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Q&Athlete, created to connect young LGBTQ+ athletes with professional LGBTQ+ athletes, is open once again for questions this month. The portal allows young queer athletes to tell their stories and ask questions to pro athletes that openly identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community to help discover themselves. Initially launched in June 2023, it now encompasses athletes such as Olympic medalists Gus Kenworthy and Quinn, two-time WNBA MVP champion and five-time WNBA All-Star Breanna Stewart and NCAA National Champion CeCé Telfer. It was built by athlete empowerment brand UNINTERRUPTED in partnership with Athlete Ally, a nonprofit that advocates for LGBTQ+ equality in sports communities.
The timing for the return of Q&Athlete comes with less than a month to go until the U.S. General Election. Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s policy platform calls for an end to “radical gender ideology” in schools and trans-women athletes competing in women’s sports. Additionally, a record-breaking 530 anti-LGBTQIA+ bills were introduced in state legislatures across the U.S. last year. Realities such as these are creating an unsafe environment and negatively impacting the mental health of young LGBTQ+ athletes, with many unable to be their true selves. 80% of LGBTQ+ youth and 82% of young trans athletes aren’t out to their teammates or coaches. Only 4% of LGBTQ youth reported that they’d talk to a sports leader or coach if they were having a hard time or feeling sad, stressed or depressed.
Reed Jackson, a writer and creative at UNINTERRUPTED told Them that Q&Athlete was inspired by his own experiences of messaging queer musicians in an attempt to understand his own identity. “The queer athlete space is like a lightening rod for all issues that are going on in the queer space, bad and good…We want this to be a resource tool for queer folks who are looking for some context or guidance,” he said.
Q&Athlete is a bridge between amateur and pro LGBTQ+ athletes. The portal accepts anonymous questions from users and the creators match specific athletes to the questions they are best-suited to answer. The website then posts the question alongside an answer from an out professional. Each week in October, two professional athletes are answering questions on the platform. Questions can revolve around new feelings, expressing yourself to coaches or teammates or any general confusion.
“I’ve been surrounded by a great group of teammates and staff. I actually came out to my team in an email,” answered Quinn, midfielder on the Canada Soccer’s Women’s National Team and for NWSL’s Seattle Reign, to the question: Have any of your teammates looked at you differently after coming out? What advice do you have in terms of the best way to do so? on Q&Athlete.
“I’m quite a shy, introverted person so the thought of talking to a room overwhelmed me. Overall, I think I had a better relationship with my teammates after coming out. I had a new confidence and ability to be vulnerable with them and it strengthened many relationships in my life…” they said.
UNINTERRUPTED was founded by NBA star LeBron James and his long-time partner Maverick Carter on the belief that athletes should have the ability to share their own stories uninterrupted. Its social media account posts athlete stories, covering topics such as mental health, gender equality and the importance of LGBTQ+ allies and changing the narrative.
Source: them
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