gay men in hockey have been hit hard fierce competitionsuccess. I never thought in my life that something so positive and loving could come from such a masculine sport. “
Former professional basketball star A.J. Ogilvy also discussed his sexual orientation with Isaac Humphries (the only openly gay player in the National Basketball League) last week, saying, “Now we have a place to have that conversation, to be able to talk openly like that.” Ogilvy, who married his long-term partner 18 months ago from 2005 to 2022, said During his basketball career, he tried to “act straight and not show that side of my personality,” adding that he didn’t see “positive depictions of gay relationships in basketball or in the media at large.”
hope, hypervisibility fierce competition— already renewed for a second season — the courage of athletes like Ogilvy and Cotum will change the paradigm for athletes growing up now. fierce competition Star Hudson Williams noted that he and Rachel Reid, the author of the book series on which the show is based, have received messages from professional hockey, football and basketball players who felt they could not openly identify as LGBTQ+.
In our age of rising homophobia, LGBTQ+ athletes still have a lot to lose when they speak out — and it will always be easier for some members of the community to share their stories than others. Prime Video Series A league of their own, The show, which departed from the original content and included multiple storylines about black, lesbian and other marginalized female athletes, was quickly canceled in 2023, becoming one of 65 series featuring lesbian, bisexual and queer characters to end after just one season.
Although the rise fierce competition The real-life coming out narratives it inspires are undoubtedly a significant and exciting step forward, and we will know when we achieve true equality all We encourage LGBTQ+ people to be themselves on and off the court.
