Watch: Gay Rugby Players Strip Locker Room Shoot

Contents:

• WHO IS GARETH THOMAS? OPENLY GAY WAL GBY UNN LEGEND AND REALY STAR DIAGNOSED WH HIV
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD
• WELSH GBY STAR REVEALS HE IS GAY
• WHO IS GBY REF NIGEL OWENS? WELSHMAN BRAVELY ME OUT AS GAY, FOUGHT BULIMIA AND OVERME SUICI
• WAL GBY LEGEND GARETH THOMAS OUT AS GAY
• WHO IS GARETH THOMAS? OPENLY GAY WAL GBY UNN LEGEND AND REALY STAR DIAGNOSED WH HIV
• MICKEY ROURKE'S GAY GBY FILM IS NO LONGER ABOUT GARETH THOMAS
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

WHO IS GARETH THOMAS? OPENLY GAY WAL GBY UNN LEGEND AND REALY STAR DIAGNOSED WH HIV

He me out as gay 2009, makg him the first openly gay profsnal gby unn player - and will be a star on ITV's new show The Real Full Monty on Ice. 2 The former Welsh ternatnal me out as gay after his marriage broke up and said he hoped would enurage other young gay gby playersCred: Getty Imag.

When did Gareth Thomas e out as gay? In December 2009, Thomas announced publicly that he is gay. He said he did not want to be known as a "gay gby player" but simply as a "gby player".

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

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.

LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD

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. 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.

WELSH GBY STAR REVEALS HE IS GAY

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. 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.

WHO IS GBY REF NIGEL OWENS? WELSHMAN BRAVELY ME OUT AS GAY, FOUGHT BULIMIA AND OVERME SUICI

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. He was also the first profsnal gby unn player to announce that he was gay, when he me out 2009. Thomas married his wife, Jemma, 2002, but they later divorced before he announced that he was gay 2009.

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. " His aim is to "celebrate the bodi of 'ordary gay men.

The Steelers has not only helped pave the way for clive gby teams but also helped hanged perceptns about gay sportsmen.

WAL GBY LEGEND GARETH THOMAS OUT AS GAY

"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.

WHO IS GARETH THOMAS? OPENLY GAY WAL GBY UNN LEGEND AND REALY STAR DIAGNOSED WH HIV

"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.

MICKEY ROURKE'S GAY GBY FILM IS NO LONGER ABOUT GARETH THOMAS

Wal gby unn ternatnal Gareth Thomas has announced that he is gay an terview Bra's Daily Mail Cardiff Blu full-back, 35, says he has been through "absolute spair" and did not want to be known simply as a "gay gby player" former Wal and Brish and Irish Lns pta is Wal' most-pped player and nth the all-time Tt try srg list. "I don't want to be known as a gay gby player.

I jt happen to be gay.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

When gby referee Nigel Owens me out as gay 2007, he said was “a big taboo” to be LGBT+ his le of work. Welsh gby player Gareth Thomas later me out as gay, and other players have opened up about their inti too. Did you enunter much homophobia after g out as gay?

But on the odd ocsn – on the very, very odd ocsn that there were homophobic ments shouted at me om the spectators – was heard by other people and was reported to the relevant bodi and they managed to al wh the suatn. Rugby has allowed to be who we are, so nobody uld say that gby is a homophobic sport. In 2007, the Mynyddcerrig-native shocked the sports world by g out as gay.

6 In 2007 Owens shocked the sports world by g out as gayCred: SWNS:South Wt News Service.