Former New Zealand gby player Campbell Johnstone be first All Black to e out as gay | CNN

Contents:

• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• HEARD OF THE STEELERS? NO, NOT THEM, THE GAY GBY TEAM OM LONDON
• 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
• VANUVER'S FIRST GAY AND CLIVE GBY TEAM IS BACK
• IN FROM THE SI - UPG MOVIE ABOUT A GAY GBY TEAM
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• LIVGTOPICSALL LIVGSAVAGE LOVETRAVELASTROLOGYFROM THE VLTHEALTHSTYLELGBT+SEX & ROMANCEBT OF VANUVERTRANSPORATNCARTOONSHOMELS VANUVER LGBT+GAY FORMER GBY STAR BRENNAN BASTYOVANSZKY RECHARG VANUVER ROGU
• RUGBY TEAM RALLI AGAST PORTATN OF GAY PLAYER TO KENYA
• IS GBY GAY

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

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.

Last month, Blackpool’s Jake Daniels beme the first UK-based male footballer to e out as gay sce 1990. 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.

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

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. "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.

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

"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.

However, "There are still issu wh homophobia and homophobic language beg ed on the pch. "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. The top eight teams qualify for the was the only club planng to wear a pri jersey this Manly forward Ian Roberts, who the 1990s was the first high-profile gby league player to e out as gay, said he was not surprised by the players’ cisn.

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

An Atralian gby ach has apologized to the homophobic players on his roster after a team Pri promo didn’t go as planned. Former Manly player (and current actor) Ian Roberts, who beme the first pro gby league player to e out as gay 1995, lled the fumble “sad and unfortable.

“Can you not unrstand the pa vised upon gay people who, no matter what they do, are disrpected simply for beg gay? 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. And to be fair, we were an clive team so I didn’t feel like me om a place that was homophobic.

VANUVER'S FIRST GAY AND CLIVE GBY TEAM IS BACK

“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. 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. In the drsg room, someone might say, “That’s gay” as a dig, but ’s jt done a jokey, childish way and don’t mean anythg.

‘Imatg the England stars who I was seeg at my club was the bt feelg ever, ’ he has been 11 years sce former Wal pta Gareth Thomas revealed that he was gay. 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.

IN FROM THE SI - UPG MOVIE ABOUT A GAY GBY TEAM

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.

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

"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.

The ia for the team me om Jason Anrson, a member of the Atlanta Bucks, an tablished Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR) December 3, 2016, Patrick Button (Past Print) vised Atlanta for the weekend and attend Rugby 101 wh the Atlanta Bucks. In return Jason suggted that would be great if New Orleans had their very own Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR) took the iative to start puttg a team together, reachg out to prospective players and dividuals the Rugby muny, both New Orleans and elsewhere, that uld help. A few years ago, the guys ually liked the attentn they got om the gay guys and would go out to gay bars and clubs wh .

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

-I have to adm I might have enjoyed certa aspects of gay toxic masculy that ed to exist (I thk balance wh the broar society and other teams).

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. 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.

RUGBY TEAM RALLI AGAST PORTATN OF GAY PLAYER TO KENYA

His pennt documentary Steelers: the World’s First Gay Rugby Club is cemas across Atralia now. Brish ColumbiaThe Vanuver Rogu, first active 2002 to 2008, is back wh the hope of creatg a safe environment for people of different sexual orientatns and genr inti to enjoy the ntact Vanuver Rogu is recg players for a tournament next summerThe Vanuver Rogu gay and clive gby unn club, first found 2001, was revived early this year. (Ty Mart)Brennan Bastyovanszky, 42, has played gby sce childhood and lov the sport — except for what he scrib as the prevalence of homophobic language wh mastream clubs.

So early this year, he helped revive the Vanuver Rogu, a gby club clive to players of all sexual orientatns and genr club secretary says he has heard a lot of homophobic language om teammat durg his 25 years as a gby player  B. And the queer muny would have reprentatn the Bgham Cup, the world champnships of gay and clive gby, which will take place Ottawa next year. "There were even ocsns when I was nonted, physilly threatened by people on my own team, " said Bastyovanszky, who later joed the Sydney Convicts, which scrib self as the first gay and clive gby unn club Atralia.

IS GBY GAY

Bastyovanszky revived the team after returng to Vanuver earlier this realized that the Bgham Cup, the biennial world champnships of gay and clive gby, was beg held Ottawa next Augt — and there wasn't a team reprentg the provce.

"Canada a 'laggard' on homophobia sports, studi showOpnUnlike European sport, anti-gay sentiment still ns ep North Amerin leagu: Michael CorenLISTEN︱Brennan Bastyovanszky on why he revived the Vanuver Rogu gby club:Wh fil om The Early Edn. 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.