LIST | 5 Gay Rugby Stars Who Are Out And Proud - Ruck

Contents:

• HEARD OF THE STEELERS? NO, NOT THEM, THE GAY GBY TEAM OM LONDON
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• NASHVILLE’S GAY RUGBY TEAM STRIPS DOWN, SHOWERS UP FOR 2016 CALENDAR: PHOTOS
• GAY GBY PLAYER TEXAS SHAR HIS PRI VIO TO SPIRE OTHERS TO LOVE THEMSELV
• JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT
• GAY PRO GBY PLAYER SPIRED TO E OUT BY LOVE OF HIS BOYIEND
• DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD
• U.S. PRO GBY PLAYER DEV IBAñEZ OUT AS GAY
• WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB THAT BEAT THE BIGOTS BY TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA GETS S OWN FILM
• LIVGTOPICSALL LIVGSAVAGE LOVETRAVELASTROLOGYFROM THE VLTHEALTHSTYLELGBT+SEX & ROMANCEBT OF VANUVERTRANSPORATNCARTOONSHOMELS VANUVER LGBT+GAY FORMER GBY STAR BRENNAN BASTYOVANSZKY RECHARG VANUVER ROGU

HEARD OF THE STEELERS? NO, NOT THEM, THE GAY GBY TEAM OM LONDON

Niamh LewisMar 1, 2021, 09:52 AM ETWhen Eammon Ashton-Atkson, an Atralian televisn reporter, cid to film his gby club as they went to the biannual Bgham Cup 2018, he uld never have imaged the posive reactn a documentary about would film Steelers is about London-based Kgs Cross Steelers, the world's first gay gby club and one of over 60 such sis world-wi. Although the stori the film are related to the stggl of g out, prsn, and a history of bullyg for beg gay, they're are told a way which wir dienc n empathise wh. "It's a story about a gay gby club, but 's also a story about human stggle, and people g sport and their sense of muny to help each other, which is universal, " Ashton-Atkson told ESPN.

"She's got a certifite for the hight achg level, and sce she left the Steelers she's been nsistently overlooked and not even shortlisted [for jobs] than men who are ls qualified and ls experienced than her, which is heart-breakg and disgtg, " Ashton-Atkson beg gay 2021 wtern society is often unremarkable today, you don't have to go back very far to fd trmatic stori.

"That's a thought that do go through your md, and while 's generally a posive there are still pockets of homophobia. Then, 2019, Atralia's Israel Fol spouted his famo anti-gay ments on Instagram, sayg "hell awas" gay opened the drawer and started the ed aga om scratch, and turned to the unnventnal documentary has bee.

LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT

"Wh beg gay, you don't thk that I grew up sperately wantg to change my sexualy, like, wishg the gay away? They were dubbed the tabloids as 'Harlequeens, ' there was homophobic ments, and a fear over ntractg HIV and AIDS. "For those of who grew up when wasn't ok to be gay, jt really before the ter was mon, there was huge stigma.

You had Margaret Thatcher's Sectn 28 [a law brought the UK by a Conservative ernment om 1988-2003 to the "prohib the promotn of homosexualy"], misnceptns about the HIV vis, " Ashton-Atkson explas. "For those guys who were settg up that team 1995, they were real trailblazers bee they were gog out to different teams Essex week--week out smashg down stereotyp one game of gby at a time and om what I heard, the men Essex, they had never met an openly gay man before, let alone an openly gay sportsman. "And one of the thgs we've been workg on wh Harlequs and Monash Universy is that a lot of that isn't actually homophobia, 's the culture of clubs, the challeng of languag not beg followed through.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

The Lester scm-half Nick McCarthy has e out as gay, and thanked ach Leo Cullen and Stuart Lanster for their “unbelievable” support.

Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho/ShutterstockFellow Lester player Dunne revealed his bisexualy last year, around the same time Nassib announced he was gay and a few months before Atralian Cavallo ma headl across the world by sharg his news.

In light of recent ntroversy regardg homophobic slurs by Israel Fol, we thought we would she a light on 10 fluential gay gby personali. The players have bee a bean of light bee they overme stereotyp and other challeng faced by homosexual athlet way too often. In this article, we’ll name ten of the most notable gay gby personali, analyze their acplishments, discs how they are shapg the game today, and asss their impact on the overall perceptn of homosexual profsnal athlet around the world.

FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY

That beg said, due to s physily, gby is regard as a “manly” sport, which mak more difficult for gay players to publicly acknowledge their preference. At the same time, there are many misnceptns about this betiful sport, which has led to the margalizatn and targetg of gay players. Some high-profile stars like Israel Fol have recently ma headl due to potentially homophobic posts on social media.

This is one of the ma reasons why reprentativ of World Rugby met wh the lears of Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR) to help eradite homophobia and tolerance om the game. The very first high-profile gby player to ever e out to the public as gay is former Atralian ternatnal Ian Roberts. Even though Ian Roberts may have been the first high-profile player to openly adm beg gay, Keegan Hirst was the first to ever do while still active.

Currently a Wakefield Try prop, Hirst has bee one of the most notable gay athlet, earng himself a startg role after signg a ntract wh the League si 2016. Although he never played gby at a profsnal level, Mark Bgham has bee an inic figure for gay gby players and sportspeople around the world.

NASHVILLE’S GAY RUGBY TEAM STRIPS DOWN, SHOWERS UP FOR 2016 CALENDAR: PHOTOS

Known for his heroics durg the September 11 attacks, Bgham was a robt send-row man who played for the gay-clive San Francis Fog RFC.

The Mark Kendall Bgham Memorial Tournament, simply known as the Bgham Cup, is a biennial gay gby unn tournament which was held for the first time 2002. Thomas publicly me out 2009 and has sce scribed his experience as a secretly gay player, revealg how the social prsure and stereotyp pose a signifint challenge for many athlet today.

The Welshman is also a TV personaly and a voted activist for the LGBT e, wng “Gay Sports Personaly of the De” at the Stonewall awards ceremony London back 2015. Former New Zealand gby player Campbell Johnstone beme the first All Black to e out publicly as gay, an terview wh TVNZ’s Seven Sharp on Monday.

GAY GBY PLAYER TEXAS SHAR HIS PRI VIO TO SPIRE OTHERS TO LOVE THEMSELV

“If I n be the first All Black that out as gay and take away the prsure and stigma surroundg the issue n actually help other people, ” Johnstone said.

As did last year, the Nashville Grizzli gay and clive gby team jt released s 2016 fundraisg lendar and the gby beef is on display aga to raise money for the team and their hostg of next year's Bgham Cup! Named after Mark Bgham, who died the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Bgham Cup is the biggt tournament the world for gay and clive teams and this will be the first year has been hosted the South. And Don't Miss Last Year's Hotns: Nashville's Gay Rugby Team Gets Wet, Muddy, and Shirtls for New Calendar: PHOTOS.

As Towleroad reported earlier this year, USA Rugby, the natnal erng body for the sport of gby unn the Uned Stat, has signed “a memorandum of unrstandg” wh Internatnal Gay Rugby ahead of next year's Bgham Cup Nashville. I say the words a 16-mute vio I did for FLOSports for Pri month, talkg about my journey as a gby player and gay man. That team was the Orlando Griffs, and while Fisher was open and accepted by the team as a gay man, he wanted to look for more members of the LGBTQ muny who would be terted playg.

JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT

“It was gay gby players — across the natn and ternatnal — that me together a group to discs gay culture, the sport, we started hostg Zoom lls so we uld have that social teractn we weren’t gettg bee of the panmic, ” Fisher says.

GAY PRO GBY PLAYER SPIRED TO E OUT BY LOVE OF HIS BOYIEND

It was this group that Fisher exprsed his feelgs of disnnect om the muny and was advised by a iend to start up his own LGBTQ gby team wh the Internatnal Gay Rugby league. The former Wallabi prop scribed a moment when he was drivg recklsly, the feelg of “ath felt preferable to anybody disverg [he] was gay.

Here, queer people were reclaimg their place on the pch – an arena they grew up beg told they didn’t belong Israel Fol began postg “hell awas homosexuals” on social media I realised I had to tell the story of the club – and my own story. Photograph: One Man Band MediaIn fact, om this sgle club, there are now 80 gay and clive gby clubs around the world cludg five Atralia. There was the ocsnal homophobic sledge, but over time the Steelers won the rpect of the straight burly Brish men bee not only did they beat them on ocsn, they showed them that we’re all pretty much the forward to me takg my mera to Amsterdam to film the club at the Bgham Cup, the world cup of “rabow” gby.

