NBA referee Bill Kennedy has been inducted into the LGBTQ Sports Hall of Fame, it was recently announced.
The Sports Equality Foundation revealed the news on its Instagram account last week.
“Join us in congratulating acclaimed NBA referee Bill Kennedy on being chosen for induction into the LGBTQ Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2026!” The Sports Equality Foundation posted. “Bill and our other 2026 honorees will be recognized at our induction celebration and dinner on June 25th, 2026 in New York City.”
Kennedy has been an NBA referee since the 1995-96 season, according to The Athletic.
Bill Kennedy announced that he was gay in 2015 following an incident involving former NBA star Rajon Rondo, who called Kennedy a gay slur after being ejected from a game.
“I am proud to be an NBA referee and I am proud to be a gay man,” Kennedy said in 2015, according to ESPN. “I am following in the footsteps of others who have self-identified in the hopes that will send a message to young men and women in sports that you must allow no one to make you feel ashamed of who you are.”
In addition to Kennedy, former pro baseball player Maybelle Blair, former NFL player Ryan O’Callaghan, Olympian Nikki Hiltz, TV journalist Robin Roberts, Dallas Mavericks Executive Rick Welts, former pro rugby player Phaidra Knight, former WNBA player Sue Wicks, high school basketball coach and AD Anthony Nicodemo and former high school soccer coach Dan Woog were also inducted into the LGBTQ Sports Hall of Fame.