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Contents:

• THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• COREY PARKER: GAY PLAYERS STILL FEEL THE NEED TO HI NRL AND ’S TIME TO DO BETTER
• RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYERS ATRALIA TO BOYTT KEY MATCH OVER GAY PRI JERSEY
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS
• DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• GAY ATHLET ATRALIA GET SUPPORT OM PRO SPORTS LEAGU
• RUGBY ATRALIA STRIK ALLIANCE WH ATRALIA'S GAY AND CLIVE RUGBY CLUBS

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

Aborigals, Polynians, Melanians and Southern European migrants provid the game’s first diversy om s Anglo-Celtic base and the terlopers were accepted if they plied wh the and “pped sweet” had no place for homosexual men and to be labeled gay was a slur implyg weakns. And that’s the way remaed until a pneer smashed the stereotype, beg the game’s first openly homosexual player, a precursor, a full 20 years before Keegan Hirst, the Batley Bulldogs player who this weekend beme the first Brish player to do likewise. “Until Ian Roberts me out we thought all gay guys were weak, ” says Mar Fenech, the former South Sydney Rabbohs pta and Roberts’s team-mate.

His father Ray was his bt iend and was openly speful about anythg gay he saw on televisn. Stereotyp mean ls thkg and for the league muny, surround by a ep emotnal moat, there was no way he uld be tough and father always advised him to “go for the biggt guy” and, crippled by a life nial, he uld sublimate his rage and claw back self-worth by excellg at everythg physil, cludg was all a smokcreen for a new phase of his life, glorly gurated at Sydney gay pub The Exchange. “I had a sh of eedom and belongg and saw my first role mols, livg openly as gay men and women.

Roberts would nvce them that he was gog to “50-50 clubs”, further throwg them off the trail by paradg wh betiful “girliends” at club 1984, an unlikely hero emerged for 19-year-old Roberts the form of New South Wal premier Neville Wran, who passed a law crimalisg homosexualy. ”It was the same year that Bronski Beat’s tortured g out anthem Smalltown Boy stormed world dancefloors, crystallisg the horror experience which a young suburban man is bashed for attendg a gay club and disowned by his father.

COREY PARKER: GAY PLAYERS STILL FEEL THE NEED TO HI NRL AND ’S TIME TO DO BETTER

Neher had any ia he was gay. Eventually old school Souths ach Gee Piggs nonted Roberts about his sexualy, pleadg wh him to stop gog to the gay clubs. Early the 1989 season a gossip em wrten unr a nom plume appeared the Sun Herald statg Roberts had been spotted a gay club.

In the followg game Roberts was baed by Bulldogs players and openly vilified by fans, the thought of a gay player fuellg the passns of the wilst Jack, pictured after a brawl wh Roberts 1991.

Roberts was bone tired om pretendg, but they both advised him to keep a fay secret until after his years later Roberts tormented gby league media and fans further by agreeg to a nu shoot Blue, a new gay magaze, but did not fively say he was gay. The opposg crowds went wild and the homophobic abe grew to new heights.

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

For the gay muny, sexualy was a matter of life and ath. Gay bashgs and killgs were rife across Sydney, creatg a siege mentaly.

Many the muny viewed Roberts’s g out as a way to save liv, particularly wh high rat of gay teen suici blamed on a lack of posive role mols. Roberts appreciated the honty but uld not buy to the belief that the fans and sponsors would not tolerate a gay man. Peter FzSimons the Sydney Morng Herald was clear on the impact of the announcement: “Roberts is not the first gay footballer, but the first wh the urage to live openly.

“In the 90s gay men were murred and bashed by vigilant. “It mt have been difficult for him to adm he’s gay, om a tough town wh zero tolerance, ” he says. ”Moments and events accumulate to create change and as the first gay ntact sport player to e out durg a reer, Ian Roberts ss wh sports diversy pneers Jackie Robson and Marta Navratilova.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

Former 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. “As an olr gay man I’m ed to this. 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.

It tly pas me to thk that wh our game, gay players still feel a need to hi.

GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS

I n only image how mt feel to be a gay gby league player today’s tly pas me to thk that wh our game, those players still feel a need to hi. Yet gay players and the LGBTQI+ muny more broadly … that’s one group we’ve mostly left alone. I n only speak for myself, but if a guy me out my team and said, ‘I’m gay’, personally I wouldn’t give a sh.

If the young men who are refg to play wh rabow strip on a jersey later have a child who is born gay, do they disown them?

DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

Image the stris that uld be ma terms of unrstandg and acceptance, not jt wh gby league but wir years, the NRL have had a float at Sydney’s Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras. Image that we n help break remag stigmas around homosexualy.

That we n help end the cycle of gay people havg to hi themselv away, and all the emotnal damage that would be groundbreakg. Seven players om an Atralian Natnal Rugby League (NRL) team will boytt a key champnship match this week over their team's cisn to wear a gay pri jersey, promptg cricism om the club's first openly gay Manly Sea Eagl's one-off jersey has rabow strip and a rabow llar - place of the regular whe sectns - to support LGBTQ cln sports, and the club planned to e for one game agast Sydney Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak’atu, Tolu Koula and Toafofoa Sipley are the players standg down for Thursday's match, which uld prove pivotal to the club's chanc of makg the NRL fals.

Cred: APIan Roberts, the former Manly player 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, but add ma him "sad and unfortable" nohels.

DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED

"I n promise you every young kid on the northern beach (of Sydney) who is alg wh their sexualy would have heard about this, " he told Sydney's Daily says homophobia remas a big issue among fans and players the untry's top petns. LGBTQ advot nmned the boytt as the players were wily brand as homophobic on social Sea Eagl - which has to have 13 players to play each match - are nth place the NRL, one spot below the Roosters.

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.

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

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.

GAY ATHLET ATRALIA GET SUPPORT OM PRO SPORTS LEAGU

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

RUGBY ATRALIA STRIK ALLIANCE WH ATRALIA'S GAY AND CLIVE RUGBY CLUBS

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.

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. 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. 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.