World's first gay gby club 20 years on | CNN

Contents:

• HEARD OF THE STEELERS? NO, NOT THEM, THE GAY GBY TEAM OM LONDON
• LONDON'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM
• WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB THAT BEAT THE BIGOTS BY TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA GETS S OWN FILM
• JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT
• WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO-ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• KGS CROSS STEELERS, THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY RUGBY TEAM, SOUND OFF ON TEAMWORK AND BROTHERHOOD

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

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. "But, if 's easier to e out now, then why do we need gay gby clubs?

LONDON'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM

"That's a thought that do go through your md, and while 's generally a posive there are still pockets of homophobia. 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. "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.

WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB THAT BEAT THE BIGOTS BY TACKLG HOMOPHOBIA GETS S OWN FILM

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.

Internatnal Gay Rugby is a Charable Inrporated Organisatn, registered England and Wal wh our registered office at 71 Holland Road, Wt Ham, London, E15 3BP, England, Uned Kgdom (Chary Number – 1154241) provi our member clubs wh velopment support and rourc the areas of club anisatn, recment, retentn, fundraisg, event management, and, regnal and natnal unn relatns. There are many gay and clive gby clubs across the world but the first was started London 1995. The Kgs Cross Steelers have players of all abili, ag and backgrounds and for many of the players 's more than jt a team, 's givg them a chance to talk about their Welsh and French gby teams also agreed to wear rabow lac support of former Wal pta Gareth Thomas, who was the victim of a homophobic attack last weekend Journalist: Pl Murphy-Kasp.

Caledonian Thebans Rugby Football Club are Stland’s first – and currently only – gay-iendly gby club. Swansea Vikgs are a Gay & Inclive gby team. Gay and clive gby unn team for Chter.

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

The Aberen Taexali is Aberen’s first Inclive Rugby team, for gay, bisexual, straight and trans men.

World's first gay gby club that beat the bigots by tacklg homophobia gets s own film 25 years after beg found by Tory peer Lord HaywardKg's Cross Steelers were first set up 1995 at the world's first gay gby clubThe team was found by Tory Lord Hayward, who is also s chairmanA documentary lled 'Steelers' is set to screen at the Glasgow film ftival A team member - a TV news reporter – said he was spired to make the film after Atralian gby player Israel Fol said 2019 that ‘hell awas’ homosexuals Published: 00:48 BST, 20 Febary 2021 | Updated: 08:32 BST, 20 Febary 2021.

WORLD’S FIRST GAY GBY CLUB TURNS 20: ‘NO-ONE HAD SEEN PLAYERS LIKE BEFORE’

When the world’s first gay gby club was set up 1995, Rob Hayward had a stock reply to wags who asked if his team played pk shirts.

For a llectn of gay men we agreed remarkably quickly on our lours – midnight blue and emerald green! ’Tory Lord Hayward is ed to puzzled looks when people learn that he is founr and chairman of Kgs Cross Steelers – a gay gby team – who tell their story a new film.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

The club was found 1995 as the first gay Rugby club by Tory Lord, Robert HaywardBack the 1980s at the height of the Aids panmic, he sat silent rage on the Commons backbench as fellow Conservative MPs dulged anti-gay rhetoric. He felt ‘eply unfortable’, not least bee he was stgglg to e to terms wh his own electns expert who has advised Boris Johnson, Thera May and David Cameron, Hayward didn’t clare he was gay until a few years after he left the Commons was around the time he got volved wh the gby film featur players such as Drew McDowell, whose off-pch alter ego is drag queen ‘Drewalic’ member Eammon Ashton-Atkson – a TV news reporter – said he was spired to make the film after Atralian gby player Israel Fol said 2019 that ‘hell awas’ homosexuals. And Hayward, 71, said opponents also shout homophobic tnts on the pch.

But while other teams lim drkg, Steelers n e gay datg app Grdr for only a limed time to mata ‘disciple’. Pictured: Players for the Kg's Cross Steelers actn agast a rival team Club member Eammon Ashton-Atkson – a TV news reporter – said he was spired to make the film after Atralian gby player Israel Fol said 2019 that ‘hell awas’ homosexuals.

Hayward retorted: ‘If they’re gog to be racist, what will they do when they fd out we’re all gay? They were terrified of ‘beg the first ever club to lose to a gay team’.

KGS CROSS STEELERS, THE WORLD’S FIRST GAY RUGBY TEAM, SOUND OFF ON TEAMWORK AND BROTHERHOOD

Hayward said that as the upg film shows, the club has been a lifele for many gay peopleThe Steelers are now a faiar part of the London gby scene. Hayward said that as the film shows, the club has been a lifele for many gay people.

The former Wallabi prop scribed a moment when he was drivg recklsly, the feelg of “ath felt preferable to anybody disverg [he] was gay.

Not jt any gby club, the world’s first gay gby club, the Kgs Cross Steelers London. 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.