5 sports stars who have e out as gay

Contents:

• GAY PRO GBY PLAYER NICK MCCARTHY OUT IRELAND TO WISPREAD ACCEPTANCE
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• 14 GAY SPORTG STARS WHO TOOK THE CISN TO GO PUBLIC
• “LADS ASKED THE QUTN AND I SAID YEAH – I WAS GAY. THEN WE PLAYED THE GAME AND HAD A BEER AFTER.”
• HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY
• NORTHERN IRELAND FALLY GETS AN LGBT-INCLIVE RUGBY TEAM"IT'S GREAT N BE YOURSELF ONT OF EVERYONE AND BE FORTABLE." {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 CODY GOHLAPRIL 27, 2016/1:42 PMBY CODY GOHLAPRIL 27, 2016 / 1:42 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"NORTHERN IRELAND FALLY GETS AN LGBT-INCLIVE RUGBY TEAM","DATEPUBLISHED":"2016-04-27T17:42:41.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2016-04-27T17:42:41.000+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":"CODY GOHL","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;}IN HOP OF MAKG GBY A MORE CLIVE SPORT, A GROUP OF IRISH ATHLET HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER TO FORM NORTHERN IRELAND'S ONLY PREDOMANTLY GAY GBY {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 THE SPIR OF TE CLIVY, THE BELFAST-BASED AZLANS GBY CLUB IS OPEN TO ALL: YOUNG AND OLD, GAY AND STRAIGHT, TOTAL BEGNERS AND TRAED EXPERTS {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;}KEV BARTLETT, THE MAN BEHD THE TEAM, EXPLAED TO THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH THAT "THE AZLANS WELG EVERYONE AND MAKG EVERYONE FEEL WELE."{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;}BARTLETT WAS A MEMBER OF NORTHERN IRELAND'S FIRST GAY-IENDLY GBY TEAM, THE ULSTER TANS, BEFORE S DISBANDMENT, AND SAYS HE CID TO FOUND THE AZLANS AS A SPACE THAT WOULD PTURE THE TANS' OPEN {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;}"IT ME ABOUT BEE A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SAYG TO ME THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PLAY GBY BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO GO," HE {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;}"WE ARE THERE FOR PEOPLE WHO MAYBE HAVE NEVER PLAYED GBY BEFORE, FOR WHATEVER REASON, OR MAYBE THEY WOULD LIKE TO GET BACK TO THE SPORT. YOU N E ALONG AND LEARN AND TRA. EVERYONE IS ACCEPTED— DON'T MATTER WHO THEY ARE."{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;}BARTLETT'S TEAMMATE STEPHEN AIKEN, WHO HAS BEEN VOLVED WH THE TEAM SCE S CEPTN, FDS THAT THE AZLANS CLUB OFFERS A SAFE SPACE FOR HIM TO BE EXACTLY WHO HE {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;}"WHEN WE ARE OUT ON THE PCH, YOU REALIZE HOW WELL EVERYONE GETS ON—WHAT HAPPENS ON THE PCH DON'T AFFECT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU E OFF . IT'S GREAT BEE YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT ON A ONT, YOU N BE YOURSELF ONT OF EVERYONE AND BE FORTABLE."{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;}TO FD OUT MORE ABOUT THE TEAM, CHECK OUT THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE!{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
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• MEET THE AZLANS, NORTHERN IRELAND'S ONLY PREDOMANTLY GAY GBY TEAM
• NEW SEASON-LONG GAY GBY LEAGUE WILL CROWN AN ANNUAL U.K. CHAMPN
• 5 SPORTS STARS WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY

GAY PRO GBY PLAYER NICK MCCARTHY OUT IRELAND TO WISPREAD ACCEPTANCE

He scrib bisexualy as sometim beg both a blsg and a curse that way, sayg, “’s easier to hi than if you were gay bee you don’t have to pretend to like girls, and you don’t have to pretend to enjoy kissg a girl if you’re out wh the lads on a Saturday night.

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 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. It went pretty well, there were one or two people who said ‘you are not bisexual, you are gay and you won’t e out’, but largely was overwhelmgly posive so was a massive weight off the shoulrs when I did that.

