Tacklg homophobic attus: the straight men who play for gay gby clubs | Rugby unn | The Guardian

Contents:

• KEEGAN HIRST: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE A GBY LEAGUE PLAYER AND I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’
• WHAT MEANS TO BE GAY RUGBY LEAGUE
• THIS PRO GGER SAYS HE’S KISSED GAY MEN, PROUD TO BE SEXUALLY FLUID
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• IS GBY GAY
• RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYERS ATRALIA TO BOYTT KEY MATCH OVER GAY PRI JERSEY
• I'M A CELEBRY AU: BE RYAN SAYS HE'S CERTA THERE ARE GAY PLAYERS THE NRL
• TACKLG HOMOPHOBIC ATTUS: THE STRAIGHT MEN WHO PLAY FOR GAY GBY CLUBS
• KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

KEEGAN HIRST: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE A GBY LEAGUE PLAYER AND I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’

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.

A former English gby league star has rpond to the recent LGBTQIA+ jersey saga engulfg the Manly Sea Eagl.Openly-gay ex-player Keegan Hirst says 's rather ironic that the group are boyttg wearg the pri k bee he's seen 'what go on changg rooms' and 'would be seen as beg MUCH gayer' than simply wearg a rabow jersey for a game.Cred: AlamyThe Manly Sea Eagl have ma headl across the world this week after releasg their 'Everyone League' jersey – unfortunately, though, wasn't for the right reasons.What was meant to be a posive move to drive clivy soon turned sour when several players threatened to boytt their next game after refg to wear the club’s rabow strip.Josh Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak’atu, Tolut Koula and Toafofoa Sipley have been named as the players qutn and will subsequently miss their next fixture after beg stood down on relig grounds.The saga hasn't pated anyone volved a particularly pleasant light wh both the players and the club self g unr fire.A number of big-name figur have had their say on the matter, cludg the NRL's first and only openly-gay player Ian Roberts.Now Hirst, who me out as gay 2015 durg his time the UK Super League, has h out at the Sea Eagl players.“I’d be terted to hear what which relig and cultural beliefs stop you wearg a shirt wh a rabow on but not one that promot gamblg etc?” Hirst tweeted.“Hey @SeaEagl, I’d be honoured to wear your Pri shirt. And a lot of would be seen as beg MUCH ‘gayer’ than a rabow on a jersey.”Another Twter er then rpond, sayg: "To me there is no such person as a gay person.

WHAT MEANS TO BE GAY RUGBY LEAGUE

All people are equal no need for gay pri."To which Hirst replied: "Dave, I wish that were the se.

THIS PRO GGER SAYS HE’S KISSED GAY MEN, PROUD TO BE SEXUALLY FLUID

Gay people are equently ostracised, ridiculed, beaten and even killed simply for beg gay.

Gay people around the world are still executed, arrted and persecuted for beg gay. What do mean to gay kids who want to play gby?

If didn’t, those players wouldn’t re.“Beg gay isn’t a belief. “No matter who you are and what you do, beg gay shouldn’t get the way, ” he says.

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

”In 2015, Hirst beme the first openly gay gby league player Bra – Gareth Thomas was playg unn when he went public on his sexualy – while playg for Batley and sce then, his life has changed ways he never imaged. “When I me out, I was clear that I didn’t want to go on a csa and be a gay in, a p-up, ” Hirst says. “I jt wanted to be me – but almost immediately, I was gettg msag om guys who were married but knew they were gay, people who played sport but stopped bee they were gay and didn’t want to e out.

”Hirst dreamed of beg a gby player om a young age but beg a role mol for gay people was never his tentn.

THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER

“I jt didn’t want to thk I was gay for que some time, ” he says.

But John Kear, my ach at Batley, jt said: ‘It don’t matter to me if you’re gay, you’re my pta and that’s all that matters. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianHirst’s reer has gone om strength to strength sce g out. “But I’m proud to be me, I’m proud to be a gby league player and I’m proud to be gay.

Casey Conway tells his story about beg gay and playg gby league after the NRL participated the Mardi Gras for the fifth year. All month long, Outsports is revisg key moments gay, lbian, bisexual, transgenr and queer sports history as part of LGBTQ history month. And he me out openly as gay to a gay magaze while still playg.

IS GBY GAY

Roberts has always been a standup guy who never went along wh the BS stereotyp volvg gays sports. Anyone who knew me wh gby league, wh the aterny, knew that I was gay.

But, shocked a few the public, yeah, but, but by that stage I, I mt adm, was so a non-issue for me, and I mean that wh all my heart, was, you know, now, I look back now, my God, nowadays I get remd that I’m gay. People mightn’t rpect the way you live your life but, you know, everyone rpects honty and tth, and if you’re a cent person on top of that, you know, the end, do, falls away beg gay. Yet at the same time he had male partners and would equent gay clubs.

I tried to nceal the fact that I was gay, at that time, and, and still I had a, male partners, boyiends, tryg to nceal that and, and, and work out the right batn, or the right equatn, for the general public or even iends and fay. Everyone always seemed to know that I’d been a gay bar every time I turned up for trag, ‘Robbo, you up Oxford Street aga, eh? I mean, you know, this is a tough thg to say but, you know, predomately gay people want to be treated as equal but fail to treat themselv as equal.

RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYERS ATRALIA TO BOYTT KEY MATCH OVER GAY PRI JERSEY

I mean that wh all my heart and I, and until you learn what that means, as a gay person, thgs are never gog to change for , you know, thgs won’t change if you don’t change.

I'M A CELEBRY AU: BE RYAN SAYS HE'S CERTA THERE ARE GAY PLAYERS THE NRL

But he still giv great terviews and is sought after Down Unr whenever gays sports stori e up. When Asie Rul Football player Jason Akermanis said some ignorant thgs about gay teammat and showers last year, Roberts blasted him:. It was well known gby league circl I was gay, long before I me out.

Most of my teammat knew I was gay as far back as when I was playg wh Souths. Not one had a problem wh his beg gay.

Every gay sports person should get up and say somethg if this kd of stupidy is ever raised aga.

TACKLG HOMOPHOBIC ATTUS: THE STRAIGHT MEN WHO PLAY FOR GAY GBY CLUBS

And he do a terrific job of tyg g out sports wh helpg gay teens al wh their sexualy:.

There are gay kids the suburbs and the untry who are killg themselv bee they see only a limed pictn of gay people that they don’t f.

If you don’t thk this is a ser problem look at the statistics – gay teens are about the most likely to m suici. Roberts did not f the mold of how people perceive gay athlet. Roberts: The rponsibily of gay athlet.

KEV MAXEN BE FIRST MALE ACH A US MEN’S PROFSNAL SPORTS LEAGUE TO PUBLICLY E OUT AS GAY

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. 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.