Homebrew
Happiness

The Hidden Value of School Sports for LGBTQ Students

2026-09-17

**Introduction**

School sports play an essential role in the educational experience for many youth and young adults. School-sanctioned physical education and sports teams provide students with a structured opportunity to develop both physically and socially, and these opportunities can reach students from any background or identity. Results from one 2022 study found that, on average, participation in school sports was associated with a greater degree of health and well-being regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation (Clark and Kosciw 96). However, the correlation between high well-being and sports participation was not as strong for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students (Clark and Kosciw 96).

Despite all of the potential positive aspects of sports participation on student physical and social development, school sports can also perpetuate painful cycles of marginalization and discrimination. Xiang et al. found in their study that school sports frequently become places that perpetuate homophobic and transphobic attitudes and behaviors as many of the LGBTQ student participants within the study shared stories of abuse and discrimination (8-10). Thus, understanding what factors create safe or unsafe environments for diverse student populations is essential for administrators, coaches, and athletes who want to provide equal access to uplifting sporting experiences.

Not all students have equitable access to sports participation. Perhaps due to the potential for negative experiences within sporting environments, LGBTQ students participate in school sports at far lower rates than their straight, cisgender peers. A study from Kulick et al. noted this difference in participation and added the startling fact that, “only 1% of all [study] participants believed that LGB people were ‘completely accepted’ in sport culture” (3). The lack of acceptance and perpetuation of discriminatory behavior drives LGBTQ students away from school sport participation.

In losing the opportunity to participate, they also lose the potential benefits of social integration and the development of a sense of community which, in turn, leads to further feelings of isolation. By investigating the experiences of LGBTQ students within school sports and how their experiences impact their identity and well-being, specific and actionable paths forward may open up that can lead to the proliferation of safe environments for LGBTQ student participation within school sports.

**Factors in Safe Versus Unsafe School Sports Environments**

School sports have become an essential part of the educational experience for many youth and young adults. Sports have encouraged student physical development while simultaneously creating experiences and opportunities to build a shared community identity and form lifelong friendships. Unfortunately, sports can also be places that perpetuate discrimination, misogyny, and abuse. Recent publications from a variety of research teams have helped identify which factors form either unsafe or safe environments for LGBTQ students.

A study from Denison et al. specifically investigated the question of what behaviors create negative sport experiences for LGTBQ student athletes. Their study identified homophobic and transphobic language usage as one of the most common forms of abuse. According to Denison et al., “most coaches and physical education teachers (92.7%) report they have heard homophobic language being used by students toward other students,” and “LGBTQ+ students also consistently identify sport environments as the school settings they are most likely to feel unsafe” (393). Similarly, a recent study from Parchem et al. found that “approximately a quarter of the sample [of students who don’t participate in sports] coalesced based on experiencing bullying for their looks or LGBTQ+ status and not experiencing other barriers or disinterest” (Parchem 7). Together these two studies show that most LGBTQ students are being exposed to hateful language in the context of physical education or sporting environments, and the language being used is one of the main factors that create unsafe sporting environments. Additionally, this language-based bullying may actively be dissuading up to 25% of all non-sport participating students from joining a school sport. Direct student to student aggressive behavior and language can create environments that discourage LGBTQ student participation and cause negative experiences when they do participate.

On the other hand, sports can and do provide opportunities for the formation of safe and uplifting spaces for LGBTQ student athletes to grow and develop. Clark and Kosciw published a paper that provided additional clarity on what factors create positive environments for LGBTQ student athletes. Their findings suggested that “participation in other extracurricular activities had the strongest relationship with sports participation” (Clark and Kosciw 9). This finding parallels the results of a study from Day et al. in 2019. In their study, they found that, across more than a million student responses, “sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI)-focused policies were associated with more positive experiences and perceptions of school climate for LGB youth and, to a lesser extent, transgender youth” (Day et al. 29). Combining these two findings forms a broader narrative of school climate being one of the most important factors in whether students feel safe in participating in school sports. If schools as a whole foster positive environments through SOGI-focused policies, then LGBTQ participation in extracurriculars, whether it is the chess club or the basketball team, increases. Although these studies do not provide details on what constitutes an effective SOGI-focused policy, these results do provide a good starting point for those wanting to improve both the participation rate and experience for LGTBQ students within school sports.

