When we look at the 30 most-read Outsports stories of the year, it's easy to understand why we've dubbed it The Year of the Gay Athlete. All four of our top stories are about athletes coming out — and they were just four of the 77 people in sports who came out this year.
These stories are ordered simply by the number of times the story was read. One big surprise was where Jason Collins' coming out ranked in Outsports readership; He's in the top 25 twice but not in the top 20.
30) College diver comes out of the closet, goes back in and comes out again for good
Jesse Allard could not reconcile his religious upbringing with being gay. It led to tumult, anxiety and confusion until he finally found his way.
29) Super Bowl XLVII for the clueless: The gay guide to the big game
Jim's guide to the Super Bowl is always popular, and this year it featured a well-known straight ally and a couple vocal homophobes.
28) Four NFL players are not coming out anytime soon
Brendon Ayanbadejo ignited a firestorm when he said he knew NFL players who were talking about coming out publicly together. That was nothing more than wishful thinking.
27) Tom Daley comes out, has a boyfriend
Daley's coming out as (sort of) bisexual this year lit up the Internet.
26) Soccer goalie Stuart Tomlinson is a very hot nude model
It's not hard to understand why British pro soccer goalie Stuart Tomlinson has turned to fitness modeling for some extra cash.
25) Jason Collins inspires a young sportswriter to come out of the closet
"I'm tired of putting on the charade of being straight," the writer says, inspired by Jason Collins' coming out.
24) French Olympic swimmers pose as 'imaginary couple' in anti-homophobia campaign
French Olympic swimmers Florent Manaudou and Frédérick Bousquet have posed for an intimate photo in a campaign against homophobia started by photographer Olivier Ciappa.
23) How 'gay' is your favorite NFL team?
We rank all 32 NFL teams based on how "gay" they are. Not surprisingly, the Packers are tops. We hope.
22) Jason Collins comes out as gay
While it was the year's biggest LGBT sports story, Jason Collins' coming out didn't register as high as you might think for Outsports, though we imagine it was in the top 5 for Sports Illustrated.
21) Forget Sports Illustrated, here is the Outsports Swimsuit Issue
Sports Illustrated has published its annual swimsuit issue, aka the most boring issue of the year. For those into hot women in bikinis, it's always been a nice antidote in the middle of winter.
20) Report: Gay NFL player 'strongly considers' coming out
An anonymous gay NFL player wants to go public but fears the reaction from fans, according to a report.
19) Gay rumors fly about two Russian pro soccer players Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamaev
Russian professional soccer players Alexander Kokorin and Pavel Mamaev have turned some heads after some … interesting … photos surfaced from their holiday vacation in Miami.
18) Transition Game: America's first publicly out trans high school coach
Stephen Alexander is changing hearts and minds in his rural hometown of Glocester, R.I.
17) Four Burgess brothers on same rugby team and in the surf
We've become big fans of the rugby playing Burgess Brothers since George Burgess took nude selfies that wound up on Twitter.
16) Straights obsessed with Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron's girlfriend Katherine Webb
I always get amused and a bit peeved when someone will argue that gay guys are obsessed with sex. My retort is that guys are obsessed with sex, whether gay, straight, bi or questioning.
15) Out college basketball player happy being just one of the guys
Jallen Messersmith was raised Mormon, overcame bullying and is openly gay on his Catholic college's basketball team in Kansas. And he goes on more dates than his teammates.
14) Nike releases #BeTrue line to benefit the LGBT Sports Coalition
Sales of their entire #BeTrue will help benefit the projects of the entire LGBT sports movement's goal of ending anti-LGBT bias in sports by 2016.
13) Is Kerry Rhodes being blackballed for gay rumors? We doubt it.
We examine the more probable reasons for Rhodes' unemployment, like his age and the possibility he is in the closet (as opposed to being out and proud).
12) Steelers quarterback Landry Jones talks about his religion and gay athletes
The former Oklahoma standout says his Christian perspective on homosexuality would not affect his treatment of a gay teammate.
11) Is Manti Te'o gay?
Girlfriend hoax has many people asking if the Notre Dame linebacker is hiding his sexual orientation.
10) ESPN shows pro bowler Scott Norton kissing his husband after victory
In what might be a first, ESPN this weekend showed an openly gay male pro athlete kissing his husband and they did not shy away from describing the relationship.
9) The fabulous life of an openly gay college swimmer
USC swimmer Sean Mulroy may wear custom swimsuits dedicated to a drag queen and get his teammates hooked on brunch, but he takes his sport and being an out athlete seriously.
8) Rugby player is also gay porn star Colby Jansen
Last week, we had an English rugby player taking nude self-pics. This week, we have a rugby player turned gay porn star in Colby Jansen.
7) Runner Nick Symmonds dedicates world track silver medal in Russia to his gay, lesbian friends
After taking the silver medal in the men's 800 meters, Symmonds was not silent, telling Russia's R-Sport he was dedicating his medal to his LGBT friends back home.
6) Fallon Fox comes out as trans pro MMA fighter
She talks with Outsports about gay-conversion therapy, her passion for Mixed Martial Arts and her post-coming-out fears.
5) Nude photos of Australian rugby player George Burgess wind up on Twitter
George Burgess is an English-born player in the National Rugby League of Australia, where he plays for the Sydney Rabbitohs.
4) Univ. of Texas swimmer Matt Korman comes out to teammates in email
Junior Matt Korman didn't want to hide this side of himself any longer — and he wanted to date openly. Read the email he sent to his team.
3) Gay college soccer player answers those who disapprove of homosexuality
Bucknell University soccer player Jesse Klug talks about being gay in an open letter to people who see being gay as wrong.
2) After coming out, college basketball player finds passion for sport at all-time high
Derek Schell is the first publicly out NCAA Div. II male basketball player, and he's doing it at the conservative Hillsdale Collete.
1) Coming Out Kicking: Openly gay former college kicker tries for the NFL
We've known former Middle Tennessee State kicker Alan Gendreau for several years, but it wasn't until this spring that he was finally ready to talk about being openly gay on his college team and still holding some hope for the NFL. He talked openly about his faith and being an out gay Christian.