It was only when Israel Fol began postg “hell awas homosexuals” on social media that I realised I had to tell the story of the club – and my own like Dan Palmer, I too have Fol to thank small part.

DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

A month prr, my partner Ferg and I had created an Instagram acunt — thatgaygger — and I cid to fally share somethg I had long kept separate om my gby reer. Cast & crewUser reviews2022Unrated2h 14mFollowg a dnken enunter, two equally attached men om a sh strapped and divid gay gby club unwtgly sleepwalk to an adultero affair but mt nceal their growg feelg... Read allFollowg a dnken enunter, two equally attached men om a sh strapped and divid gay gby club unwtgly sleepwalk to an adultero affair but mt nceal their growg feelgs or risk stroyg the club they love.

LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD

Followg a dnken enunter, two equally attached men om a sh strapped and divid gay gby club unwtgly sleepwalk to an adultero affair but mt nceal their growg feelgs or risk stroyg the club they productn, box office & pany Vios1More like thisReview Geo cematography and well acted dramaIt do start off as a regular drama, but om the sil very tertg velopments are gradually add to the story has very enarg characters, I love how natural and real the ma characters engagg actg om the many si there are some really heartfelt scen that we may all have gone through one time of our tertg cematography by Matt Carter, who worked for big productns as 'Harry Potter', 'Chronicl Of Narnia' and 'Andor'. To mark their 20th anniversary as the UK's first gay gby team, the Kgs Cross Steelers stipped down and posed for a new book to be published by die 'ze Meat. All the players were photographed by Meat's founr, Adrian, who started Meat 2010, said that he was "tired of the body shamg that go on wh the gay muny.

U.S. PRO GBY PLAYER DEV IBAñEZ OUT AS GAY

The Steelers has not only helped pave the way for clive gby teams but also helped hanged perceptns about gay sportsmen. "Alex Smh, Chairman of the Kgs Cross Steelers said: "Dpe so much progrs over the last 20 years, n still be very difficult to be an out gay man, ma even more so by a lot of unhelpful noise around how to be, act or look wh the muny.

WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB THAT BEAT THE BIGOTS BY TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA GETS S OWN FILM

"He add: "For two s, our club has helped hundreds of men - big, small, gay or straight - realize the great maxim about gby: that is a game for people of all shap and siz - tly a sport for everyone.

Palmer tailed the mental health issu and dg problems he experienced when g to terms wh his sexualy, although he said he never felt discrimated agast durg his playg the long-nng Israel Fol saga, which rulted the wger’s sackg by Rugby Atralia after he posted on social media that “hell awas” gay people, was a ntributg factor his cisn to wre the lumn. Many others have done so the women’s game, to far ls Denison, a rearcher wh Monash Universy’s School of Social Scienc who has nducted studi examg homophobia and homophobic behavur gby, said the siari between the stori of Palmer and Thomas highlighted the lack of progrs on the issue sport environments. “There has been a dramatic improvement public attus towards gay people general society, but we haven’t seen the same chang sport where the nstant e of homophobic language creat a culture where gay people feel unwele, ” Denison said.

LIVGTOPICSALL LIVGSAVAGE LOVETRAVELASTROLOGYFROM THE VLTHEALTHSTYLELGBT+SEX & ROMANCEBT OF VANUVERTRANSPORATNCARTOONSHOMELS VANUVER LGBT+GAY FORMER GBY STAR BRENNAN BASTYOVANSZKY RECHARG VANUVER ROGU

“I’m hopeful that people wh the gby muny will regnise the siary between the stori and unrstand the urgent need to addrs the culture that mak gay people feel unwele and that they have to hi their sexualy to be accepted gby. ”Much progrs has been ma by gby unn recent years, cludg a formal agreement ma between Rugby Atralia and LGBTQ+ and clive teams to fight wh no openly gay active male players, Michael Smh of Internatnal Gay Rugby said there was far more work to be done to create sportg environments which men felt fortable to be themselv.