Being openly lesbian is thankfully no barrier to playing professional softball. If it were, the US team would have been deprived of the services of Lauren Lappin. She was part of the team that secured a silver medal for their country at the Summer Olympics in 2008. That was the peak of a career that had seen her play for the USA National Elite team in both 2003 and 205, and also go to the 2004 Olympics as a backup.
By 2009 she was looking at winding down her career and joined the Northwestern University team on a non-contract basis to work as a coach. That seemed to spark a fire in her, as she went back into the professional leagues with the USSSA Pride in 2010 and continued playing with the Pennsylvania Rebellion before finally calling it quits for good in 2015.