The LGBT Sport Podcast

Jon Lee-Olsen has been playing ice hockey since he was a youngster. Inspired by his older brother, he took to the ice when he was around six years old – and hasn't looked back since. He turned professional, and has been living his dream as a professional player in Scandinavia for the past seven years or so. And in October 2019, he made a bit of history when he came out on live TV in Denmark. Openi...

The word ‘legend’ is bandied about a lot – but it’s really the only one you can use to describe Andrea Dobson. She was just sixteen years old when she made her debut for the Great Britain rugby league team. Little did anyone know at that point that Andrea would become a stalwart of the game, playing in four World Cups and captaining England at the 2017 tournament in Australia. And by the time she...

PC Amy Tapping absolutely loves sport. She grew up playing hockey as a goalkeeper, and has been doing dressage with her horse since he was a youngster. But the reason Amy is on the podcast today is her role as the co-chair of the National LGBT+ Police Network – where she’s helping to make May 28th the UK’s first LGBT+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day. And given the audience we have on this show, we...

Since 1992, the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association has been working to promote and grow LGBTQ+ soccer around the world. More than 100 teams and clubs have played in their competitions over the years – and just a short time ago, at the Compete Sports Diversity Summit in Arizona, we found out about their latest one. The announcement confirmed that the IGLFA World Championships will b...

Abby Dunkin grew up shooting hoops on the driveway of her home in Texas. In fact, for as long as she can remember, she has loved basketball – and that becomes clear when you take a look at her sporting CV. She’s a two-time national champion and 2016 Paralympic champion, helping Team USA to bring home the gold in the wheelchair basketball. And almost exactly a year after announcing her retirement,...

Lizzie Seedhouse still remembers the day she saw an advert for her first football team. She was reading a newspaper at her grandma’s house in Sheffield – and from that moment onwards, her love of the beautiful game has been an ever-present part of her life. Lizzie played for Sheffield Wednesday Ladies, then backed herself to move to America and prove herself at a collegiate level – thanks in no sm...

A little later this month, two cricket teams will step out onto a pitch in the UK to play each other for the first time – and make a little bit of history. The match between Graces and Unicorns is the first time that two LGBTQ+ sides have ever had a game of cricket against each other. And that’s because, up until last year, Graces were the world’s only inclusive side – with the Unicorns only estab...

It has more member clubs than some national governing bodies, and was set up to make sure people in the LGBTQ+ community were able to enjoy rugby as their authentic selves. But International Gay Rugby (IGR), like all major sporting bodies, has had its own challenges to overcome during in the pandemic – and that’s also true for chair Karl Ainscough-Gates. He became IGR chair in the summer of 2020 –...

If you love professional wrestling, you’re in for a treat with this episode. Our guest today is EFFY – the trailblazing professional wrestler who is making waves in the industry, as well as creating a space for LGBTQ+ people to be their authentic selves inside the squared circle. He’s someone who isn't just a wrestler – but an entertainer, an entrepreneur, and someone that many in the industry tru...

Justice Horn grew up in a family where sport was second nature. His parents were involved in athletics; an uncle played in the NFL; a sister played volleyball - the list goes on and on. For Justice, it was wrestling where he found his love - first at high school, and then at collegiate level at Northern State University in South Dakota. As a black, gay man in a predominantly straight, Caucasian sp...

It’s a special Tuesday episode of the podcast, as we head back to the grassroots level and shine a spotlight on another of the UK’s inclusive rugby clubs. The Leeds Hunters have only been back in training for a couple of weeks – but in this episode, you’ll be able to hear exactly how much it means to be back on the pitch and back together as a club. It’s only fitting for a side that has gone from...

Janelly Farias always knew she wanted to play football. And through hard work, determination and sheer grit, she made it happen – becoming an international star for Mexico, and plying her trade domestically for the likes of Houston Dash, LA Galaxy, and her current club of Club América Femenil in Mexico City. She’s also a TV analyst who worked as a commentator and pundit for the Women’s World Cup i...

