Outsports is highlighting our selections for the 100 most powerful and influential out LGBTQ people in sports in the United States, in the Outsports Power 100.
League executives. Team owners. Athletes. Coaches. College sports administrators. Members of the sports media.
The breadth, depth and diversity of the honorees are a profound statement.
Here are Outsports’ selections for Nos. 41-50:
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41) LZ Granderson
Columnist, commentator, L.A. Times et al
As a sports and culture columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Granderson opines on some of the most sensitive issues in society, using his insight and humor to make sense of the inexplicable. In addition to his newspaper work, Granderson co-hosts his own radio show on ESPN L.A., and is a political contributor to ABC News. Since publicly coming out as gay in 2012, Granderson has seen his career rise to meteoric heights, which he admits probably wouldn’t have happened if he stayed closeted. “I think drowning is a good sort of way to imagine what it’s like,” he told ABC News in 2017. “You just feel like you can’t fully breathe and you can’t be yourself. And that was certainly the case for me.” — Alex Reimer
42) Breanna Stewart
Athlete, Team USA and New York Liberty
In a league renowned for its activism, the WNBA’s Breanna Stewart has stood out for using her platform to push for social justice. As one of the players to take the lead in dedicating the 2020 season to Breonna Taylor, Stewart then helped the Seattle Storm to the WNBA championship and was named one of Sports Illustrated’s Athlete Activist Sportspeople of the Year. Stewart also claimed the league’s MVP in 2018, a year in which the Storm also took home the title. She is married to fellow basketball player Marta Xargay and the two welcomed daughter Ruby Mae into the world in 2021 one day after Stewart captured her second Olympic gold medal. — Ken Schultz
43) Lin Dunn
GM, Senior Advisor, Indiana Fever`
The General Manager of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, Lin Dunn is one of last women standing, in a sense. The folksy, quotable Tennessee native has a lineage in women’s basketball that predates Title IX. She took her first coaching job in 1970 as head coach at Austin Peay State. Since then, she’s been a head coach at three other college programs, including taking Purdue to a Final Four bid in 1994. She won a bronze medal as head coach of the U.S. Olympic Team in 1992. Last year she returned to Indiana as general manager. — Karleigh Webb
44) Anthony Bowens
Athlete, All Elite Wrestling
“Everyone loves The Acclaimed” isn’t a hyperbolic statement. Anthony Bowens and tag team partner Max Caster have skyrocketed in popularity since joining All Elite Wrestling in 2020, becoming AEW Tag Team champions and inviting thousands of fans to “Scissor” with them. That title win made Bowens the first out LGBTQ male champion in the company’s history. Bowens uses that platform to speak on LGBTQ topics within pro wrestling and sports, relating his own experiences to issues faced by members of the community. He keeps himself busy outside of the ring too, recently featuring in a Savage x Fenty campaign and running a YouTube channel with his partner, Michael Pavano. — Brian Bell
45) Steve Buckley
Columnist, The Athletic
Shortly after coming out as gay in 2011, Buckley, a popular Boston sports columnist for decades, made it a point to talk about all of the support he received. “Everyone’s got somebody in their lives who’s gay,” he said. “That’s the education that I’ve had, because I can now walk into a press box and point to 20 people who have somebody in their lives who’s gay, because they told me.” So often in sports, we hear about the fear that comes with coming out. But since Day 1, Buckley has always highlighted the relief and good feelings that arrive once you live your truth. — Alex Reimer
46) Suzanne Smith
Producer and Director, CBS Sports
Suzanne Smith started at CBS Sports in 1983 as a production assistant, and 40 years later has grown into one of the company’s most veteran directors and producers. A trailblazer for women in the industry, she has carved her path with her live game coverage, and in 2014 spearheaded the production of “We Need to Talk,” the first nationally televised all-female sports show. Smith said on her experience as a gay woman working in sports media over the years, “Fortunately, for the gay and lesbian community, there is more acceptance than even five years ago. The people I work with look past it or don’t care about it, so it’s not really an issue.” — Shelby Weldon
47) Chris Mosier
Team USA athlete, advocate
Chris Mosier is known for his firsts. The first transgender American to make a U.S. national team in any sport and the first transgender American to compete in a U.S. Olympic Trials event. Since 2020, he was perhaps the first high-profile trans American speak out and show up as the anti-trans legislation push was beginning. He has also reached out to young trans athletes seeking direction in difficult times and consistently standing up and speaking out to all audiences in an effort to stem the tide washing over statehouses nationwide. — Karleigh Webb
48) Stacy McWilliams
SVP, team marketing, NBA
As senior vice president of the NBA’s team marketing and business pperations, Stacy McWilliams oversees the league’s development programs outside the U.S., as well as leading Diversity and Inclusion and other social impact initiatives. She is married to Nicole Rabe and they live in New York with their son, Max. McWilliams is also on the advisory committee for the Stonewall Inn Gives Back initiative, which fundraises to provide “educational, strategic and financial assistance to grassroots organizations committed to advocacy for and crucial support to LGBTQ individuals and communities.” — Shelby Weldon
49) Renee Montgomery
Co-owner, Atlanta Dream
Renee Montgomery was a two-time All-American point guard at Connecticut and a two-time WNBA champion. She’s now a decision-maker off the court as co-owner and vice president of the Atlanta Dream. She has taken her opportunity as an owner to enhance the initiatives she started late in her playing career with the Renee Montgomery Foundation. Montgomery says she enjoys the business side of running a team even more than being on the floor, and she relishes her role as an LGBTQ role model for others to emulate. After marrying her partner, Sirena Grace, Montgomery told GO Mag: “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that everything in my life changed for the better since.” — Karleigh Webb
50) Julie Uhrman
Co-owner and President, Angel City FC
Julie Uhrman is a soccer executive and entrepreneur and the president and co-founder of Angel City FC. Since the team’s inception last year, the teams’ front office has put LGBTQ inclusion at the front-and-center of its drive to build a fan base in LA. Uhrman, who herself is gay, said in a statement, “I am proud to say we’ve built a diverse and inclusive team here with representation in our leadership team, on the operational side, as well as with the larger community we’re building.” — Shelby Weldon
