Former New Zealand gby player Campbell Johnstone be first All Black to e out as gay | CNN

Contents:

• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• SAM STANLEY IS FIRST ENGLISH GBY PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• BEN COHEN OPENS UP ABOUT BEG A GAY IN: IT'S EXCG TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN GAY AND STRAIGHT PEOPLE
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD

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.

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.

SAM STANLEY IS FIRST ENGLISH GBY PLAYER 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.

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

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

BEN COHEN OPENS UP ABOUT BEG A GAY IN: IT'S EXCG TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN GAY AND STRAIGHT PEOPLE

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.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

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.

England Sevens ternatnal Sam Stanley has bee the first English profsnal gby unn player to publicly e out as gay.

FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY

"Stanley's cisn to make his sexualy public after Batley Bulldogs prop Keegan Hirst last month beme the first gby league player to openly e out as ternatnal Gareth Thomas was prevly the only openly homosexual gby player after he me out whilst playg for gby unn si Cardiff Blu , who ptaed Wal and the Brish and Irish Lns, went on to play for league si Csars before retirg, but Hirst was the first player to e out publicly whilst playg the 13-man, leadg referee Nigel Owens, who is due to officiate at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, me out 2007. Stanley add: "Millns of people are the suatn, even people who have been Lrence's (his partner) suatn and they are still married but are gay. The Lester scm-half Nick McCarthy has e out as gay, and thanked ach Leo Cullen and Stuart Lanster for their “unbelievable” support.

I need to accept beg gay myself before I uld addrs wh others. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho/ShutterstockFellow Lester player Dunne revealed his bisexualy last year, around the same time Nassib announced he was gay and a few months before Atralian Cavallo ma headl across the world by sharg his news.

LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD

Last month, Blackpool’s Jake Daniels beme the first UK-based male footballer to e out as gay sce 1990. The former England gby unn ternatnal player adms he was surprised by his "gay in" stat as he gears up to mark the ath of his father wh new anti-bullyg mpaignBen CohenHe was one of the world’s most fearsome gby players - a 6ft 3s powerhoe who helped England w the gby World Cup. But today, as opposed to flyg down the wg at Twickenham, Ben Cohen is jt as at home at gay superstore Prowler London’s Soho.

For spe beg straight, the former sportstar has bee an ternatnal gay in - helpg thoands of homosexuals and transgenr people break boundari both on and off the sports field. After his father’s ath, Ben set up The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundatn to bat bullyg of all typ cludg of people who might be lbian, gay, bisexual or transgenr. If we ntue the nversatn to the negative effects of bullyg, whether that’s homophobia or bullyg schools, eventually will bee socially unacceptable.