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The former Wal gby pta has e out as gay

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DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

There are many great gay profsnal gby players and personali. The players have bee a bean of light bee they overme the stereotyp. * gay british rugby player *

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.

NEW ‘STEELERS’ DOCUMENTARY PROFIL BARRIER-BREAKG GAY BRISH GBY CLUB

The Lester scm-half has thanked his ach and teammat for their ‘unbelievable’ support after g out as gay * gay british rugby player *

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. Notable homosexual gby players and personali.

Here’s a list of ten notable gay gby players and how they are shapg the game today.

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

England Sevens ternatnal Sam Stanley has bee the first English profsnal gby unn player to publicly e out as gay. * gay british rugby player *

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. Sam Stanley beme the first openly gay Rugby Unn and Sevens player the UK. 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.

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.

LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD

English gby player Pl Doran-Jon is the latt straight athlete to appear naked the Brish gay magaze Attu and the latt to say that gay teammat will be embraced if they e out. ... * gay british rugby player *

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. Next month, the Glasgow Film Ftival is set to premiere “Steelers: The World’s First Gay Rugby Club, ” a documentary about a barrier-breakg Brish LGBTQ sports anizatn, the Kgs Cross Steelers. In a tail that feels almost scripted out of every sports movie ever ma, the Steelers were found 1995 by six guys hangg out a pub who ponred what would happen if they cid to create a gby club for gay players.

SAM STANLEY IS FIRST ENGLISH GBY PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

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 british rugby player *

But the film didn’t ga s narrative shape until a year later when Rugby Atralia reached a settlement wh Israel Fol the wake of his horrific “Hell Awas” anti-gay social media post. That story is of a young gay gby fan who was severely bullied durg his school years Atralia. The Lester scm-half Nick McCarthy has e out as gay, and thanked ach Leo Cullen and Stuart Lanster for their “unbelievable” support.

I need to accept beg gay myself before I uld addrs wh others. 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.

Last month, Blackpool’s Jake Daniels beme the first UK-based male footballer to e out as gay sce 1990. England Sevens ternatnal Sam Stanley has bee the first English profsnal gby unn player to publicly e out as gay.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

* gay british rugby player *

"Stanley's cisn to make his sexualy public after Batley Bulldogs prop Keegan Hirst last month beme the first gby league player to openly e out as ternatnal Gareth Thomas was prevly the only openly homosexual gby player after he me out whilst playg for gby unn si Cardiff Blu , who ptaed Wal and the Brish and Irish Lns, went on to play for league si Csars before retirg, but Hirst was the first player to e out publicly whilst playg the 13-man, leadg referee Nigel Owens, who is due to officiate at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, me out 2007. Stanley add: "Millns of people are the suatn, even people who have been Lrence's (his partner) suatn and they are still married but are gay. He was also the first profsnal gby unn player to announce that he was gay, when he me out 2009.

Thomas married his wife, Jemma, 2002, but they later divorced before he announced that he was gay 2009. Rugby is one of the most loved sports the world and due to s physily, is regard as a “manly” sport, which mak more difficult for gay players to publicly acknowledge their preference. Nigel Owens, one of the bt refere the world, is openly gay and has been vol about how the gby world has been hugely acmodatg.

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

Rugby League player Keegan Hirst has e out as gay, makg him the first openly gay Brish player the sport. * gay british rugby player *

It is the sport’s rponsibily to posively promote anti-homophobia, and anti-bullyg general, so that the majory of people who are acceptg have a lour voice than those who prott.

In this article, we’ll look at 10 Gay Rugby Players and how they are shapg the game today. In the gby world, he tak cred as the very first high-profile player to ever e out to the public as gay. After his Saturday afternoon on the pch, is reported that Roberts would spend Saturday night on Oxford Street, Sydney’s gay quarter.

WAL GBY LEGEND GARETH THOMAS OUT AS GAY

The world’s first gay gby club, the Kgs Cross Steelers, celebrat s 20th anniversary. * gay british rugby player *

His brave actn saw other gay gby players g out publicly to nfs their sexual orientatn. Followg the footsteps of Ian Roberts who may have been the first high-profile player to openly adm beg gay, Keegan Hirst was arguably the first ever to do while still actively playg gby.

Currently a Wakefield Try prop, Hirst has bee one of the most notable gay athlet, earng him a startg role after signg a ntract wh the League si 2016.

