Out and About: LGBTQ Sports Newsletter JUNE
- Liz Ward
- Jul 16
- 4 min read
Out & About
LGBTQ+ Monthly Newsletter: June
Welcome to Out & About - your monthly newsletter of LGBTQ+ sports and knowledge. Brought to you by Liz Ward.
Happy Pride Month! June is the month where Pride is celebrated all around the world, and with a big competition happening across the water, I think it's safe to say we can expect lots of interesting LGBTQ+ sports stories this year...
This month:
Back Pages: Reflections on coming out and getting World Cup Ready
The Training Ground: What is Pride?
The Kitbag: Understanding the Q in LGBTQ+
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Back Pages: News Stories to Know
May 2026: NBA
Former NBA Player Jason Collins sadly passed away in May 2026. He publicly came out as gay in 2013, after which he became a free agent, subsequently signing with the Brooklyn Nets in 2014, then retiring that season.
His coming out, 13 years ago, would still be ground-shaking today. On his passing, the world of Basketball paid their respects, but I was most struck by pundit Charles Barkley, who commended not only Collins' coming out, but the current homophobic society that we live in, which operates to still keep players closeted.
June 2026: Football - Colin Martin Retires.
There may not be many out, gay, footballers across the men's professional game, but one history maker is Colin Martin, who announced his retirement this June. Colin came out as gay in 2018, whilst playing for Minnesota United. Colin played across the MLS and USL leagues most recently with North Carolina FC, who sadly folded last year.
Colin's impact as a role model has been seismic, but his presence and existence in the locker room has been immeasurable. A living example that not all coming out stories are negative!
June 2026: World Cup Rundown
Dust off your vuvuzela and deck yourself in a St George flag - the world cup is happening and Football's Coming Home (right?). This is the biggest world cup ever, across three countries, so how is the competition marking Pride?
The short answer? It is, and it isn't. FIFA itself haven't commented on whether they will be marking Pride, but considering previous stances on armbands, it's highly unlikely. Official host cities are taking things into their own hands and there will be a range of events on offer for fans to take part in. The Pride House movement will be setting up shop across North America, hosting loads of free events (catch me at Pride House Toronto, if you're around!), and creating safe spaces across the cities for fans to meet up and hang out.
However, many fans have already said they'll be sitting this World Cup out, owing to the range of policy decisions by the folks that occupy the White House. Very dissapointing, considering both Qatar and Russia haven't been the friendliest countries for LGBTQ+ people.
The Training Ground: Pride Month 2026
June 2026: Pride Month!
What is it? During the month of June, people around the world celebrate Pride. The event was originally an international protest, to commemorate the brave activists who stood up to Police in New York when The Stonewall Inn was repeatedly attacked in the 1970s. Many years later, almost every major city around the world celebrates Pride.
How can I celebrate? There's lots of ways to get involved in Pride, from joining your local Pride event, to popping up a few rainbows. In 2026, celebrating Pride has become more urgent than ever, with LGBTQ+ hate crime on the rise, and negative news stories about LGBTQ+ people constantly in the press.
Some Pride events can attract millions with São Paulo Pride in Brazil bringing in up to 5 million visitors per year. Toronto brings around 3 million visitors, NYC 2 million and London Pride boasts around 1.5 million visitors. And the smallest? Batt Close, a housing estate in Rugby, Warwickshire, has claimed the title as being the smallest Pride in the world, one to head for if, like me, you don't love crowds!
The Kit Bag: What does Queer mean?
We often say 'LGBTQ+', but do you know what the 'Q' really represents?
The word queer has so many meanings, for so many different people, and if you're reading this thinking 'isn't queer a bad word?' you're not wrong. For many people in the community, queer is rooted in discrimination, a word to define the LGBT community as 'weird' and 'odd'.
However, in the 1960s and 70s (same time period as Pride started ramping up), the word 'queer' became reclaimed by activists - you might have heard chants like 'We're here, we're queer, get used to it'. During this time people started to reject the term 'homosexual' as well, wanting to expand LGBTQ+ lives away from just one pattern of behaviour.
As the 1990s hit, the word queer took on a new life, as a rejection to the terms 'lesbian' and 'gay' - for people wanting to be recognised as greater than just being same-sex attracted. It was during this time that Queer Theory became a field of study, with many academics using the word queer to describe all forms of gender and sexuality that rejected the status quo.
Nowadays, we see the term queer everywhere, but that doesn't mean its root as a slur has been forgotten. It's most commonly seen as part of the 'acronym' to ensure as many people as possible feel included. As with any conversations around identity, it's always important to take the lead of the person involved, and make no assumptions.
Extra time: What do you think the '+' stands for?
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