Statistics on Homophobia and Transphobia in Sport

This page shares the results from Out on the Fields (2015) and OutSport (2019), the first and second international research on homophobia and transphobia in sport. You will find statistics on gay athletes and trans athletes. 

  • Many of the results for gay athletes and bisexual athletes were identical or similar;
  • The data comes from 12,000+ lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender participants from all EU countries and the United State, Canada, Australia, and NZ; 

This page also links to other high-quality studies to support researchers, LGBTQ leaders, media, and sports organizations understand and write about homophobia and transphobia.

You will find links to data from the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia.

We only link to studies which are free to read (no paywalls/open access).  Contact us to have your study listed.

LGB AND TRANS PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES IN SPORT. RESEARCHERS NEED TO REPORT DATA ON SEXUALITY AND GENDER IDENTITY SEPARATELY.

80% of both gay, bi and straight people have witnessed or experienced homophobic behaviour in sport

43% of football fans have witnessed homophobic behavior while attending a game

51% of gay/bi males and 35% of lesbian/bi females aged 15-21 have been the target of homophobic behavior in sport.

73% of gay bisexual and straight people believe it is not safe for LGB people to come out in youth sport environments

Nearly 90% of LGBTQ people in 2019 believe homophobia and transphobia remain current problems in sport

More than half (54%) of male athletes admit to using homophobic slurs in the past two weeks, and most (69%) have heard teammates use slurs

RESEARCH LINKS

Out on the Fields - Five Year follow-up

 

 

OutSport Study - EU

The OutSport study was backed by the European Union and released in 2019.

It is the first study on homophobia and transphobia in sport which collected data from 5524 LGBTQ+ people living in all European countries (Out on the Fields only included UK and Ireland).

  • Full report
  • Homophobia and transphobia in sport in Germany
  • Homophobia and transphobia in sport in Scotland
  • Homophobia and transphobia in sport in Italy 
  • Homophobia and transphobia in sport in Austria

Reviews and Syntheses of all research

Discrimination experienced by LGBTQ people

Behavior of Straight Athletes

RESEARCH ON OTHER TOPICS

RESEARCH ARTICLES ON GAY ATHLETES AND LGBTQ+ EXCLUSION

Half of male athletes have recently used homophobic slurs

Studies conducted on three continents and in different sports find most male athletes have also heard teammates recently use homophobic slurs Key Takeaways Claims that homophobic language is rare whenever professional athletes such as Marcus Stoinis (above) are caught...

Homophobia in sport is a “critical public health issue”

Homophobia in sport is a “critical public health issue”

Scott Greenspan and his team of American researchers systematically reviewed and synthesized of all research they could find on the experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth and gender diverse youth in sport settings. Systematic reviews aim to find as much...

VIDEOS ON DISCRIMINATION