**Effects on Identity and Belonging**

Beyond understanding what factors impact the sporting environment for LGBTQ student athletes, identifying what effect positive and negative school sports experiences have on LGBTQ student athletes is an essential step toward creating inclusive sporting environments. In sports teams that harbor discriminatory attitudes, LGBTQ student athletes may develop habits of hiding their identity, passively tolerate hurtful language and behavior, and find themselves stuck in cycles of self-hatred. Meanwhile, supportive and uplifting sporting environments can introduce and expand support systems, increase feelings of school belonging, and lead to greater personal well-being and a stronger sense of self.

Xiang et al. performed a systematic review surrounding the impact of sporting environments for LGBTQ student athletes with an emphasis on negative environments and how LGBTQ student athletes responded to those environments. Within the results of their review, they highlighted three categories of LGBTQ student responses to harassment and discrimination:  tolerance, hiding, and self-hating (Xiang et al. 10-11). In situations where LGBTQ student athletes indicated a tolerance response, Xiang et al. concluded that “student-athletes had a high tolerance for hostile climates because they had low expectations. They anticipated that they would experience ‘awkward’ or ‘weird’ situations” (10). Taking a tolerance-based approach to hostile environments is likely the least harmful of the three responses Xiang et al. found, however, tolerance has its limits and may eventually lead to hiding and self-hating should the harassment continue. In stories of a hiding response, students described how “lying and pretending to be heterosexual led to exhaustion and frustration” (Xiang et al. 11).  The psychological pressure of hiding a core piece of one’s identity is certain to take a substantial toll on an individual's well-being and prevents the formation of strong, trusting relationships. In the most extreme circumstance, some LGBTQ student athletes internalized the rejection they were facing. One athlete described their experience in the following way. “I immediately think that the problem comes out of my homosexuality, and that’s why they behave this way” (Xiang et al. 11). Another student said that after coming out and being rejected that the experience “kind of made me really hate myself more” (Xiang et al. 11). Expressing regret, one lesbian athlete reported thinking “I’d give anything to take it all back … I don’t know, maybe if I was straight, life would be better. I know my life would be better” (Xiang et al. 11).  These LGBTQ student athletes find themselves taking responsibility for others' negative responses to an integral part of their identity. They get stuck in toxic cycles of self-hatred, depression, and a loathing for their identity all because of their sporting environment. However, unlike Xiang et al.’s results, not all studies on school sports participation demonstrate that LGBTQ student athletes face negative, hostile environments.

Clark and Kosciw’s 2021 study findings stand in stark contrast to Xiang et al’s narrative summary of negative LGBTQ student experiences with school sports. As they analyzed the results of their national study of LGBTQ students in the United States, they found that “sports participation was related to higher levels of self‐esteem, lower levels of depression, and greater school belonging” across most categories of sexuality and gender identity (Clark and Kosciw 11). However, even in their rosy and optimistic averages, their own data and conclusions did not hold true for transgender students who did not demonstrate a significant benefit from sports participation (Clark and Kosciw 11). Clark and Kosciw’s findings on the lack of benefit for transgender students likely reflects the findings from Pew Research Center which show shifting national attitudes towards transgender athletes' sports participation. Survey results from Pew Research Center indicated that transgender athletes have lost support from US adults across the political spectrum with a decrease of 8% of the adult respondents indicating support for transgender participation in sports between 2022 and 2025 (“Americans”). Even as some studies find benefits from sports participation for most students, this nation-wide attitude shift has undeniably discouraged or prevented transgender students from participating in school sports and can lead to harassment when they do.

The study from Xiang et al. does lend some narrative support for Clark and Kosciw’s data-driven findings. Xiang’s collection of student stories highlights the myriad of positive effects including increased levels of resilience and the formation of supportive and stabilizing relationships. One student interviewed within the study describes feeling “like I was finally a part of something (pauses) that I belonged. It made me feel like I was different. In a good way” (Xiang et al. 11). Another student described their team’s response, “So I told everyone on my team … they were in the background like cheering me on, screaming, waving signs …” (Xiang et al. 11). When highlighting the positive outcomes of coming out, a student talked about their teammates saying, “they have been so supportive of me that they even went to some gay pride events with me” (Xiang et al. 11). These experiences of LGBTQ students highlight how powerful school sports can be in supporting and building up LGBTQ student athletes as they navigate the challenge of being a part of a marginalized population. Additionally, Xiang et al.’s study helps give voice to the data from other survey results and helps demonstrate how powerful school sports can be on either the positive or negative development of identity for LGBTQ student athletes.

