The LGBT Sport Podcast

We’re heading back to the grassroots on the podcast today, as we talk about everything to do with the beautiful game with three members of the Leicester Wildecats LGBTQ+ football team. It was chair Steve who tipped us off about the club – and its near-thirty year history! –so it was only right that we got him on to have a chat, alongside manager Mike and current player Walid. We talk to all three...

They’re two of our favourite people, so it’s great to have former international swimmer Michael Gunning and double Paralympic wheelchair basketball star Robyn Love back to the podcast. They’ve both been on more than once in our long history – but today is our first chance to chat with them about their new roles with the British Elite Athletes Association. Michael is the organisation’s new Equality...

It’s a special bonus episode today, as we celebrate a little bit of history that’s happening in the world of cricket this Sunday. It’s the UK’s first-ever LGBTQ+ cricket tournament, and it’s happening at Sutton Coldfield Cricket Club. It’s an 11 o’clock start and will feature teams from Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Middlesex and Northamptonshire – and since it’s Warwickshire who...

An Olympic silver medallist, a multiple time world medallist at events around the globe, an elite freestyle skier, a social media sensation – and with more than a million followers on social media, Gus Kenworthy’s profile is almost unrivalled in the world of sport. He’s also one of the most high-profile gay sportspeople in the world – and, after his retirement following the Winter Olympics in 2022...

On September 25th, 2018, we published the very first episode of the BBC's LGBT Sport Podcast. Five years later, we make a little bit of history with our landmark 300th episode - and are taking a moment to mark the occasion by reminding ourselves of just a handful of the amazing guests who have joined us to make this show what it is. On this bumper trip down memory lane, we'll hear from Olympians;...

Flamboyant, fierce and never less than full-on when it comes to competition in the ring, Mitchell Starr – the drag queen alter ego of Lee Mitchell - has been competing on the UK wrestling scene for more than a decade, and shows no signs of slowing down. The grappler has danced, dropped and strutted his way to victories against big names in big bouts under his Starr persona – and, in the process, h...

Paul Poirier started skating when he was just a nipper – but while his brothers would chase an ice hockey puck, he would spin and be more creative. One he discovered figure skating – and particularly ice dance - he’d found his love, and his career in sport has been remarkable. It includes three Olympic Games, world championship bronze on two separate occasions and, in general, more medals and acco...

Gary Ginnaw always loved football. It was, bizarrely, a nil-nil draw with Plymouth that made him fall in love with Charlton Athletic – and from that point onwards, he’d happily spend his time on the terraces, cheering for the Addicks as they made their way to the Premier League. But Gary's growing understanding of his sexuality meant he ended up stepping away from the game – and it wasn’t until he...

It feels like a different age where Sarah Jones made her debut for Wales – and since then, the hockey player has barely looked back on the international stage. She’s competed in three separate Commonwealth Games for Wales, winning more than 100 caps – and in 2021, she helped Team GB take bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. She was appointed to the Team Wales Athletes Commission for the Victoria Commonwe...

Sophie McKinna has her mum to thank for getting her into the shotput. After all, it was a decision by her to enter Sophie into the throwing event as a child that set Sophie on the road to a remarkable athletics career that has included any number of elite-level events – including world, European and Commonwealth finals, along with an appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo. Sophie’s currently targetin...

Brock McGillis is a history-maker. A goaltender who played in his native Canada and the Netherlands, he came out as gay in 2016 – and, since then, has used his platform to try and make ice-hockey a place where everyone feels welcome. Through speaking out to forming the Alphabet Sports Collective, Brock has a passion for inclusion, which is why we’re so delighted to have him on the podcast to talk...

If it feels like we’ve been here before, it’s because we have... sort of. It was in 2020 that Alistair Burford and David ‘FiFi’ Cumpston first joined us to talk about the Union Cup in Birmingham – which, at the time, was set for the following year. But COVID and travelling restrictions meant the tournament – which is Europe’s largest inclusive rugby competition – had to be postponed for two whole...

