A Lot of Queer Women Will Be Inducted Into the Basketball Hall of Fame This Year
At least five LGBTQ+ women will be honored come August.
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However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. Jeff Haynes/Getty Images The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame is set to become a lot gayer this summer, after announcing this week that several out LGBTQ+ women will join its incoming class of 2026. Representatives announced the honorees on April 4 in Indianapolis, per a press release .
Included on the list are at least five LGBTQ+ women’s basketball stars, including two members of the Olympic gold medal-winning 1996 U. S. national team — the subject of the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Dream On , and widely considered one of the best basketball teams of all time.
“The squad’s dominant performance helped elevate the global profile of women’s basketball and contributed to the launch of the WNBA later that year,” members of the women’s nominating committee noted in the release. Among the members of that lineup are Sheryl Swoopes and Jennifer Azzi, who came out in 2005 and 2016 , respectively. Their induction comes exactly 30 years after the team bested the Brazilian national team in the gold medal round, capping off an undefeated Olympic win streak.