**The Argument**

Based on the sources I've presented, LGBTQ students can experience similar benefits to those of their straight and cisgender peers if they have safe and supportive sporting environments, but present research only highlights the usefulness of SOGI-focused policies in creating those safe environments. Most participants in the school sports system are not policy makers; thus, if they want to build a safe environment for LGBTQ students within their own sphere of influence, they need examples and recommendations for actions that they can implement without relying on administrators to intervene. While present research is lacking in recommendations for specific behavioral interventions, both academic and non-academic sources of information contain a plethora of first-person accounts of LGBTQ individuals’ experiences with sporting environments. From the information within these stories, three broad recommendations emerge for how coaches and athletes can help make their team a safe place for LGBTQ students to participate and compete. These three broad categories of action are acceptance, normalization, and protection.

In October 2023, a Boston-area Reddit user wanted to go to a Celtics game, but, like many transgender individuals faced with the prospect of entering a sporting environment, she doubted whether attending the game would be a safe and accepting place to be (LucyAriaRose). She posted this question to the Celtics Reddit community, “Do Trans People Belong at Celtics Games” (LucyAriaRose)? The rather click-baity title immediately gained traction, and the support poured in with near universal encouragement and love expressed for this individual. The post became so popular that it got the attention of the “higher ups” in the Celtics organization, and the original poster was eventually put in contact with a representative of the team (LucyAriaRose). The representative and the Celtics community as a whole came together to make a point that the original poster was an accepted and welcome part of their team. The original poster returned to Reddit after the game and commented, “I can’t remember a time I could feel so included, and so absolved of the weight of my identity at the same time…I finally feel like I can claim my love for basketball…So for that, I owe you guys” (LucyAriaRose).

The Boston-area Reddit user’s experience is a lovely story featuring the power of an LGBTQ individual having a moment where people go out of their way to make them feel accepted. As incredible and meaningful as those experiences can be, a positive day-to-day environment within a sports team also relies on feeling normalized. Papers from Fink et al. and Gough highlight how important this normalization is for lesbian and gay sports participants respectively. In Gough’s publication, their participants responded to questions about their experience with things like, “They told me it didn’t change their opinion of me at all,” “I’m just another athlete now…sexuality is forgotten,” and “a non-issue…no big deal…100% support from the team” (168). Meanwhile, in the paper from Fink et al., participants also discussed how powerful it was to be a part of a team that didn’t change the way they treated or responded to them after coming out (92-95). One athlete in Fink et al.’s publication said, “I think the most refreshing part was that no one cared, I was shocked” (94). While intentional public and private acceptance and acknowledgement is important in helping LGBTQ students feel safe participating in school sports, normalizing their existence is also essential. The players in Fink et al.’s and Gough's papers explain repeatedly how important normalizing behavior was in helping them settle into a positive sports experience.

The final common attribute of sporting environments that foster safe spaces for LGBTQ individuals is protection. As illustrated by Xiang et al. and others, school sports can be a place where cycles of hate and abuse towards marginalized individuals thrive. Safe and supportive sporting environments must demonstrate that they can and will protect their LGBTQ athletes from hate and abuse. DC Revolution Rugby is a semi-professional women's team that has made themselves a public example of what protection can look like. DC Revolution Rugby has several transgender women on their roster, and they use their social media to garner support for their transgender teammates and push back against discriminatory trans-exclusive policies within their sport (DC Revolution Rugby). This behavior pulls together a community around the team that is invested in them because of the way they treat and support their athletes. Similarly, The Cutting Edges—a LGBTQ hockey club—creates a community within and around their organization that is explicitly supportive of their LGBTQ team members (“Our Story”). The Cutting Edges organization came together in 1994 to create a team where gay hockey players could participate without being subject to homophobia from teammates or coaches (“Our Story”). In the last three decades, the team has grown into an organization with three competitive teams and one developmental squad in large part because LGBTQ individuals were drawn to the security the teams offered (“Our Story”). These organizations make it clear that they will keep their LGBTQ players safe from discrimination, and in so doing, attract fans and future players that will help uphold the expectation of safety.

So how should a coach or athlete help create a sporting environment where LGTBQ students can thrive? They should celebrate LGBTQ students when they join the team and come out to team members. They should treat LGBTQ students like any other member of the team and avoid letting the student’s gender or sexual identity become the focal point of their participation. And they should make it clear that LGBTQ students will be safe from the hate and abuse that is so common within and around sports teams. When present together, these three actions can help to create sporting environments that will allow LGBTQ students to come and enjoy all of the physical, social, and emotional benefits of playing school sports.