Ne-time All-Ireland wner Valerie Mulhy will reveal how she alt wh her sexualy Donal Óg Cack's documentary to be aired next Cork footballer has bee the first high-profile female GAA star to e out publicly and do so to help others and to make other women, who are a siar suatn, to feel more fortable wh who they Óg Cack, the first openly gay GAA sports star, looks at attus towards homosexualy at home and abroad his documentary Comg Out Of The Curve which will be aired on Monday night on RTE, We take a look at other gay sports stars who took the cisn to go Og Cack (hurlg)The much-rated Rebel star is one of the greatt goalkeepers the game of hurlg has ever seen.

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

"Whatever you may feel about me or who I am, I've always been at peace wh , " he Cack (hurlg)The Cloyne hurler who last year bravely spoke out about his battle wh prsn joed his brother Donal Og Cack revealg that he is gay last year. He ntu to highlight mental health Stoney (football)England women's football pta said sh cid to speak publicly about beg gay after the posive reactn to diver Tom Daley sayg he was a relatnship wh a man.

Stoney, who has 116 ps for England, is now the most high-profile active gay footballer Hzlsperger (football)The 31-year-old, pped more than 50 tim for Germany, announced he was gay last year, the first high-profile German player to do so and the first to have played regularly the English Premier League. The former Aston Villa midfielr was advised by iends to keep his sexualy quiet but was astound by the posive reactn to his Fashanu (football)Bra's first black footballer to mand a £1ln transfer fee was also the first top-flight player to publicly adm his homosexualy. Louganis' tobgraphy, which spent five weeks at number one on the New York Tim bt-seller list on s release 1995, tailed his rise to global promence and subsequent cisn to e out as a homosexual livg wh HIV.

" Davi, now 27, has played eight one-day ternatnals and five Twenty20 ternatnals for Rogers (soccer)Former Leeds wger and Uned Stat ternatnal Rogers revealed he was gay Febary 2013 and at the same time announced his retirement om football at the age of 25. "Nila Adams (boxg)Olympic boxg gold medallist Nila Adams topped the Inpennt's annual 'Pk List' poll of fluential lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr people November moreRead more: Read moreRead more:. "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 mediaBut 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.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

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. “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.

”ProgrsMuch 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. In hop of makg gby a more clive sport, a group of Irish athlet have gotten together to form Northern Ireland's only predomantly gay gby the spir of te clivy, the Belfast-based Azlans gby club is open to all: young and old, gay and straight, total begners and traed experts Bartlett, the man behd the team, explaed to the Belfast Telegraph that "The Azlans welg everyone and makg everyone feel wele. "Bartlett was a member of Northern Ireland's first gay-iendly gby team, the Ulster Tans, before s disbandment, and says he cid to found the Azlans as a space that would pture the Tans' open spir.

14 GAY SPORTG STARS WHO TOOK THE CISN TO GO PUBLIC

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. 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 . 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.

A group of dited sportsmen have got together to create Northern Ireland's only gay gby team a bid to make the game more than that, the Belfast-based Azlans club is open to all - young and old, gay and straight, plete begners and those wh a great al more Bartlett, the man behd the team, explaed: "The Azlans are actually an clive team. "Antrim man Kev, a disabily support officer, has been volved clive sport for the past 20 was volved heavily wh the Ulster Tans, Northern Ireland's first gay-iendly gby club, before ceased to exist. Belfast-based Azlans club on ver of GNI Mag"Y, there are gay people who e along and feel fortable, but is actually about targetg everyone, for example the person who has always played Gaelic but thks they would like to give gby a go.

“Gay and Inclive gby has enjoyed exceptnal growth recent years wh enough teams playg a good level of petive gby to mata a permanent league stcture across the UK, ” said Dean Bee, Chairman of Manchter Village Spartans. Clubs jog forc to tablish another first the world of petive Rugby Unn, where gay and clive teams will be able to pete on an annual basis for the honor of beg that season’s champns amongst their peers and iends gby.

“LADS ASKED THE QUTN AND I SAID YEAH – I WAS GAY. THEN WE PLAYED THE GAME AND HAD A BEER AFTER.”

