Rabow warrrs: The gay gby team tacklg nservative attus Christchurch

Contents:

• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: NEW ZEALAND PLAYER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY
• 'KIDS ARE KILLG THEMSELV': NRL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER IAN ROBERTS BLASTS ISRAEL FOL
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE OUT AS GAY, FORMER ALL BLACKS GBY PLAYER HAS GLOBAL REACH
• NZ GAY GBY TEAM PRINT LLS FOR SANCTNS ON SEA EAGLE PLAYERS
• 20 YEARS OF GAY RUGBY NEW ZEALAND TO BE CELEBRATED ANNIVERSARY MATCH
• OPENLY GAY RUGBY PLAYER FEATURED IN RUGBY ATRALIA’S NEW #PARTOFMORE CAMPAIGN
• GAY RUGBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE ON COMG OUT
• STEELERS: THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY RUGBY CLUB 2020
• FORMER ALL BLACK CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE PRAISED AFTER PUBLICLY G OUT AS GAY
• BLACK FERNS STAR RUBY TUI SHAR MSAGE OF SUPPORT FOR CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ALL BLACK
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• TJ PERENARA SPEAKS TO EXPRS ON WHETHER NEW ZEALAND IS READY FOR A GAY ALL BLACK

FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK 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. “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 New Zealand's only reprentative natnal gay and clive gby team, recently, the NZ Falns played a pose team the Bgham Cup 2022 held Ottawa, Ontar.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

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.

CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: NEW ZEALAND PLAYER FIRST 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. Notable homosexual gby players and personali.

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

'KIDS ARE KILLG THEMSELV': NRL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER IAN ROBERTS BLASTS ISRAEL FOL

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.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

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.

CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE OUT AS GAY, FORMER ALL BLACKS GBY PLAYER HAS GLOBAL REACH

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. Campbell Johnstone, a former New Zealand gby unn player, has e out as gay and be the first ever All Black to do so.

NZ GAY GBY TEAM PRINT LLS FOR SANCTNS ON SEA EAGLE PLAYERS

Campbell Johnstone, a prop who played three Tts, cludg two agast the Brish and Irish Lns 2005, has bee the first All Blacks gby player to e out as gay. "Johnstone, who played 38 Super Rugby match for the Christchurch-based Csars, also spent a season wh Ospreys and ma more than 100 appearanc for Top 14 club Zealand Rugby quickly supported Johnstone's cisn to e out as gay, praisg him for "havg the urage to share his story and helpg create a more clive game.

New Zealand Sports Mister and former puty Prime Mister Grant Robertson, who is gay, said Johnstone's announcement was a "big moment" and thanked him for "blazg this trail. The Christchurch Hero are a gay and clive gby team – meang they are LGBT iendly – and are associated wh the Christchurch Rugby Football Club, which was formed 1863 and claims to be the olst football club New Zealand and the send olst gby club the world. The Hero are Canterbury’s only gay and clive gby team and have jt fished their first season – their fal game was on the day the Csars beat the Lns to w back-to-back Super Rugby champnships - and they celebrated on the followg Friday night wh a functn at the cy’s so, attend by at least 300 people, all of whom left thoroughly entertaed early the next morng after several drag acts, a strip show or two, and, fally a dance party.

As a team they are followg the sprig marks of the New Zealand Falns, a gay and clive team associated wh Auckland’s Ponsonby club, but the Hero are fg their own path Christchurch, a cy tradnally seen as extremely nservative.

20 YEARS OF GAY RUGBY NEW ZEALAND TO BE CELEBRATED ANNIVERSARY MATCH

But the Hero, who take their posn as role mols extremely serly – knowg they will be sctised by both the gay and straight muni on and off the field – have found that isn’t necsarily the se. It’s about clivy sport and challengg some of those stereotyp; both that the straight and gay muni have had. “What we’ve found sce myself and [fellow manager] Rawa [Karetai] and the team members have been volved is that there’s often the perceptn that there’s this massive amount of homophobia sport… I gus the gay muny and straight muny had their pre-nceptns.

We expected a b more of a backlash or homophobia and th far there hasn’t been – we’ve actually been really well supported by the club. “We did a rearch project a few years ago on homophobia sport wh [human rights foundatn] Kaleidospe Atralia.

In that report shows there is a lot of homophobia sport. A lot of them haven’t played gby before or they haven’t sce they were que young, and our experienc high school playg for the first XV or send XV, pecially at an all-boys school like myself, wasn’t very nice pecially if you were gay.

OPENLY GAY RUGBY PLAYER FEATURED IN RUGBY ATRALIA’S NEW #PARTOFMORE CAMPAIGN

“We’ve been able to pull down those barriers a very straight world and the club self has said they need for them to have that mix and help provi a safe space for the gay and transsexual muny. There will be some people who will be watchg who don’t feel they intify wh the tradnal gay stereotyp – the glter, the mardi gras, hot pants, that kd of thg – and the are guys who may look at an clive team wh a lot of gay guys and thk, ‘you know what, I’m gay but those are the kds of guys I intify wh’.

We’re offerg an alternative to the tradnal gay stereotype. It , too, the wake of Wallabi star Israel Fol’s beliefs about the ultimate fate of homosexuals which he has spread far and wi on his social media acunts.

To thk that I play agast someone that says they'll go to Hell for beg gay disgts me. “It is fairly typil of the gay muny – we are all que well nnected and we do tend to help each other out, ” says Rbatch.

GAY RUGBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE ON COMG OUT

“The number of sponsors we have… I gus ’s for two reasons – we’re dog somethg that’s que different terms of gettg volved sport which isn’t somethg the gay muny has tradnally been volved and sendly the gay muny tend to look after our own. “We’ve found there are a lot of people wh the gay muny who don’t feel they are nnected to anythg, ” says Rbatch. We’re seeg people who have not nnected wh any of the tradnal groups wh the gay muny who are nnectg wh our team or jog the team.

Rugby league's first openly gay male has strsed there mt be nsequenc for Israel Fol's homophobic outbursts. Former NRL great Ian Roberts sympathis wh the Wallabi star's plight, but believ his public stance agast homosexualy has been extremely harmful. Speakg to Atralia's Channel Ne, Roberts exprsed his ncern over the toll Fol's social media posts would have on young gay women and men particular.

STEELERS: THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY RUGBY CLUB 2020

"There are lerally [gay] kids the suburbs killg themselv.

The 194-game veteran me out as gay 1995, while still playg, beg the first ele gby league player the world to do so. The issue foc on homophobia sport and unr the large image, has a proment tle sayg: 'Kiss whomever you like'.

FORMER ALL BLACK CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE PRAISED AFTER PUBLICLY G OUT AS GAY

[spacer height=”20px”]Established 2013, the New Zealand Falns Rugby Football Club are Aotearoa’s premiere gay and clive gby unn and touch team wh the goal of enablg both aspirg and seasoned players to e together to participate and enjoy gby an open and supportive environment. [spacer height=”20px”]The NZ Falns RFC is one of two gay gby clubs New Zealand, an affiliate wh the New Zealand Rugby Unn (NZRU), and one of 75 worldwi member clubs of Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR). 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.

BLACK FERNS STAR RUBY TUI SHAR MSAGE OF SUPPORT FOR CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE, THE FIRST OPENLY GAY ALL BLACK

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. 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. His brave actn saw other gay gby players g out publicly to nfs their sexual orientatn.

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

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.

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.

TJ PERENARA SPEAKS TO EXPRS ON WHETHER NEW ZEALAND IS READY FOR A GAY ALL BLACK

He is one of the current crop of players who have e out openly to say that they are gay. 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.