Welcome to my world.... : Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame Announce First Inductions

Greg Louganis

The newly-established National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago just revealed its first round of inductees. The first-of-its-kind nonprofit’s mission is to preserve and highlight the history of gays and lesbians in sports on all levels, from Little League all the way up to the big leagues. With that being said, obviously the first few to make the cut are some high profile names in LGBT sports history. How else are you going to make headlines?

Not surprisingly, Olympic diving champion Greg Louganis made the cut. Also not shocking are the inclusions of tennis legend Martina Navratilova and Jason Collins who made headlines with his historic coming out in Sports Illustrated earlier this year. Somewhat eyebrow-raising is Ben Cohen’s addition. The former professional rugby player has been a longtime straight ally for gay rights. Do you think non-LGBT individuals should be added to the Hall of Fame? Be sure to sound off below after reading who else is being inducted in the Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.

Martina Navratilova

Also joining the aforementioned names are Glenn Burke, Christina Kahrl, Renee Richards, Billie Jean King, LZ Granderson, Dr. Tom Waddell, Orlando Cruz, Andrew Goldstein, Jerry Pritikin, the Chicago Cubs, Outsports.com, the International Gay Rodeo Association and Anheuser-Busch.

The first induction ceremony will take place on August 2 at the Center on Halsted. That’s the day

Jason Collins

before Out at Wrigley, the nation’s largest gay day at a major league sporting event. If you think the organization erroneously omitted someone, nominations for inductions will continue until July 1 at www.gayandlesbiansports.com.

What do you think of the first round of inductions? Who else would you add? Who do you think doesn’t deserve their spot just yet?