Outsports is highlighting our selections for the 100 most powerful and influential out LGBTQ people in sports in the United States, in the Outsports Power 100.
League executives. Team owners. Athletes. Coaches. College sports administrators. Members of the sports media.
The breadth, depth and diversity of the honorees are a profound statement.
Here are Outsports’ selections for Nos. 81-90:
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81) Talisa Rhea
General Manager, Seattle Storm
Talisa Rhea has made herself one of the most prominent names of the newest generation of LGBTQ leaders in the WNBA. A two-time Alaska 4A High School Player of the Year, Rhea played professional basketball in Poland for a season before shifting her concentration to working in a front office. After being hired by the Seattle Storm as a video coordinator in 2015, Rhea earned a promotion to director of basketball operations the next year. In this role, she helped assemble Storm teams that won WNBA Championships in 2018 and 2020. Thanks to her success, Rhea was promoted to Seattle’s general manager in 2021, a position she currently still holds. — Ken Schultz
82) Bill Kennedy
NBA Referee
For years, NBA referee Bill Kennedy was out to a circle of close gay friends but not publicly. Influenced by Dale Scott in the mid-2010s, he contemplated making a similar coming out announcement during an offseason. But when Rajon Rondo dropped a torrent of anti-gay slurs on him after being ejected in a December 2015 game, Kennedy decided to come out a week later in a Yahoo Sports interview, declaring “You must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are.” Shortly afterward, Hall of Fame Coach Gregg Popovich told Kennedy, “You have more courage than anybody I know.” Kennedy has officiated 127 NBA playoff games, including five Finals contests. — Ken Schultz
83) Robert Dover
Olympian, consultant, Team USA Equestrian
The most decorated American dressage athlete, Robert Dover has won four Olympic bronze medals and competed in six Olympic Games. He was the first publicly out gay Olympian to compete in a Games. Since his retirement he has coached many people in the sport and was the coach of the United States dressage team for several years until 2019. Today he continues to coach and is a trusted voice within the USOPC. “I keep thinking I’m supposed to be semi-retire, but I”m a miserable failure about it,” Dover told Outsports. — Cyd Zeigler
84) Dan DeVece
Senior Director, Emerging Products, NFL
Dan DeVece is the senior director of emerging products at the NFL, where he also sits as a co-chair of the league’s PRIDE employee resource group that aims to heighten the visibility of the LGBTQ community within the NFL office. Since coming out as gay in 2005, he’s found a supportive community around him both at home and at work, and has always been conscious of how important visibility can be. “By seeing LGBTQ+ people work and engage in sports, … I hope more people are aware and accepting that the LGBTQ+ community is welcome in our stands, on our field, and in our office.” — Shelby Weldon
85) Ryan O’Callaghan
Former player, NFL
One of the most accomplished athletes to come out publicly in men’s sports, Ryan O’Callaghan played for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and also the Kansas City Chiefs. He has the distinction of blocking for two of the greatest quarterbacks ever. Since his retirement, O’Callaghan has worked with the NFL on inclusion efforts and written a book about his life. — Cyd Zeigler
86) Hilary Knight
Athlete, Team USA Hockey & PWHPA
Hilary Knight is a forward with the U.S. women’s national ice hockey team and the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Assn. One of the most decorated players of all time, she is a four-time Olympic medalist and nine-time world champion with Team USA. Knight came out publicly last year and made her relationship with speed skating world champion Brittany Bowe official later that year. — Shelby Weldon
87) Anthony Nicodemo
High School athletic director, boys basketball coach
The only publicly out gay boys high school basketball coach that Outsports knows of, Anthony Nicodemo has been instrumental in building the visibility of LGBTQ people in basketball. He has hosted numerous Pride games with his basketball teams. He has also appeared in the media many times, talking about being out in high school basketball, as well as being a successful basketball coach. He has recently started working with the NBA, and he is a board member of the Sports Equality Foundation. — Cyd Zeigler
88) Collin Martin
Athlete, San Diego Loyal
Rarely has a sports Pride Night been more momentous than Minnesota United’s in 2018. That evening, United player Collin Martin came out publicly, becoming the only active out gay athlete in any of the five major men’s pro sports at the time. After being traded to Minnesota in 2017, he routinely brought his then-boyfriend to team-sponsored events before becoming the second player in MLS history to come out the next year. After being released in 2019, Martin signed on with the USL’s San Diego Loyal. When an opponent dropped a homophobic slur on Martin in 2020 and was not penalized by the referee, his teammates walked off the pitch, marking one of the most unified shows of support for a gay player by any club to date. — Ken Schultz
89) Julie Haddon
Chief Marketing Officer, NWSL
Julie Haddon has worn many marketing hats in her illustrious career, previously at DreamWorks Animation and NFL Media, where she was Senior Vice President of Global Brand and Consumer Marketing. “We had at the NFL over 180 million fans,” Haddon recently said. “You know that a big chunk of those fans are LGBTQ+, and so I think it’s important that we bring that authenticity.” She had joined the ownership group of the Chicago Red Stars before eventually joining the NWSL front office as chief marketing officer, a role she’s held for a little less than a year. — Cyd Zeigler
90) Sara Lockwood-Morales
VP, Partnership marketing, Portland Timbers and Thorns
Sara Lockwood-Morales works as the vice president of Partnership Marketing for the Portland Timbers and Thorns in the MLS and NWSL. Prior to her role in Portland, she spent 14 years in the NHL with the Arizona Coyotes and Anaheim Ducks. In 2020, she married her partner, Meredith Lockwood, as part of an LGBTQ+ “marriage-athon,” held in case the Supreme Court overturned marriage equality. “Every love is beautiful, and that they should feel confident and proud of who they are,” Lockwood said. — Shelby Weldon
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