The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) Foundation and the University of Connecticut released a groundbreaking report, "Play to Win: Improving the Lives of LGBTQ Youth in Sports," detailing the experiences of LGBTQ student-athletes.
Despite the growing visibility of LGBTQ athletes, coaches and officials, and the progress being made toward inclusion in professional and collegiate sports, participants in youth sports continue to fear discriminationand remain overwhelmingly closeted.
RC and researchers at the University of Connecticut found that:
80 percent of LGBQ teenagers and 82 percent of transgender teenagers are not out to their coaches;
41 percent of transgender boys, 34 percent of transgender girls and 31 percent of non-binary youth never feel safe in the locker room; and
Only 24 percent of LGBTQ youth say they play a school sport, compared to 68 percent of a national non-LGBTQ sample.
The report is at HRC.org/resources/play-to-win-improving-the-lives-of-lgbtq-youth-in-sports .