Emerging LGBTQ sports stars and deserving veterans to be highlighted on Outsports Rising 50

The influence LGBTQ people have in American sports is only increasing, as more and more out gay, lesbian, bi and trans people take roles as athletes, coaches, executives and members of the media.

That’s why we created the Outsports Power 100, to honor the out LGBTQ people who have a seat at the table, and to inspire other members of the community.

This year, our Outsports Power 100 — which will be released on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 11amET — will be a little bit different, while still recognizing the incredible influence out people have in American sports.

In the past, the Outsports Power 100 has highlighted our selection for the 100 most powerful and influential out LGBTQ people in American sports. Now in the lists third year, we realized that just selecting the 100 most powerful people largely means 70% of the list remains the same year-to-year.

This year, we are presenting the 100 in two parts. Yes, we’ll still have our picks for the most powerful people in American sports, but that will be our Top 50.

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We will present the other half of the Outsports Power 100 as our Rising 50.

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These 50 honorees will be people never before highlighted in our Power 100. Yes, that means some very powerful and influential LGBTQ people across sports will not be included in the 100.

Yet it’s a great opportunity to highlight people who are young up-and-comers, as well as some people who have been incredible contributors to their teams, leagues or publications but never quite got the recognition.

In the past, to be named to the Power 100, people had to be vice-presidents, head coaches, star athletes or some other top role in sports. This year we will elevate the voices and faces of people across levels of sports, all of whom have power and influence in their own way.

Many of them have been nominated by their teams or leagues, including the NFL, NBA, WNBA, NHL and others.

It also is translating this year into about two-thirds of the 100 honorees being people never before on our list.

One of those people is John Focht, whose story we’re sharing before the release of the full list. John is a senior director with the Los Angeles Dodgers, someone who may not have been featured in our previous iteration of the Power 100, but who is a Rising star for us now.

Be sure to come back to Outsports on October 14 to see the rest of our inspiring honorees and sports stars, and look out for feature stories on various honorees in the coming weeks. They all have a story to tell, and Outsports is proud to share them.

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