Fagan also offered the slightly soberg statistics that over 80% of LGBT+ people reported experiencg homophobic sults while participatg sports and over half of LGBT+ people are not active enough to mata good health. As a rult, has tradnally rerced an orthodox form of twentieth-century masculy that is lked to those who are whe, middle class, able-bodied, and, most important to this analysis, heterosexual (Symons, 2009) is now wily regnized, however, that twenty-first-century sport is a social stutn that shap and impacts upon the liv of gay and lbian athlet too. Sce soclogist first began to qutn the role that sport plays the productn and reproductn of mascule inty the mid-1980s (Dunng, 1986), there was a slow progrsn om examg sport as a se of male ntrol over women, to regnizg the tersectn between sport and sexualy that rults om the largely heteronormative and homophobic culture of profsnal sport the 1990s and the first of the twenty-first century (Rowe, Markwell, & Stevenson, 2006) was this hospable perd of time that gave rise to sexual orientatn-segregated sportg spac for gay men.

Concerng the foc of this chapter, gby, the first soclogil vtigatn occurred the Uned Kgdom by Price and Parker (2003) and they found the existence of the untry’s first gay club (formed 1995) was prcipally anized around pg perceived or actual homophobia of mastream new Millennium brought chang attus toward homosexualy, not only to society, but also to mastream sport (Anrson, 2014). Exemplifyg this shift empirilly, the first prehensive vtigatn of the experienc of gay mal playg on ostensibly heterosexual teams was nducted by Anrson 2005, and he found that matters had begun to change. This was a fdg that was affirmed by yet further outlook upon the gay male athlet by straight men 2011 (Anrson, 2011), has been repeatedly shown that heterosexual athlet, generally, are creasgly acceptg of homosexualy (Anrson, Magrath, & Bullgham, 2016; Anrson & McCormack, 2015; Bh, Anrson, & Carr, 2012) reason for this acceptance has to do wh changg attudal disposn toward gay men and changg masculy among heterosexual mal.

Anrson (2009) has argued that an clive masculy is now the norm for “Whe, middle class men; both si and outsi of sport” rather than the “domeerg, homophobic behavurs and attus of orthodox masculy”.

HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY

347) was the first to e the term “clive masculy” to scribe mascule performanc that view hegemonic masculy as unsirable wh a willgns to embrace femy “ls ncerned wh migatg homosexual spicn through homophobia and heterosexism”. There is also evince for creasg societal acceptance of gay athlet and a softeng of media attus toward gay male athlet both the Uned Kgdom and Uned Stat wh a shift toward clive masculy (Cleland, 2014, 2018; Kian & Anrson, 2009) and MasculyRugby, which Dunng (1986, p.

In this manner, twentieth-century gby players nsolidated their masculy wh gby servg to privilege prence of gay players the hypermascule, physil gby environment may be the ultimate subversn of the myth of gay men beg effemate and un-mascule (Symons, 2010), a siar manner to the challeng to tradnal nstctns of femy that female players prent (Wright & Clarke, 1999). This is bee the volvement of gay players a space that has been a fundamental source of heterosexual male power unrm masculy and challeng the boundary between gay and straight mal and ultimately the perceived differenc between men and women as a whole (Anrson, 2002) example, former Welsh ternatnal player, Gareth Thomas—who is one of the most well-known and rpected players Welsh gby history (McGivern & Miller, 2017; Zhu, 2016)—me out December 2009, to an “overwhelmgly supportive” rponse (McCormack & Anrson, 2010, p. His rerd as one of the most succsful players the sport, bed wh his mascule appearance and physil playg style were certaly ntrary to the mythil reprentatns of gay mal and may expla the posive rponse.

Th, there has been a softeng of the culture associated wh playg gby, driven by younger players g through the system who are creasgly rejectg, if not challengg the prevly accepted e of homophobic disurse that is ed by olr members of the gby muny.