**Conclusion**

As students enter the critical years of late youth and into young adulthood, they go through the experience of forming a unique sense of self. Who are they apart from their parents, their siblings, or their friends? How do they want to spend their time? What do they want to do in the future? Independence thrusts itself onto students of this age whether the students like it or not. At best, this experience is an opportunity for a student to find themselves as they go through life in a variety of uplifting contexts. Coaches push them to be better. Teachers encourage them to learn. Parents give them space to be autonomous. But no one’s experience is ever quite that simple, and for LGBTQ students, this period is also fraught with the reality of needing to figure out how they fit into a heteronormative culture that enforces a strict gender binary.

In this context, LGBTQ students benefit hugely from having a core of supportive and safe people to come back to, a group of people that will help them feel normal and accepted. It’s in this context that school sports could really shine. School sports could be the place where LGBTQ students are free to experiment, make friends, and find a stable sense of self. School sports could help teach LGBTQ students that there are people who want to be friends and will see them for more than just their sexual orientation or gender identity. However, most school sporting environments aren’t places where LGBTQ students feel safe. As sad as that present reality is, a lack of safety and acceptance is also not an immutable aspect of school sports. If an athlete or coach is willing to go out and put in the effort to make their team a place where LGBTQ students feel welcomed, there are things they can do to make that happen. They need to provide acceptance, normalization, and protection to these students, and in response, athletes will flock to the team, relieved that they finally have a space where they can be themselves.

**Works Cited**

*“Americans’ Views of Laws and Policies Related to Transgender People Have Changed in Recent Years.” Pew Research Center, 25 Feb. 2025, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/26/americans-have-grown-more-supportive-of-restrictions-for-trans-people-in-recent-years/sr_24-02-26_transgender-policies_2.*

*Clark, Caitlin M., and Kosciw, Joseph G.. “Engaged or Excluded: LGBTQ Youth’s Participation in School Sports and Their Relationship to Psychological Well‐being.” Psychology in the Schools, vol. 59, no. 1, Jan. 2022, pp. 95–114, https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22500.*

*Day, Jack K., et al. “Safe and Supportive Schools for LGBT Youth: Addressing Educational Inequities through Inclusive Policies and Practices.” Journal of School Psychology, vol. 74, Jun. 2019, pp. 29–43, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2019.05.007.*

*DC Revolution Rugby. (2026). “We all play, or none of us do.” Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/dcrevolutionrugby/p/DVRyZF-ETXc/?img_index=2*

*Denison, Erik, et al. “Reviewing Evidence of LGBTQ+ Discrimination and Exclusion in Sport.” Sport Management Review, vol. 24, no. 3, May 2021, pp. 389–409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2020.09.003.*

*Fink, Janet, et al. “Playing It Out.” Journal for the Study of Sports and Athletes in Education, vol. 6, no. 1, Apr. 2012, pp. 83–106. https://doi.org/10.1179/ssa.2012.6.1.83.*

*Gough, Brendan. “Coming Out in the Heterosexist World of Sport: A Qualitative Analysis of Web Postings by Gay Athletes.” Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy, vol. 11, nos. 1–2, June 2007, pp. 153–74. https://doi.org/10.1300/J236v11n01_11.*

*Kulick, Alex, et al. “Three Strikes and You’re out: Culture, Facilities, and Participation among LGBTQ Youth in Sports.” Sport, Education and Society, vol. 24, no. 9, Nov. 2019, pp. 939–53, https://doi.org/10.1080/13573322.2018.1532406.*

*LucyAriaRose. (2024). “Do Trans People Belong at Celtics Games.” Reddit.*

*“Our Story | The Cutting Edges.” (2026). The Cutting Edges. https://www.cuttingedgeshockey.ca/our-story*

*Parchem, Benjamin, et al. “Barriers to Participation in Organized Physical Activity Among LGBTQ+ Youth: Differences by Sexual, Gender, and Racial Identities.” Journal of Physical Activity and Health, vol. 21, no. 7, 2024, pp. 698–706, https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2023-0652.*

*Xiang, Meng, et al. “Experiences of LGBTQ Student-Athletes in College Sports: A Meta-Ethnography.” Heliyon, vol. 9, no. 6, Jun. 2023,  pp 1-15, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16832.*

HomebrewHappiness

The Hidden Value of School Sports for LGBTQ Students

Homebrew
Happiness