The rainbow connection: a scoping review and introduction of a scholarly exchange on LGBTQ+ experiences in sport management

In this scholarly exchange edition, we present a selection of invited articles that focus on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons in sport management. In this introduction, we outline a brief history of how and why sexuality activism evolved over the last 50 years. We also outline why, despite the societal gains in many countries, research into the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in sport management is fundamental to improving those experiences and engendering change. We achieve this by summarizing past research in the area, which lays the foundation for the articles in this scholarly exchange. We provide an overview of the scholarly exchange articles, summarizing how the papers further the understanding of the management, marketing, and governance of sport within the context of LGBTQ+ people’s experiences.The Spectator-based Sports Team Reputation Scale (SSTR) could be applied to the three stakeholders as a general sport team reputation.The three stakeholders significantly differed in assessing sport team reputation, team attachment, and community attachment.Sport team reputation influenced community attachment through team attachment for each stakeholder.The path coefficient of the relationship between sport team reputation and team attachment differed between fans and local residents, and local residents and sponsors.An overview of invited articles for this Scholarly Exchange.A summary of the research in LGBTQ+ scholarship in sport since 1969.Research is fundamental to engendering positive change in LGBTQ+ people’s experiencesThe role of management, marketing, and governance research in these changes.Calls for future research and development in this area.