In some ways, it’s no surprise at all that Ben Watkiss is doing what he does now. His father was a professional footballer, and Ben always wanted to have a career in the game – and that’s exactly what he’s ended up doing. At first, he thought it might be through refereeing – but when that didn’t quite work out, Ben turned to strength and conditioning work, which is what he does now with Burton Alb...

On today’s show, we’re all at sea – as we find out more about the group that's been the home of LGBTQ+ sailing in the UK for more than forty years. David Mason is the Commodore of the Sailing and Cruising Association, which was meant to be celebrating its ruby anniversary last year. The pandemic meant that couldn’t happen, but plans are afoot for a proper celebration when restrictions allow. And w...

Stacey Pearson is one of the UK’s top football referees. She works at the highest level of the women’s game, taking charge of WSL matches on a weekly basis as well as officiating on the international stage. She was added to the FIFA list in 2020, referees at stage 3 in the men’s game, and was assistant referee in front of more than forty thousand people at the 2018 Women’s FA Cup Final between Che...

If you’re listening to this, there’s a good chance you’ll already know about Emma Smith’s work. An assistant editor at the football website Goal, you’ve probably read her pieces on everything from the youth system at Real Madrid to Bundesliga stars that flopped in the Premier League - and much, much more besides. She’s also worked at the Daily Mail and local newspapers as well – and whether it’s c...

Lauren Rowles first burst onto many of our screens in 2016, when she won gold in the rowing at the Paralympics in Rio. But the journey that led her there – and the story that comes afterwards – really is extraordinary. This episode is a real gift – and we think that after hearing it, you’ll understand why. There’s so much in this - where Lauren’s love of sport comes from; her disability and how it...

Today’s guest is arguably one of the most accomplished multi-sport athletes we’ve ever had on the show, and a woman who is preparing to do something truly extraordinary. Rebecca Rowe won numerous championships in surf-life saving at the start of her sporting career, where she also swam at a high-level as well. She then switched to rowing where she represented Great Britain - and after a back-injur...

Finding a place where you feel welcome is crucial, not just in sport but in life – and that’s something Mike Turner knows all about. He’s the chair of the Liverpool Tritons inclusive rugby club, as well as a teacher – and before he joined the Tritons, he’d never played rugby before. In fact, he’d never really done sport before – and this podcast is a perfect illustration of how visibility and dive...

Sam Stanley is a trailblazer – and has been an inspiration for so many of the people who have joined us on the show over the past few years. Born into a rugby-mad family, he played for Saracens in the Premiership as well as Bedford and Ealing in the Championship – and represented England at the international level in the sevens form of the game. And in 2015, he made history as the first profession...

There really aren’t enough words to sum up what Michaela Breeze has accomplished in her sporting career. A two-time Olympian; a Commonwealth champion with six medals across four different Games; more European medals than you can shake a stick at; and an MBE as well. Put simply, she is Britain’s most successful female weightlifter of all time – and she’s an absolutely brilliant guest for this episo...

So, LGBT+ History Month is almost at an end. And honestly, it’s been amazing to see how many fascinating stories have been shared across so many different parts of the BBC from the world of sport. So for our final episode of the month, we’ve put together this compilation show with some of the best bits. Basically, it’s an LGBTQ+ sport megamix – featuring conversations from BBC Sport, Football Focu...

If you know rugby league, you’ll know James Child. The Super League referee has been taking charge of games at the top-level since 2010, including the 2017 Super League Grand Final. He’s also been a touch judge at the Challenge Cup Final (in fact, he was the youngest-ever touch judge to do it at the time) as well as at the World Cup Final – and to be honest, there’s not a lot in the sport that the...

I know, I know. Two episodes in one day. What’s going on?! Well, this is almost an accompanying episode to the one that has just dropped in your feed, looking at how HIV, sport and society have interacted over the years. One of our guests for that show was Lord Robert Hayward – one of the founding members of the Kings Cross Steelers. For that episode, we mostly spoke about HIV in sport – but there...

“The conversation around living with HIV must be had”. Those are the words of Wales rugby legend Gareth Thomas, who is one of three top guests joining us for this episode of the podcast, looking at how sport can help to play a role in busting the myths and misconceptions that still exist around living with the virus. And if Gareth says this conversation is important, then it’s absolutely something...