Isaac Humphries made history when he came out as the world's only openly gay professional basketballer.
The Melbourne United centre won international acclaim and broke new ground for his sport in the process, showing that he could finally be his true self in an accepting environment.
Perhaps the positive response signals a shift in how we view diversity in the present day, but it's not always that simple.
According to the Diversity Council of Australia's Out at Work report, only 32 per cent of LGBTIQ+ respondents were out to everyone at their workplace, even though 74 per cent of them said it was important for them to be able to be out at work.
High-profile people coming out surely goes a long way to helping members of the LGBTIQ+ community feel safe and seen, but there's a way to go before we're all included equally.
Here's a quick rundown of your rights, how you can seek support — and how you can be a good ally if you're not LGBTIQ+.
Shortly after coming out, Humphries spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the response.
"The support and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive," he said.
"I think, just being able to be myself finally — and not having to hide so much about myself — has been a big weight lifted off my shoulders."
Humphries is an accomplished basketballer, having played at the top level in the US — for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and for Serbia (for Belgrade's FMP) —before returning to play at home in Australia.
He helped Australia win a silver medal at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship in 2014 before making his senior debut for the Boomers in 2018.
Humphries spent a couple of years at the Adelaide 36ers before moving to Melbourne United in 2022, a move he planned to coincide with his coming out.
"I knew I was going to do this this season. And I knew that the team that I chose is where I would start this new life of mine," he said.
"It was important to me to have a team with such a great culture and great teammates. Our culture starts from the top, and we've got great people around us."
What workplaces can do
Culture certainly starts from the top, but just because a company waves the Pride flag doesn't mean it's immediately a safe environment for LGBTQIA+ staff.
Chief executive of Diversity Council Australia Lisa Annese said active visual representation was no doubt a good start but companies needed to look past just the optics of inclusion.
"That can be a really important signal that you are an organisation that is welcoming and open, but it's much bigger than that," she said.
"It must start with leaders being genuinely bold, that's because that's very critical for culture. A policy framework is important … people need to see themselves in it."
The DCA's Out at Work report also found that LGBTIQ+ people in highly inclusive workplace cultures were three times as likely as workers who were in non-inclusive cultures to be out to everyone at work.
"If you haven't put that kind of lens over all of those practices and policies that you have that set the rules for the organisation, then the rainbow pin won't help," she said.
"We know through Out at Work research that a third of people are still not out in the workplace, and up to two-thirds are only out to some people."
Inclusive policy practices may include a parental leave policy that takes families of all genders into account, and having leaders who identify as LGBTIQ+ or at least actively and publicly support LGBTIQ+ causes, both inside the workplace and out.
Meaningful opportunities for contribution and progression pathways for all are also crucial in ensuring it is in an inclusive workplace.
But if those basic rights are not being met — and complaints aren't being heard or actioned by the company — complaints can also be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission and each individual state and territory also has an equivalent body that can help.
"You can imagine how exhausting it is to have to hide every single day, in your workplace, in your life, to the public, the people you love, and I just didn't want to do it anymore," Humphries said.
"I decided to come out and share it with the world and try to inspire some people and make sure people understand that you can be whatever you want."
How to be a good ally
Even if the company is carrying its side of the bargain, supportive and inclusive colleagues go a long way to ensuring a workplace is actually safe and inclusive.
"We are getting to a more inclusive place, but there's still a way to go," DCA's Lisa Annese said.
"It ranges from genuine inclusion — which is about respecting connection, and allowing people to be able to be authentic — to downright homophobia and homophobic slurs.
"The difference between the organisation where it doesn't happen — or where when it does happen, it's acted on very swiftly — and other organisations, is that the leadership have imposed a culture around being serious about respect at work."
Being a good ally comes in many forms but, at a base level, it's all about listening to your colleagues, hearing their needs and helping them if required — and, at a higher level, it's about speaking out on their behalf and standing with them if they're facing discrimination.
All the above can help to lead to positive outcomes, not just for LGBTIQ+ individuals, but also for workplaces — the DCA's Out at Work report also showed that 50 per cent of respondents who were out to everyone in their workplace were more likely to innovate than those who were not.
"I hadn't really told any straight people in my life before coming out to the team. So, it was very scary. But, then, everyone's been fantastic," Humphries said.
"Nothing's really changed. I just get to be myself, which is awesome."
