LAUSR

There is broad academic consensus that LGBT+ individuals have been marginalised in both sporting culture and in the academic literature. While the majority of academic research is conducted in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia, the present research is the first to provide a comprehensive picture of the situation and experiences of LGBT+ individuals in sport in Europe based on a quantitative online survey with LGBT+ respondents over 16 years old (N = 5524). Against the background of a multilevel model for understanding the experiences of LGBT+ individuals and the minority stress model, this article focuses on two questions: firstly, if, and to what extent, LGBT+ individuals witness or experience homo-/transnegative episodes in sport and, secondly, whether they refrain from participating in sport and/or feel excluded from specific sports due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. The analysis takes into account diverse intersections of sexual orientation and gender identities within the umbrella of LGBT+ and different sport contexts that reflect the broad scope of sport cultures. Data reveal that non-cisgender persons make up the most vulnerable group within the umbrella of LGBT+ and that there is an inverse relation of distal/proximal stressors with regard to experiences of homophobic language in different sport contexts.