LGBT sports, celebs and awesome people

[stickygirl]

There are stacks of sports people and celebs too who are gay, or maybe allies, who play an important role in society. Often they fly under the radar - their privacy should be respected, but their lives also celebrated. They've nothing to hide for being honest and being in love so here's a thread to acknowledge them and what they mean to us.
Maybe in times like these we need to remember being LGBTQI+ didn't come without a price and there are plenty of people who want to take away our basic rights?

I'll kick off (pun intended ) with Leah Williamson and Jordan Nobbs - two pro UK soccer players who didn't make a big thing of being gay but had no reason to hide it either


https://images.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/celebrities/20220731146742/leah-williamson-how-much-paid-dating-life/0-714-423/leah-williamson-jordan-nobbs-z.jpg

 

[stickygirl]

Here's another couple - Helen and Kate Richardson Walsh.
They made history when they became the first married gay couple to win Olympic golds while playing in the same team. Now Helen and Kate Richardson-Walsh, who helped Great Britain’s field hockey team to victory in Rio in 2016, are breaking records again — with the news that they are expecting their first baby in 2019.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Fsundaytimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2F732a7578-ec51-11e9-9861-f093f6623161.jpg?crop=2217%2C1478%2C217%2C16

 

[stickygirl]

Who can forget Megan's golden boot?
https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5d29f56ac89792000880ea6c/master/w_1765,h_2560,c_limit/Gessen-Navratilova-2.jpg

 

[stickygirl]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/men/2018/08/17/TELEMMGLPICT000171753571_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQfyf2A9a6I9YchsjMeADBa08.jpeg
Bloody gorgeous UK diver Olympic champ Tom Daley

 

[blazingsaddles69]

nice choices Sticky

 

[stickygirl]

https://i2-prod.mylondon.news/incoming/article21192241.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/1_QI-Series-14.jpg

Sandi Toksvig OBE is a Danish-British writer, comedian and broadcaster on British radio, stage and television. She is also a political activist, having co-founded the Women's Equality Party in 2015. She came out in 1995.
I know her from presenting a UK tv brainy-quiz called QI, formerly fronted by Stephen Fry. She's written over 77 books and I have one on my shelf awaiting my attention

 

[timreh]

Who can forget Megan's golden boot?
https://media.newyorker.com/photos/5d29f56ac89792000880ea6c/master/w_1765,h_2560,c_limit/Gessen-Navratilova-2.jpg

She's married to Sue Bird, who is a superstar in the WNBA.

 

[stickygirl]

https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article5456224.ece/ALTERNATES/s1200/0_Clare-Balding-and-Alice-Arnold.jpg

Clare Balding is a well known tv sports presenter in the UK and is married to Alice Arnold, another broadcaster.

 

[stickygirl]

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/0cf35ff3dd8e82fe39a25be8502e34ee3451f262/199_49_3834_2302/master/3834.jpg?width=1200&height=1200&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&s=bcfdc17279138ac791d47c55d94ded70

Martini Navratilova of course - who dominated women's tennis for years and is married. She spoke out against trans sports but to her credit took part in a documentary on BBC tv looking at the barriers faced by trans athletes. She subsequently apologised for trans athletes 'cheating' by saying

"What I have come to realise, the biggest thing for me, is just the level of difficulty trans people go through cannot be underestimated," she says.

"The fight for equality and recognition is just huge."

She tells Trans Media Watch founder Helen Belcher: "I hurt people with my comments - that bothers me. I campaigned all my life for LGBT rights."

"It feels to me that it's impossible to come to any real conclusions or write any meaningful rules until more research is done," she says.

"But for now I think we need to include as many transgender athletes as possible within elite sports while keeping as level a playing field as possible."

 

[stickygirl]

If you've not seen Portrait of a Lady on Fire 2019 then you should. One of the stars, Adele Haenel is out and in a relationship with its director Celinne Sciamma

https://heartofthecity.co.nz/sites/default/files/styles/ratio_1_x_1_small/public/2019-11/1573605200161_Portrait-de-la-jeune-fille-en-feu-Celine-Sciamma-et-Adele-Haenel-s-embrasent_0.jpg?itok=FKvPEfY9

Adele is a crazy horse, but the film's other star Noemie Merlant could melt me with a glance and remained discretely tight lipped over her sexuality

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/79/NOEMIE_MERLANT_CESAR_2020.jpg/640px-NOEMIE_MERLANT_CESAR_2020.jpg

 

[stickygirl]

Old thread but not forgotten...
It does make me chuckle how the het world gets itself in a tizz over LGBTQ in sport. Anna Tamminen and Rosa Herreros received criticism after a Swedish top-flight game but their show of affection shows the women’s game’s inclusivity.
https://64.media.tumblr.com/ab88f4f3b8459b1bc637d4f57fdcb2ab/85af67982bdb3c93-4b/s540x810/e20732ed9123a26e4a38e62cc802f123b9d445c2.jpg

Here's some more pics that made the world uncomfortable
https://64.media.tumblr.com/717f99390a8c1359eeb56cce754c1455/85af67982bdb3c93-ed/s540x810/b52202cb4147d91d9e4207ef8d2f21a93f2e93f3.jpg
https://64.media.tumblr.com/9137277f95d1772d44679e4308bcedd1/85af67982bdb3c93-b2/s540x810/08c2259ed8f790700b5d264406148ecb69dd4c33.jpg
https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/kerr.jpg?quality=90&strip=all

 

[stickygirl]

There's been a bit of a stir in English football in the last few days, with a club coach being sacked for having a relationship with one of his players. I don't quite understand the problem but accept that there is, in theory, a power dynamic, risks of favouritism etc. Emma Hayes, the famous Chelsea manager who is soon to move to a new job managing a team in the US, went further to say palyer to player relationships were 'inappropriate' despite having two or three lesbian couples in the squad. She later retracted her statement, but it was ( or at least felt ) a bigoted thing to say, if not a homophobic thing to say.
Jess Carter, who is in a relationship with Ann Berger, described it as bonkers. Here's a link

 

[stickygirl]

More footie

Here's the gorgeous Beth England ( I know - weird having that surname... be like Daphne America ). In the article she explains how she's not ashamed any more of who she is and loves, though they still avoid holding hands in public.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/D504/production/_133023545_gettyimages-1606344792.jpg.webp
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/976/cpsprodpb/14A34/production/_133023548_whatsappimage2024-03-26at15.36.10.jpg.webp

Holding hands... that's worth a discussion