The gay rugby hero who saved lives on 9/11 — and became a global sporting legacy

25 years ago today, Mark Bingham helped storm the cockpit of hijacked Flight 93. The openly gay rugby player is now honoured by the world's biggest LGBTQ+ rugby tournament.

On a cloudless Tuesday morning 25 years ago, Mark Bingham overslept and nearly missed his flight — he was the last passenger to board United Airlines Flight 93 in Newark. He had reached the airport at 7:40 a.m. for the 8:01 a.m. takeoff, sprinting to the gate before settling into first class with a glass of orange juice, already looking forward to getting home to San Francisco.

Minutes after take-off the plane was hijacked, and Bingham was among the passengers who hatched up a plan to storm the cockpit and overtake the hijackers. Passengers voted to rush the cockpit at 9:57 a.m., with fellow passenger Todd Beamer famously heard saying "let's roll" during a phone call with an operator. The hijackers aborted their mission to plow into the U.S. Capitol building and instead crashed the plane in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

All 44 people on board died including the four hijackers, but their actions likely saved hundreds of lives. What makes Bingham's story particularly significant is that the 31-year-old owned The Bingham Group, a public relations firm, and was a valued teammate on the San Francisco Fog, a gay rugby football club. In the months after September 11, 2001, his heroism would challenge perceptions and leave a lasting legacy far beyond that terrible day.

Bingham was a member of the Cal National Collegiate Championship teams in 1991 and 1992 at the University of California, Berkeley, where he played second row. The 6'4" well-built rugby player once fought off an armed mugger to protect his partner of six years, Paul Holm. Upon graduation at the age of 21, Bingham came out as gay to his family and friends.

He founded and played for the San Francisco Fog in October 2000, and led the team to win the first ever International Gay Rugby Tournament in Washington, D.C. in June of 2001 — just three months before his death. At the time of Mark Bingham's death, only six gay and inclusive rugby clubs existed worldwide, two of which were co-founded by Mark. When the Fog started, there were only four gay-inclusive rugby teams around the world — there are now more than 100.

During the hijacking, he phoned his mother reporting that his plane had been hijacked by men who said they had a bomb. When television screens flashed with the news that passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 battled their hijackers on 9/11, nobody who knew Bingham was surprised to learn he was involved. Standing 6'4" tall, those who knew him weren't surprised when they learned he'd fought back.

In 2002, following the tragedy of 9/11, the San Francisco Fog spearheaded the creation of the Mark Kendall Bingham Memorial Tournament in Mark's honour. Now simply called the Bingham Cup, it has grown into the largest amateur rugby tournament in the world, bringing together LGBTQ+ and inclusive teams from across the globe every two years.

Kings Cross Steelers won the Bingham Cup 2026 in Brisbane, lifting the trophy for the second time in four years. The tournament took place in Brisbane from 20 to 23 August, hosted by Brisbane Hustlers Rugby Union Football Club. The Ottawa Wolves took home gold in the Amanda Mark Cup, the global women's tournament held in tandem with the Bingham Cup.

At the tournament's conclusion, organisers revealed that Leeds in Northern England will host the 2028 event, following a successful bid by Leeds Hunters. The tournament has grown from its origins in San Francisco to become a global movement, challenging stereotypes and perceptions of the LGBTQ+ community.

Bingham's mother, Alice Hoagland, became a 9/11 activist and a "gay-rugby godmother" and beloved figure of the gay rugby movement, presenting the cup to winners of every Bingham Cup until her death on 22 December 2020 at age 71. Every year on 11 September, the Fog hosts a gathering, traditionally at the Pilsner Inn, to toast Mark Bingham and other past teammates.

Today, on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Mark Bingham's name continues to represent courage both on the pitch and off it — a hero who showed the world that LGBTQ+ people have always been among those willing to stand up when it matters most.