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Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it BIOGRAPHY, WIKIPEDIA AND NET WORTH as Che Flores has become the first openly transgender and nonbinary referee in American professional sports.
NET WORTH OF Che Flores: $75k.
But in September, ahead of a trip to Brooklyn for the NBA referees’ annual preseason meetings, Flores realized they could do things more on their terms this time. In the past, they might have made a trip to the mall to get some unflashy polo shirts and khakis—professional clothes that, in their words, “I’m never freaking going to wear again.” On this trip, though, Flores planned to tell their 70-plus colleagues that they identify as trans and non-binary, and would be going by “Che” at work. (Flores uses they/them pronouns, and “Che” is pronounced “Shay.”) Packing felt different, less constrained.
It felt like the beginning of a new chapter. “When I started refereeing, you had to look a certain way,” Flores says. “This is the first time I’m comfortable expressing myself through my own fashion and not having to worry about it. I feel one hundred percent myself now.”
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and queer soccer players who are publicly out — now at least 96 in total — make over 13% of all the athletes competing in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, Outsports has found. In addition, at least three head coaches are publicly out.
It’s a rainy Monday evening, and we’re sitting in the backyard of Ginger’s, a beloved gay dive in Park Slope. Flores has spent the past 12 hours fulfilling various preseason commitments, including a physical and a timed shuttle run, and still has a refs’ union meeting ahead of them, which is scheduled to run until midnight. They’ve never done a sit-down interview before, and are feeling a little nervous. Referees are, by professional nature, judicious and reticent—meant to project as impartial, in-control floor generals. (Flores is wearing a Dodgers cap when we meet, and says it’s the only fandom they’ve retained from their L.A. upbringing: “There’s something that happens to you when you become a referee. You end up just serving the game. No allegiance to anybody.”)
There are many dozens of out LGBTQ athletes competing this year, by far higher than any other previous World Cup. That’s about one in every eight players. It’s an astounding number for an international competition at the highest level of a sport.
That does not include the many other LGBTQ athletes who are not publicly out.
The people Outsports features on this roll call have been determined by media reports and social-media posts. Some athletes have declared to the media they are LGBTQ. Others are simply living their lives openly on social media.
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