“The people who helped make change” — they were the ones who Outsports wanted to honor when this website first announced its end-of-year awards back in 2014.
As we prepare for the 10th anniversary edition, we wanted to remind our readers of the great and good from the past decade who have taken pride of place in our Hall of Fame.
Six of the categories have been ever present since that initial 2014 online ceremony.
Male Athlete and Female Athlete celebrate those who excelled in their chosen disciplines; while Male Hero and Female Hero measure success beyond competition, with courage and activism high on the criteria list.
The top accolade on offer is Person of the Year, which goes to the figure who has exemplified the year in LGBTQ sports.
At the other end of the scale is Asshole of the Year, described as “the person who most demonstrated a bygone era in sports” where LGBTQ people are not made to feel welcome.
That “original six” has since been supplemented by two more categories in recognition of both Transgender and Non-Binary people in sport. Determining factors here may include advocacy, achievement, or visibility.
From Monday, the editorial team will be making its presentations and reflecting on the past 12 months.
But before that, here is the Outsports Awards Hall of Fame in full.
Follow the links to read about the winners and see who else was in category contention that year…
Person of the Year
2022: Brittney Griner
2021: Carl Nassib
2020: Katie Sowers
2019: Megan Rapinoe
2018: Adam Rippon
2017: Ryan O’Callaghan
2016: Chris Mosier
2015: Dalton Maldonado
2014: Michael Sam
Male Athlete
2022: Guillaume Cizeron
2021: Tom Daley, Sir Lee Pearson
2020: Rob Kearney
2019: 8 out gay and bi college football players
2018: Eric Radford
2017: Robbie Manson
2016: Orlando Cruz
2015: Eric Radford
2014: Robbie Rogers
Female Athlete
2022: Ireen Wüst
2021: Jonquel Jones
2020: Yulimar Rojas
2019: CeCé Telfer
2018: Sue Bird
2017: Seimone Augustus
2016: Nicola Adams
2015: Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe
2014: Brittney Griner
Male Hero
2022: Byron Perkins
2021: Luke Prokop
2020: Kirk Walker
2019: Rob Kearney
2018: Collin Martin
2017: Mack Beggs, Harrison Browne
2016: Amini Fonua
2015: Billy Bean
2014: Conner Mertens
Female Hero
2022: Callan Chythlook-Sifsof
2021: Raven Saunders
2020: Natasha Cloud
2019: Caster Semenya and JayCee Cooper
2018: Sam Rapoport
2017: Katie Sowers
2016: Elena Delle Donne
2015: Layshia Clarendon
2014: Karen Morrison
Transgender
2022: Lia Thomas, Iszac Henig
2021: Alana McLaughlin
2020: Lindsay Hecox
Non-Binary
2022: Jake Caswell
2021: Quinn
2020: Quinn
2019: SonicFox
Asshole
2022: FIFA
2021: People who intentionally misgender trans athletes
2020: World Rugby
2019: IAAF aka World Athletics
2018: Soccer fans who chant gay slurs
2017: Fans who chant gay slurs
2016: Nico Hines and the Daily Beast
2015: Lance Berkman and Rajon Rondo
2014: Tony Dungy
Moment
2020 (special award): San Diego Loyal forfeit match over gay slur
And if you’re still looking for more after that rundown, here are a few more of our lists from recent years about noteworthy LGBTQ people in sports…
The Outsports Power 100 (June 2023)
The Outsports Queer Wrestling Index 200 – Top 20 (December 2023)
The Outsports Triumph Awards (March 2021)
A Decade of Heroes: ‘The Outsports 20’ of the 2010s – plus 5 more (January 2020)
Check back from Monday and all next week as Outsports celebrates the class of 2023…
