Chicago Sky star and reigning WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne is ready to make her mark on the court for the U.S. in her first Olympics. She's already added to the social conversation by discussing her sexuality for the first time publicly in a Vogue article that came out just a few days before the Rio Games' opening ceremony.
"It was just one of those articles where they came into my home, spent a couple days with me, and [fiance] Amanda [Clifton] is a huge part of my life," Delle Donne said. "So to leave her out wouldn't have made any sense. It's not a coming-out article or anything. I've been with her for a very long time now, and people who are close to me know that, and that's that."
The story -- which includes news of the couple's June engagement -- is as important as it is meaningful. Education, awareness and efforts to create inclusive environments for LGBT athletes have all increased in recent years, but true equality is still a goal, not a reality.
Former NBA player John Amaechi came out in 2007, a few years after he retired. He became the first professional basketball player to openly identify himself as gay, and his announcement was met with a mix of reactions, from celebration and acceptance to death threats and cries of, "Why is this news?" In the years since, reactions to athletes discussing their sexual orientation don't appear to have evolved. Amaechi said Monday on my "That's What She Said" podcast that those who try to shout down coverage of gay athletes do so to quiet the movement toward equality, not because they truly believe a high-profile player coming out is no longer newsworthy.
"It's not a naive response," Amaechi said. "It's a calculated response. ... It's the kind of thing people say when they want you to shut up about it. But they don't want you to shut up about it because they actually believe equality has been met. They want you to shut up about it because they know it hasn't. And they don't want you to further this, because they're uncomfortable about it."
Amaechi and I also discussed the reaction to stories in which women speak openly about their sexuality versus stories in which men do the same. A greater acceptance of LGBT female athletes seems to be in no small part due to the fact that it's easier to fulfill a stereotype than it is to shatter an expectation.
"I think misogyny is at the root of homophobia." Amaechi said. "What men often hate, without saying the words -- they often lack the nuance to say it -- but what they hate about gay men is the idea that a gay man is a man who's trying to be more like a woman. Or is more like a woman, by virtue of their sexuality ... who cedes their masculinity to be a gay person. And they resent that deeply."
"It's not easier [for women to come out]," Amaechi said. "It's just that stupid people find it more acceptable."
Delle Donne is one of a record number of out LGBT athletes competing in Rio, and already at the Games we've seen signs of progress and regression when it comes to acceptance. USA Today Sports reported that the crowd inside Maracana Stadium cheered when two men were shown kissing on a "kiss cam" before the opening ceremony and that the trans community was well represented in the parade of athletes. But just the day before, members of the U.S. women's soccer team were subjected to homophobic slurs shouted by fans during their opening match with New Zealand.
Groups such as You Can Play continue to push for inclusivity and safe sporting environments, athletes like Delle Donne inspire people looking for role models and leagues establish punishments for homophobic slurs and actions. But homophobia remains deeply rooted in many locker rooms and across the sports landscape. It's crucial that the media continues to cover these issues and for LGBT athletes and their allies to keep having nuanced conversations and keep pushing educational efforts.
"If we didn't cover it, we would regress," Amaechi said. "We would go back in time. People would not be exposed to gay people and say: 'Oh, you know, my hair hasn't gone on fire and my son hasn't turned gay. Nothing bad has happened."
"When we choose not to act, when we choose to ignore ignorance, it flourishes. When we choose not to refute hate, it burns."