Alex Reimer

A new survey indicates which pro sports leagues would be most likely to support an out gay star, based on players’ political affiliations. 

The results reflect broader trends within America. When people say sports are a microcosm of society, this is what they mean. 

Heated Rivalry‘s popularity has highlighted the dearth of out male athletes in pro sports. While a smattering of high-profile figures have publicly come out in Olympic sports like diving, figure skating and track and field, the pro leagues remain barren. 

There isn’t a single out athlete today in the NFL, NBA, MLB or NHL. Contrastingly, nearly 30% of players in the WNBA identify as LGBTQ+.

We’ll let you guess which league also boasts the biggest percentage of registered Democrats…

While we loathe to equate views on LGBTQ+ people with political affiliation, polls indicate there’s a definite correlation. A record 88% of Democrats now support gay marriage, compared to 41% of Republicans. The 47-point gap is the largest since Gallup began tracking the issue 29 years ago.

Now, we also recognize there are a lot of people who personally support LGBTQ+ people in their lives, yet vote against their rights in the ballot box. For some, the two are mutually exclusive. Others believe they are intertwined. 

We are not here for that debate today. For this article, we are simply looking at partisan leanings and what they may tell us about each sport’s culture. 

They say a fair amount…

Athletes’ politics break down along racial lines

Despite recent slippage, African-Americans remain the Democratic Party’s strongest voting bloc in the country. The sports political poll embodies that.

As mentioned, the WNBA has the highest concentration of registered Dems, coming in at 67.5%. Roughly 30% of the league identify as independent, meaning less than 3% are registered Republicans. 

That’s not surprising: the WNBA has a majority of Black women, who voted for Kamala Harris at a 92% clip. 

The NBA, another majority Black league, also leans to the left. Nearly 43% of players identify as Democrats and 45% say they’re independents. Just 10% are Republicans. 

Fittingly, America’s League, the NFL, is pretty even politically. The right-wing jump comes when looking at the NHL and MLB. 

While MLB has a large number of Latino players (28%), many of them aren’t U.S. citizens. Among voting eligible players, the majority are white. 

In the NHL, one can count the number of Black players on one hand (Americans, however, account for only 30% of players).

It’s worth noting that Harrison Butker, sports’ most notorious homophobe, is a kicker. 

How do these numbers reflect player attitudes about LGBTQ+ people?

The WNBA is full of out stars who win MVPs and Olympic gold medals. The male leagues are more complex. 

Take the NBA, for example. Jason Collins was embraced when he publicly came out in 2013, with stars such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant publicly supporting him. But the league also has a problem with casual homophobia: nine players have been fined over the last 14 years for anti-gay behavior, per Outsports.

The NFL has had fewer homophobic incidents. Carl Nassib didn’t appear to experience problems when he came out in 2021, and played on two straight playoff teams. He often tells an anecdote about how other players would admonish him for using derogatory taunts when he was closeted.

MLB, with a large percentage of white players from rural areas who didn’t attend college, has the most right-leaning demographics. The league’s record on inclusion is mixed: while MLB hired the late Billy Bean as its ambassador of inclusion, the sport still has a conservative culture. 

Despite that, 29 out of 30 teams host a Pride Night (the Texas Rangers are the lone exception).

When it comes to courting controversy, the NHL is the leader. Two years ago, the league banned players from wearing Pride jerseys after a smattering refused. 

The league’s relationship with its queer fans is complicated.

A difficult playing field

We know there are real life versions of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander: Hudson Williams says closeted sports stars have reached out to him. The fact that none are publicly out speaks to a culture of fear–or at the least, trepidation. 

Overall, the sports landscape is conservative.

Poll flaws

Of course, the survey is not perfect. It only includes voter file data from 23 states and D.C., not including California and Texas. 

A total of 1,056 athletes across the major leagues were sampled. The NHL sample was the least representative, with only 375 players being polled.

Still, the results are interesting, and show how far we may be from a real life Scott Hunter moment.