So the other day I was trying to find role models in volleyball for some younger players I know, you know? LGBTQ+ folks in sports. And honestly, I kinda expected it to be easy – just open Google and boom, famous names pop up.
Yeah… not so much.
Getting Started Was Messy
Sat down with my laptop, typed in stuff like “famous gay volleyball players.” Got a few names, sure, but mostly super old news or people who weren’t actually out publicly playing at top levels right now. Like, info was dry or way out of date. Frustrating.
I remembered Brazil’s Douglas Souza, right? Had that crazy good Olympics. Decided to dig deeper into who’s actually today’s players. Scrolled through professional league websites for Europe, Brazil, USA. Read interviews like a maniac. Filtering through sports news sites was a chore – searching for keywords like “LGBTQ” or “pride” alongside volleyball names.
Hitting Paydirt (Finally!)
Found some amazing athletes proudly representing:
- Douglas Souza (Brazil): Still crushing it! His posts about being himself are powerful. Seriously, such a force on the court and off.
- Carol Gattaz (Brazil): Olympic medalist and team captain? Out and awesome? Yep. Her Instagram is full of pride and volleyball dominance. Major respect.
- McKayla Maroney? Okay, not volleyball, huge surprise! But yeah, saw her mentioned too.
- Travis Mewhirter: Beach player. Read a recent interview where he talked openly about his relationship and how the sport supports him. Good vibes.
Why This Even Matters
Putting this list together… man, it got me thinking. When you’re a kid playing volleyball, seeing someone at the very top who’s like you? That’s massive. It tells you it’s possible. It tells you you belong. Douglas and Carol especially – they’re not just players, they’re icons.
Sharing this list felt good. It wasn’t about gossip. It was about showing real people succeeding at the highest level while just being themselves. Visibility matters. Simple as that.
Anyway, just wanted to share how I stumbled into finding some incredible humans playing incredible volleyball today. Pretty cool stuff.
