In case you’ve been living under a rock, you may not have heard of HBO Max’s latest hit, Heated Rivalry (2025). The show depicts the rivalry of two closeted hockey players, covering their decade-long relationship and experiences of homophobia on and off the ice. During its debut week, Heated Rivalry was barely promoted and earned approximately 30 million streaming minutes. However, after blowing up on social media, the show’s total streaming time hit 324 million minutes by its season finale—an unusually large uptick in viewership, especially for shows centered on gay characters.
The show’s success has entranced viewers worldwide and won notoriety for the lead actors, Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie. However, their influence has extended beyond talk shows and social media fame: Williams revealed that closeted athletes in professional football, basketball, and hockey have contacted him about hiding their identities and finding a safe space within the show.
Representation matters, and the success of Heated Rivalry proves that once again. If fictional queer athletes in the popular consciousness inspire this support and response, what about real-life queer athletes? In honor of Heated Rivalry, the Voice presents several non-fictional athletes who can serve as inspirations, because the only thing more “in” than #Hollanov in 2026 is being your true self.
Nikki Hiltz
Nikki Hiltz, the American 1500m record holder, finished seventh at the 2024 Paris Olympics and is a four-time national track champion. Hiltz identifies as transgender and nonbinary, sharing their experience undergoing top surgery after the Olympic Games online. They highlighted the confidence that gender-affirming care brought them and how it spilled over into other aspects of their life, including competition.
Transgender and intersex athletes openly competed in the Olympic Games for the first time in 2021 in Tokyo. The topic of transgender competition is still a point of contention globally, especially for transgender women athletes. Still, Hiltz’s willingness to share their journey underscores how far the professional sports community has come in recognizing the LGBTQ+ community.
Glenn Burke
Glenn Burke, a baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics, publicly shared his identity as a gay man after he retired in 1982. Burke faced speculation about his identity while playing, and in 1978, Dodgers management reportedly offered him an extra year’s pay if he married a woman.
But Burke refused, going on to craft a legacy as (allegedly) the first-ever person to give a high-five, the first baseball player to wear Nikes during a game, and as the MLB’s first openly gay player.
Burke experienced further discrimination after his trade in 1978 to the Athletics, where manager Billy Martin and fans alike addressed him with a homophobic slur. Burke died of AIDS in 1995 at the age of 42, but his memory lives on. Dusty Baker, his former teammate and retired Houston Astros manager, credits Burke for making him more open-minded and tolerant.
Carl Nassib
When he came out in 2021, Tampa Bay Buccaneers captain and defensive end Carl Nassib became the first openly gay player active in the NFL. A 2014 survey estimated that at least 23,000 football players have played on preseason, training, or regular season NFL rosters throughout the league’s history, yet only 16, including Nassib, have been openly gay or bisexual. Ideas of masculinity and homophobic stigmas surrounding the sport suggest why just one of the 16 players came out while actively playing.
Sheryl Swoopes
Sheryl Swoopes represents several firsts for the WNBA: she was the first-ever player signed to the league back in 1996, the first woman to have a Nike shoe named after her (the Air Swoopes), and, in 2005, she became the first active player of color to come out as gay. Over her career, she led the Houston Comets to the WNBA’s first four championship victories, later going on to win three league MVPs and three Olympic gold medals.
In a phone call with The New York Times in 2005, Swoopes said she didn’t want her announcement to harm the WNBA or cause people to make assumptions about women’s sports. Swoopes believed a women’s league as young as the WNBA could be susceptible to cultural stigmas around sexuality.
The league has come a long way since then, pioneering gender equality in professional sports, increasing visibility for female athletes, and fostering an environment where today’s athletes are more comfortable expressing themselves. Estimates put the share of openly LGBTQ+ WNBA players in 2025 at around 30.8%, and players today applaud the league’s advancements in inclusion.
Jesse Kortuem
On Jan. 13, 2026, professional hockey player Jesse Kortuem came out as gay after Heated Rivalry inspired him to share his identity. He posted a message on social media regarding his decision, noting that while he had already been out to his family and friends, he had not yet felt safe enough to share with his teammates. Kortuem wrote that he struggled to reconcile the masculine nature of hockey and how it would mesh with his identity, but reported receiving positivity and love since the announcement.
Kortuem’s story offers inspiration for the direction of the professional hockey community. Kortuem has not played for the NHL, which still has not had an openly gay player. The league has traditionally not been an ally to the LGBTQ+ community: in 2023, the NHL banned rainbow stick tape and Pride Night jerseys. The league has since walked back the ban, and multiple teams have mentioned Heated Rivalry on social media or on a jumbotron. The show’s popularity has brought them a new queer audience, and, as Kortuem wrote, “there is room for all of us on the ice.”