NORTHERN IRELAND FALLY GETS AN LGBT-INCLIVE RUGBY TEAM"IT'S GREAT N BE YOURSELF ONT OF EVERYONE AND BE FORTABLE." {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 CODY GOHLAPRIL 27, 2016/1:42 PMBY CODY GOHLAPRIL 27, 2016 / 1:42 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"NORTHERN IRELAND FALLY GETS AN LGBT-INCLIVE RUGBY TEAM","DATEPUBLISHED":"2016-04-27T17:42:41.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"2016-04-27T17:42:41.000+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":"CODY GOHL","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;}IN HOP OF MAKG GBY A MORE CLIVE SPORT, A GROUP OF IRISH ATHLET HAVE GOTTEN TOGETHER TO FORM NORTHERN IRELAND'S ONLY PREDOMANTLY GAY GBY {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 THE SPIR OF TE CLIVY, THE BELFAST-BASED AZLANS GBY CLUB IS OPEN TO ALL: YOUNG AND OLD, GAY AND STRAIGHT, TOTAL BEGNERS AND TRAED EXPERTS {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;}KEV BARTLETT, THE MAN BEHD THE TEAM, EXPLAED TO THE BELFAST TELEGRAPH THAT "THE AZLANS WELG EVERYONE AND MAKG EVERYONE FEEL WELE."{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;}BARTLETT WAS A MEMBER OF NORTHERN IRELAND'S FIRST GAY-IENDLY GBY TEAM, THE ULSTER TANS, BEFORE S DISBANDMENT, AND SAYS HE CID TO FOUND THE AZLANS AS A SPACE THAT WOULD PTURE THE TANS' OPEN {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;}"IT ME ABOUT BEE A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE SAYG TO ME THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO PLAY GBY BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO GO," HE {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;}"WE ARE THERE FOR PEOPLE WHO MAYBE HAVE NEVER PLAYED GBY BEFORE, FOR WHATEVER REASON, OR MAYBE THEY WOULD LIKE TO GET BACK TO THE SPORT. YOU N E ALONG AND LEARN AND TRA. EVERYONE IS ACCEPTED— DON'T MATTER WHO THEY ARE."{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;}BARTLETT'S TEAMMATE STEPHEN AIKEN, WHO HAS BEEN VOLVED WH THE TEAM SCE S CEPTN, FDS THAT THE AZLANS CLUB OFFERS A SAFE SPACE FOR HIM TO BE EXACTLY WHO HE {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;}"WHEN WE ARE OUT ON THE PCH, YOU REALIZE HOW WELL EVERYONE GETS ON—WHAT HAPPENS ON THE PCH DON'T AFFECT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU E OFF . IT'S GREAT BEE YOU DON'T HAVE TO PUT ON A ONT, YOU N BE YOURSELF ONT OF EVERYONE AND BE FORTABLE."{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;}TO FD OUT MORE ABOUT THE TEAM, CHECK OUT THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE!{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

118) and a haven for those who had been exclud or ostracized om the mastream gby their analysis, Price and Parker (2003) examed the Kgs Cross Steelers Rugby Football Club, an amatr gby club based London and the self-claimed world’s first gay gby club. The number of gay gby clubs around the world has steadily grown, spurred by the creatn of The Internatnal Gay Rugby Associatn and Board (IGRAB) Ireland, the first gay gby team was found 2003.

Atralia’s first gay gby club, the Sydney Convicts have been embraced by the cy’s gby muny wh s founr Andrew Purchas award the Orr of Atralia medal that regniz outstandg achievement and service by Atralians. Fdg participants for this rearch was not difficult as the number of clive men’s gby teams has grown om ls than a dozen clubs one ago to eighty-four clubs the Uned Kgdom and Wtern Europe as regnized by and registered wh the Internatnal Gay Rugby Board. Semi-stctured terviews of ten players om each team occurred alongsi, participant observatn and wrten rpons to a participant-requted qutnnaire provid sight to the ratnale as to why the men seek to bee members of the nearly all gay men clive clubs.

As one gay player said wh a lgh, “They jt don’t know they’re gay yet” the nature of clive club members who participated this rearch we opted to exclu heterosexual members of the clubs (only five heterosexual players were intified over the urse of the rearch). The purpose, rather, was to explore via a ground theoretil approach the possibly changg stcture of gby the Uned Kgdom as relat to the rise clive gay men’s gby teams and their impact on the sport England and beyond.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

Anrson has repeatedly argued and shown that while homophobia is rapidly creasg, as mori, gay men will always exist wh some cultural i of homophobia, or at least heteronormativy (Anrson, 2009). That fdg alone mak this rearch novel: This is not the experience of gay men clive clubs prevly (Price & Parker, 2003) addn, the nature of masculi as pertas to the social, cultural, and temporal experience of many of the participants was examed but did not bee a central foc of this rearch.

