Riley Buss-Drexel has made a splash as an out gay man in the ownership family of the Los Angeles Lakers. Several years ago, he guided the Lakers’ foray into Pride Nights. Now this season, the Lakers are hosting their first-ever regular-season Pride Night, celebrating the LGBTQ community in the Los Angeles area, as well as youth. Buss-Drexel is an influential force around the Lakers’ team, making sure the organization stays true to its inclusive roots.

– Cyd Zeigler

After winning a silver medal in Men’s Freeski Slopestyle at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Gus Kenworthy made national news by coming out publicly as gay in a 2015 ESPN interview. He subsequently competed in two more Winter Games in 2018 and 2022. Since then, Kenworthy has pursued a media and entertainment career, mixing appearances as a reality TV contestant on “Special Forces” with acting roles in films like “80 for Brady.” His most recent project was this year’s remake of “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead.” He continues to be a hot topic on social media, with the jock strap he wore at Burning Man going viral.

– Ken Schultz

Stephanie White was WNBA coach of the year in the 2022-23 season and followed up this season by leading the Connecticut Sun to the WNBA semifinals. She came to the WNBA from Vanderbilt and immediately showed she belonged. White hasn’t been shy about being LGBTQ and raising a family. “I consider myself an advocate because I have a platform to influence people,” she said in 2015.

– Jim Buzinski

Katie Barnes continues to drive the conversation in the growing story at the intersections of sports and gender. In September 2023, their book Fair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debates became a staple primer on the issue surrounding trans and nonbinary inclusion in sports. Since coming to ESPN in 2015, the award-winning journalist has mixed trailblazing spot coverage of women’s sports with timely features. In 2022, their reporting on trans inclusion in sports for ESPN netted their third GLAAD Media Award nomination. During the recent Olympic boxing controversy, you saw their face on the airwaves actively fighting the misinformation.

– Karleigh Webb

Kevin Maxen is the only out coach in the NFL, in his fourth season as a strength coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Maxen would have made last year’s Power 100 list but he came out after it was published. “I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,” Maxen told Outsports about coming out. “I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else. He continues to shine as an advocate for other LGBTQ coaches, regardless of the sport.

– Jim Buzinski

The only out gay man playing pro soccer in the U.S, Collin Martin is working with brands to ensure his positive experience in sports is better known. “If there’s a young kid out there who needs help as a gay athlete, they can use my story as an example,” he said in a Pride Month 2024 partnership with Legends apparel. The midfielder, who turns 30 in November, moved to Raleigh with boyfriend Zach Ware (a Hyrox athlete) earlier this year after signing for North Carolina FC, who are chasing hard for a USL Championship playoffs spot.

– Jon Holmes

Lorrie-Ann Diaz has spent 24 of her 25 years in the NBA with the Miami Heat, and in her current role she is responsible for community outreach and business initiatives. The Heat calls her a “visible and vocal advocate for the LGBTQ community.”

– Jim Buzinski

Since his first role with the Phoenix Mercury as communications manager back in 2006, Vince Kozar has come a long way. Now president of the franchise, he has helped make the team a place where WNBA stars such as Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner want to call home. Kozar, who is gay, has spoken about the importance of inclusion: “We were the first local sports organization to have a presence at Phoenix Pride, the first to march in the Pride parade, the first to host a Pride Night at a game, and the first to sign local organization ONE Community’s Unity Pledge in support of non-discrimination in public accommodations and the workplace. And if that made even one person feel like they were seen or not alone or valued or that our games were a safe space, then every bit of it was worth it.”

– Jim Buzinski

In his role at Warner Bros. Discovery, Ed Romaine is the head of marketing and brand development for sports entities falling under the Warner Bros. Discovery umbrella, which includes TNT and its extremely popular NBA coverage, as well as TBS and its coverage of March Madness and Major League Baseball. Prior to his current position, Romaine worked at Bleacher Report, which he helped= become a leading partner for sponsored content in the sports market.

– Cyd Zeigler

Tim Schlittner has demonstrated incredible prowess in his two-decade career in communications. A graduate of Syracuse, Schlittner worked for several members of Congress before joining the powerful AFL-CIO. In his two-years-plus at the NFL, Schlittner has been an important conduit for LGBTQ efforts both in and around the league. One element of Schlittner’s 2024 in particular that stands out as particularly powerful is his open, honest public conversation about his journey to sobriety, which no doubt resonates with many LGBTQ people, whether in or out of sports.

– Cyd Zeigler