Funding out Olympic athletes brings inspiration, and this gay Team USA athlete can use the help
Out gay Team USA speed skater Conor McDermott-Mostowy is aiming for his first Winter Olympics. and he can use your help. The post Funding out Olympic athletes brings inspiration, and this gay Team USA athlete can use the help appeared first on Outsports.
Mark
Editor’s note: Cyd Zeigler is an unpaid member of the Board of Directors for Out Athlete Fund, a 501c3 non-profit raising money for out LGBTQ Olympic hopefuls and Pride House at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
I’ve spent most of my professional career elevating the visibility of out LGBTQ athletes across sports.
So when two guys — Alex Soejarto and Les Johnson — asked me to join them as a founding board member for Out Athlete Fund, promising to support out LGBTQ athletes’ training and build LGBTQ-inclusive spaces at major sporting events, I jumped at the chance.
When it came time to find an athlete to financially support for our first athlete event here in West Hollywood on November 1, that was easy too: Team USA speed skater Conor McDermott-Mostowy.
Many people have the impression that Olympians are rich. It’s understandable. Once every two years, these incredible young people dazzle us on TV with their good looks and skill. Their life stories get broadcast to every media outlet in the country.
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Some of them land a TV commercial. Others an endorsement deal or two. Either way, for a month every two years, Olympians are some of the most famous people in the world. For about six weeks, they’re everywhere.
Then the Olympics end.
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Conor McDermott-Mostowy has skated for Team USA for several years. He recently won a team sprint World Cup gold.
NBC gets back to its regularly scheduled programming. Gone are the heart-warming video packages. Memory fades. And these people who inspired a nation with their speed and strength are back to making lattes and driving for Lyft.
Even Greg Louganis – one of the greatest American Olympians of all time – sold his home and his medals.
Supporting Conor McDermott-Mostowy ahead of the Olympics
Yet Conor McDermott-Mostowy, and other LGBTQ Olympic hopefuls helped by Out Athlete Fund, aren’t in retirement. They’re in the middle of their careers.
From talking with so many out athletes and Olympians, I’ve learned that financial concerns are often the biggest issue they cope with mentally. Forced to live with their parents to cover costs. Lots of nights eating ramen. All while training and traveling to qualify for the Olympics.
I first understood this dynamic in 2013. New Zealand speedskater Blake Skjellerup was openly gay and aiming for the Sochi Winter Olympics, where the Russian government was cracking down on the gay community.
Blake told me about the high travel and training costs he would have to absorb to make another run at the Olympics – he had competed in 2010. So I worked with a bunch of people, including here in Los Angeles Brian Pendleton, Jason Duguay and Fred Arens, to host an online and in–person fundraiser. Outsports put its weight behind the effort.
Together we raised $30k to cover Blake’s costs.
Now these upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics are in Italy, where another right-wing government is cracking down on the gay community. I don’t have to tell anyone in the LGBTQ community what is going on right here in the United States.
That makes supporting Conor, and other out LGBTQ athletes with the potential to compete at these Olympics, that much more poignant. While the United States has the legend Brittany Bowe, and other women have been out, no out gay male speed skater has ever competed at the Olympics – Blake ended up missing his shot by one single qualification spot.
Here’s the reality of the situation. Conor had to skip a World Championship a couple years ago because of simply money. He and his family couldn’t afford to cover his travel costs. So he missed it.
I feel like we as a community simply cannot let that happen to out LGBTQ athletes on the world stage like Conor, when we have the collective opportunity to support their journey.
Having an out gay male athlete wearing Team USA at these Olympics would be particularly powerful.
This is why Out Athlete Fund exists, and why we are hosting an event in West Hollywood on Nov. 1 to raise money to help Conor. He has a critical couple months ahead, competing for Team USA internationally.
But not everyone gets picked for the Olympics team. In 2022, he just missed out. A lot of athletes would have packed it in after that and moved on. Not Conor. He has doubled his efforts and his resolve.
Helping him clear his mind of financial issues, and showing him the support of a community that is behind him, can go a long way to help with that.
If you can join us on Nov. 1 in West Hollywood to support Conor, you can RSVP here. And if you can’t, please consider donating to Out Athlete Fund. The money will go to Conor and other out LGBTQ athletes aiming for these Winter Olympics.
Whether you’re in the West Hollywood area that day or not, you can contribute to Conor’s training — Out Athlete Fund is a tax-deductible 501c3 nonprofit.
Go Team LGBTQ!
You can help support Conor’s training and travel here. Click “Buy Tickets” and, if you can’t make the event, select zero.
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The post Funding out Olympic athletes brings inspiration, and this gay Team USA athlete can use the help appeared first on Outsports.