BRISH RUGBY PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST COM OUTHIRST IS GBY'S FIRST OPENLY GAY BRISH {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.2 "D BOLD",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NORMAL;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#89308A;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}LIFEBY DAN AVERYAUGT 16, 2015/9:37 AMBY DAN AVERYAUGT 16, 2015 / 9:37 AM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"BRISH RUGBY PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST COM OUT","DATEPUBLISHED":"2015-08-16T13:37:05.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2015-08-16T13:37:05.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"LOGO TV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"LOGO TV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT"}},"CREATOR":"DAN AVERY","ARTICLESECTN":"LIFE"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST HAS E OUT AS GAY, THE FIRST BRISH PLAYER THE SPORT TO DO {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“AT FIRST I ULDN’T EVEN SAY ‘I’M GAY’ MY HEAD, LET ALONE OUT LOUD. NOW I FEEL LIKE I’M LETTG OUT A LONG BREATH THAT I’VE HELD FOR A LONG TIME,” HIRST, 27, TOLD THE SUNDAY {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THOUGH HE STARTED BEG ATTRACTED TO MEN AT AROUND AGE 15, HE ADMS WAS HARD TO ACCEPT HIS SEXUALY GIVEN HIS BACKGROUND. “I HAD A WIFE AND KIDS. I’VE BEEN A BUILR, DOORMAN, WORKED FACTORI – I PLAY GBY. I TICK EVERY MACHO BOX. HOW ULD I BE GAY?"{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}A PROP FOR THE BATLEY BULLDOGS, HIRST IS CURRENTLY SEPARATG OM HIS WIFE. HE TOLD THE MIRROR ONE OF THE REASONS HE ME OUT WAS BEE SHE BLAMED HERSELF FOR THE END OF THEIR {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}THE RPONSE TO HIS NEWS HAS BEEN OVERWHELMGLY POSIVE—SOMETHG HIRST HONTLY DIDN'T {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}“I THOUGHT I’D BE DISOWNED BY IENDS AND FAY BUT I HAVEN’T BEEN,” HE SAID. “THE SUPPORT OM MY TEAMMAT AND OTHER GBY LEAGUE PLAYERS HAS REALLY SURPRISED ME, ’S ALL BEEN POSIVE.”{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN 1995, ATRALIAN RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER IAN ROBERTS BEME THE FIRST PROFSNAL GBY PLAYER TO E OUT. HE WAS FOLLOWED BY WELSH RUGBY UNN STAR GARETH THOMAS {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#354A4E;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}H/T: {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

Kgs Cross Steelers, named after the NFL si om Ptsburgh, is the first gay gby club the world, and a new documentary film, Steelers, follows their journey om trma to triumph. * gay british rugby player *

In an terview wh the Sunday Mirror, the now divorced father of two and self-nfsed gay tells of the moment he fally found the words to expla to his wife the reason they uld no longer be together.

Sam Stanley beme the first openly gay Rugby Unn and Sevens player the UK 2015.

He fends himself by sayg, “Millns of people are the suatn, even people who have been Lrence’s (his partner) suatn and they are still married but are gay. He is one of the current crop of players who have e out openly to say that they are gay.

WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO-ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’

As a young spired player he stated, “…this is pretty spirg for me as a fairly new player who happens to be gay, I had held off pursug gby bee of but the guys i play wh give no shs whatsoever and we have good banter about . Shame some ele gby players are still sayg anti-gay thgs on social media. A large athlete at 6 ft 4 (193 cm) and 225 pounds (102 kg), Bgham was a robt send-row man who played for the gay-clive San Francis Fog RFC and was a favore for his teammat the gby songs that he tght them.

SAM STANLEY BE FIRST ENGLISH GBY UNN PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

This also ma him bee an inic figure for gay gby players and sportspeople around the world.

To honor him, The Mark Kendall Bgham Memorial Tournament, simply known as the Bgham Cup and was started 2002, is a biennial gay gby unn tournament is named after the former gby player. Gareth ‘Alfie’ Thomas was a profsnal Welsh Rugby player who broke one of the biggt taboos the sport when he announced his homosexualy 2009. In 2010 he was voted the most fluential gay person the UK The Inpennt on Sunday Pk Listand received Stonewall’s Hero of the Year.

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

He scribed his experience as a secretly gay player, revealg how social prsure and stereotyp pose a signifint challenge for many athlet today. He is a voted activist for the LGBT e, wng “Gay Sports Personaly of the De” at the Stonewall awards ceremony London back 2015.

DWAYNE “THE ROCK” JOHNSON IS LOVG GAY RUGBY PLAYER KEEGAN HIRT’S TRIBUTE TO HIM

The 36-year-old Texas-born athlete has e a long way om the homophobia she wnsed firsthand high school. “One of my iends got cut om the basketball team bee she was gay. She also thks that playg the game as a gay athlete is not really a big issue.

English gby player Pl Doran-Jon is the latt straight athlete to appear naked the Brish gay magaze Attu and the latt to say that gay teammat will be embraced if they e out. "Of urse there are loads of gay guys sport and when they are ready they will e out knowg 's all accepted, " Doran-Jon said. Doran-Jon lled openly gay gby player Gareth Thomas his hero and I admire how matter of fact he is on the subject.

It is amazg how we hear on a regular basis om straight athlet supportg a gay teammate. Atralian A-League soccer star Josh Cavallo me out as gay an October vio posted to his social media, beg hailed as the first current male top-flight profsnal soccer player to publicly do so. I'm a footballer and I'm gay.

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

"He ntued: "Growg up I always felt the need to hi myself, you know, bee I was ashamed, and ashamed I'll never be able to do what I love and be gay. In a September terview wh USA Today, 25-year-old mor league baseball player beme the only active baseball profsnal to be out as gay! Natnal Hockey League prospect Le Prokop me out as gay July, the first active player the league to e out.

"I am proud to publicly tell everyone that I am gay, " he wrote a heartfelt msage on social media.

The 28-year-old Natnal Football League player and Rairs fensive leman ma history when he me out as gay on Instagram durg Pri Month, beg the first veteran NFL player to e out as gay while signed to a regular-season ntract.

WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO-ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’

I jt wanted to take a quick moment to say that I'm gay.

The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know.

SAM STANLEY BE FIRST ENGLISH GBY UNN PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

"He wanted everyone to know he was "still the same Colton everybody met on TV" and is "proud to be gay. Hiltz had prevly e out as gay while llege and has been a visible and affirmg prence for gay athlet the past.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY BRITISH RUGBY PLAYER

Lester’s Nick McCarthy out as gay and thanks club for their support | Lester | The Guardian .

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