It’s fair to say that Jacob Leeks has always had a passion for playing sport, and for writing about it as well. When he’s not running out for Birmingham Blaze, he’s reporting on football and so much more for the Daily Mirror – and at the end of February, his work was recognised as he picked up the Football Media Award at this year’s Football v Homophobia Awards. So, it’s high-time that we got Jaco...

On October 26th, 2021, only devoted followers of Australian soccer would have known who Josh Cavallo was. Twenty-four hours later, the Adelaide United footballer was the name on the lips of almost everyone in world football after he became the first top-flight male professional to come out while still playing. Since then, life has been a bit of a whirlwind for Josh – and we’re delighted we finally...

To have one Olympic medallist on the podcast is a treat. To have two on at the same time – well, that’s incredibly special, and that’s why we’re so excited to bring you this episode. Lauren Price and Karriss Artingstall both came away from the Olympics in Tokyo with medals – for Lauren, it was a gold in the middleweight division, and for Karriss, it was featherweight bronze. Honestly, the couple a...

Gisele Shaw has her family – and especially her grandmother – to thank for her love of professional wrestling. Together, they’d watch and talk about the likes of Chyna and Lita in the WWF – but it wasn’t until a chance encounter at a professional wrestling show that Gisele even thought about stepping into the ring herself. Now, she’s one of the best in the business – part of IMPACT Wrestling’s Kno...

In a way, this is a story that was made for us! Richard Pallot and Rachel Williams are from Cornwall FA, and were thinking of ways to make the game in Cornwall more inclusive. Little did they know that Jess Sharville was also thinking the same thing – so when their paths crossed on social media, they got talking, and Stargazy FC was born. The club has its first training session at the end of the m...

It’s a common enough story. A club, on the brink of extinction, saved by people who had a passion for keeping it alive. But what makes the history of Keighley Cougars a little bit different is that they were rescued by Ryan O’Neill and his husband Kaue Garcia – who became the first out LGBTQ+ owners of a professional sports club outside of the USA, and put LGBTQ+ rights at the heart of what the Co...

It’s been less than a month since Campbell Johnstone made a little bit of history. The former New Zealand international opened up about his sexuality in an interview with TVNZ, becoming the first All Black to come out as gay. It was a decision that brought worldwide attention to the ex-Canterbury and Crusaders player – and now, he’s joining us on the podcast to tell us more about that decision, an...

We're changing things up on the podcast today to do something a little bit different. At the end of January, we got a message from Warwickshire County Cricket Club, asking us if we'd like to head to Edgbaston to be part of a special training session being held at the club's indoor cricket centre. It'd bring together players and coaches from Warwickshire with members of the Birmingham Unicorns - th...

It’s LGBT+ History Month, so it’s only appropriate that we speak to another history maker on the podcast – and that’s exactly what Ryan Atkin is. He became the first out gay referee working in the men’s game in the UK when he came out in 2017. And since then, Ryan has used his experiences and platform to help others in the beautiful game, with many crediting him for inspiring their own decision to...

It’s been two years since James Child made a little bit of history, as the Super League referee opened up for the first time on this podcast about the fact he happened to be gay. A lot has changed since then – as he took charge of the Challenge Cup Final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, officiated at a home World Cup, appeared on Question of Sport, became a dad for the first time, and announced h...

When Luke Fisher was a kid, he used to set the video tape running to make sure he was able to record ice-hockey games from the NHL overnight to watch in the morning. Times have moved on since then, but Luke’s love of the game hasn’t changed – and now, it’s not just his sporting love but his work as well, with both the Elite League in the UK and handling social media for the NHL as well. Luke dropp...

It’s been more than three years since Michael Gunning made his first appearance on the podcast – and a lot has changed since then. The international swimmer popped back up last year to talk briefly about the formation of the Commonwealth Pride Network, but we haven’t had the chance to properly speak to him since then. So today, he’s having a return visit and a whole episode to himself, as we look...

We’re kicking off 2023 on the podcast with a trip back to the grassroots, and a cracking conversation with someone doing their bit to try and make the beautiful game open for everyone. Zack Leader is Lincolnshire FA’s new LGBTQ+ ambassador – and a man who lives and breathes the beautiful game. He’s also someone who knows a fair bit about adrenaline rushes, having previously been a British gravity...