Instead, our thematic dg found three new areas of tert this vtigatn: (1) the social pal sought by and gaed by many participants on clive men’s gby clubs, (2) clubs’ prence for many gay men as a “safe haven”, and (3) for some gay men their participatn wh the clive gby club was merely a hobby and a means for them to meet other gay men wh siar terts sport. He later wanted to expla that he unrstood that not only his fellow clive men’s gby teammat saw him as a gay man and member of the club, but that when he wore his Hampshire jersey on non-gby days while walkg or travelg around town other townspeople “probably knew” he is gay.

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The nversatn wh the two spectators/former players was direct reference to ncerns exprsed by rearchers regard to ncsns and the effect of improper tacklg techniqu on younger players England and elsewhere (Pollock, Whe, & Kirkwood, 2017) then followed was a nversatn between the two approximately seventy-year-old former Rochter Rugby Club players when asked about chang the sexual orientatn/genr inty of current players, and not the laws of the game, regard to acceptance of gay men most levels of the sport.

A few sub-them emerged discsg the rise of clive gby teams wh admistrators, spectators, gay players, and players om non-clive clubs, openly intifyg as gay or otherwise, when the first rearcher met wh members of an clive gay men’s club and men om another non-clive club. At the re of McCormack and Wignall’s argument is tent; and the tent of the men was that of bondg through banter the way McCormack and Anrson (2010) have also shown occurs between gay and straight male ncept of the “normalcy” of homosexualy arose a number of tim durg other terviews wh the clive gby team members. Asked why he and his gay teammat did not ntue playg gby wh their straight iends, he psed as he looked across at another field where approximately fifty men age seventeen to approximately thirty-five were trag while his clive team’s group of twenty players worked out on another field, and said, “It jt was done that way” the advent of the first openly all-gay men’s team, the London Steelers, the mid-1990s and then the San Francis Fog 2001, gay men were not seen as mascule enough (Anrson, 2005b), as one clive team player said, to play gby after sendary school and to their universy years.

What this separatn of straight and gay gby players effectively did was create a divisn of active gby participatn between the two groups begng at age ten to twelve years (om sendary school to universy) until well after universy years.

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Interviews wh the clive team players suggt that most of the gay men did not re-emerge on the gby scene until they were their late twenti to early men, seekg to fd a team for which they uld play, would oftentim, many players said, approach a “normal” team’s club admistrator or pta and say they were terted playg.

“We get ”, the pta said as the four walked back to their trag notn of homophobia, perceived or otherwise, rarely emerged discsg the “safe haven” ncept wh the clive team players and is discsed below.

It remas rare to have an openly gay man playg at higher levels of gby the Uned Kgdom and elsewhere; is not necsarily seen as homophobia or discrimatn agast gay men, although the homophobia certaly exists parts of gby culture. Rather, as noted above, is the systemic nature of the excln of gay men and boys durg their school years that apparently is leadg to a form of self-segregatn by the gay men and boys asked about that possibily, several of the players disagreed and said they had played on other gby teams that were, at the time, clive.

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Fdg clive gay men’s gby clubs England and now the Uned Stat was once very difficult, but players noted that once clive teams were advertisg for players, their perceptns of the sport and notns of homophobia were dispelled.

Carl, age twenty-seven and a member of the same team as Adam’s, add, “I origally joed an clive team to see whether gay men uld actually do sports and sce I have bee sgle, I have bee more volved as a way of meetg people and potential boyiends”.

Muir (2019) found that nearly all gay men playg gby the Uned Stat had experienced some form of homophobia eher durg a match or Amerin player noted that when he first joed his team the southern Uned Stat ( 2012) most heterosexual teams ially refed to play agast a gay team. As mentned earlier, bee of England’s geography, the proximy of clive teams is ually ls than one hour’s drive the English players, some players did mentn experiencg homophobic asslts—both verbal and physil, but the asslts occurred most monly primary or sendary school.