Former Wallaby Dan Palmer 'humbled' by support after g out as gay | Rugby unn | The Guardian

Contents:

• 'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG': FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER OUT AS GAY POWERFUL LUMN
• FORMER WALLABI PROP BE FIRST ATRALIAN GBY TERNATNAL TO E OUT AS GAY
• DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• DAN PALMER: FORMER ATRALIA GBY PROP BE FIRST OPENLY GAY WALLABI PLAYER
• FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER 'HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• ‘MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG I WAS GAY,’ SAYS FORMER GBY PLAYER DAN PALMER
• HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY
• 'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYONE DISVERG I WAS GAY'

'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG': FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER OUT AS GAY POWERFUL LUMN

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.

FORMER WALLABI PROP BE FIRST ATRALIAN GBY TERNATNAL TO E OUT AS GAY

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.

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

The very first high-profile gby player to ever e out to the public as gay is former Atralian ternatnal Ian Roberts.

DAN PALMER: FORMER ATRALIA GBY PROP BE FIRST OPENLY GAY WALLABI PLAYER

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. 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.

FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER 'HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY

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. Oct 30th, 2020Oct 30th, 2020Former Atralian gby star Dan Palmer has bee the first Wallabi player to e out as gay, and jt the send the men's ternatnal a powerful lumn published by the Sydney Morng Herald today, Palmer penned a stirrg acunt of his time as a young man at the height of Rugby Unn tryg to e to terms wh his now 32-year-old revealed the stggl he faced tryg to nceal his homosexualy throughout his reer, durg which he ntemplated endg his life rather than have people disver his tth. It is not an exaggeratn to say my own ath felt preferable to anybody disverg I was gay.

(Getty) (Getty)Sadly, Palmer's story is emblematic of the handful of other profsnal athlet that have e out as gay recent s, says Erik Denison, lead rearcher of the Sport Incln Project at Monash Universy, highlightg the lack of progrs on the issue.

‘MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG I WAS GAY,’ SAYS FORMER GBY PLAYER DAN PALMER

"Dan's story is almost the same as athlet who e out before him, like Gareth Thomas 10 years ago, and David Kelley, who is the very first gay athlete to e out as an NFL player back the 70s, " Denison exclively told Wi World of Sports. And that's really what we need to foc on; why gay athlet ntue to feel that they're gog to be rejected. "Through Denison's rearch to homophobia sport, he found the overwhelmg factor that ntributed to an unwelg environment for gay men was the systemic e of rogatory language.

HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY

"It really down to the language that is beg ed, leav the imprsn that gay athlet are unwele that environment, " he fends the Wallabi' performance agast the All Blacks: 5 Ms wh Fzy"What we found the rearch is that om a very young age young men hear homophobic slurs which are ed nstantly as part of banter. "And bee they hear homophobic words every time when someone drops a ball or for msg up builds this associatn and their md that is que strong between beg gay and beg unsirable or beg weak. And we nsistently hear om gay athlet when we terview them, they felt like beg gay was patible to beg a gby player and an athlete.

"Men e homophobic and sexist language sport, sentially to nigrate or to scribe anythg that is weak, that is not manly. "Palmer, a prop who played one Tt for the Wallabi 2012 and domtilly for the Waratahs and Bmbi between 2008 and 2015, jos Welshman Gareth Thomas as the only other male profsnal gby player to have e out as gay.

Former Wallabi prop be first Atralian gby ternatnal to e out as gay (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Imag) One-tt Atralia prop Dan Palmer has bee the first Wallabi player to e out as gay, wrg a newspaper lumn on Friday of mental health issu and dg problems while g to terms wh his 32-year-old wrote the Sydney Morng Herald of the anguish of “livg the dream” as an ele athlete while beg trapped a “false narrative”.

'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYONE DISVERG I WAS GAY'

After gog public 2009, Thomas also revealed stggl wh personal mons while ncealg his, who played tighthead prop for Atralia agast Stland 2012, said he had overdosed on pakillers while France and woken up a “pool of the prev day’s food” moment was transformative, and he flew to London to share his secret for the first time wh a he said he had never felt discrimated agast the gby environment, Palmer was motivated to e out after former Wallabi fullback Israel Fol posted on social media that hell awas “homosexuals” who do not, a fundamentalist Christian, had his Wallabi ntract torn up by Rugby Atralia last might be achg royalty New Zealand but Steve Hansen's been given a prod om his succsor to leave the All Blacks alone. ”Only a handful of ele gby unn players have e Stanley, who played gby sevens for England, beme the first English profsnal gby unn player to e out ternatnal gby unn referee Nigel Owens, one of the game’s most popular and regnisable officials, me out 2007 and long champned cln for gay sportsmen and ’s lumn triggered an outpourg of support om former team mat and other gby figur.

Retired Wallabi and Super Rugby prop Dan Palmer has revealed the toll hidg his homosexualy took on his mental health durg his playg pots:Dan Palmer says he was "trated, angry and sperately sad" as he hid his sexualy durg his gby reer wh the Bmbi, Waratahs and WallabiPalmer has wrten of his stggl for the first time, sayg he hop helps people feel more fortable wh themselv Palmer cricised former gby unn star Israel Fol, who had his ntract torn up by Rugby Atralia for social media posts about homosexualsIn an article wrten for The Sydney Morng Herald, Palmer scribed the ner turmoil he endured, even amid his achievements on the ma 46 Super Rugby appearanc for the Waratahs and Bmbi — beg a vice-pta for the latter si — and played a Tt for the Wallabi agast Stland is one of only a few male profsnal gby unn players to e out worldwi, the hight profile beg former Wal, and Brish and Irish Lns ternatnal Gareth Thomas said he was "credibly trated, angry and sperately sad" durg his reer, addg that he was "trapped a false narrative and uld see no way out". "It is not an exaggeratn to say my own ath felt preferable to anybody disverg I was gay.

"He was the first person I told that I was gay my 25 years on the pla, " Palmer wrote.