Nashville's Gay Rugby Team Strips Down, Showers Up For 2016 Calendar: PHOTOS - Towleroad Gay News

Contents:

• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS
• “WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO BE ROLE MOLS FOR OTHER GAY FOLKS WHO WANTED TO PLAY SPORTS, BUT NEVER FELT GOOD ENOUGH OR STRONG ENOUGH. MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO SHOW THE OTHER TEAMS THE LEAGUE THAT WE ARE AS GOOD AS THEY ARE. GOOD GBY PLAYERS. GOOD PARTIERS. GOOD SPORTS. GOOD MEN.”
• KEEGAN HIRST: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE A GBY LEAGUE PLAYER AND I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’
• NASHVILLE’S GAY RUGBY TEAM STRIPS DOWN, SHOWERS UP FOR 2016 CALENDAR: PHOTOS
• THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• GAY PRO GBY PLAYER SPIRED TO E OUT BY LOVE OF HIS BOYIEND
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• KEEGAN HIRST - FIRST OPENLY GAY, ACTIVE RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER

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

Uned Stat Gay Sports Network. Hawaii Gay Rugby.

A former English gby league star has rpond to the recent LGBTQIA+ jersey saga engulfg the Manly Sea ex-player Keegan Hirst says 's rather ironic that the group are boyttg wearg the pri k bee he's seen 'what go on changg rooms' and 'would be seen as beg MUCH gayer' than simply wearg a rabow jersey for a AlamyThe Manly Sea Eagl have ma headl across the world this week after releasg their 'Everyone League' jersey – unfortunately, though, wasn't for the right was meant to be a posive move to drive clivy soon turned sour when several players threatened to boytt their next game after refg to wear the club’s rabow Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak’atu, Tolut Koula and Toafofoa Sipley have been named as the players qutn and will subsequently miss their next fixture after beg stood down on relig saga hasn't pated anyone volved a particularly pleasant light wh both the players and the club self g unr fire. A number of big-name figur have had their say on the matter, cludg the NRL's first and only openly-gay player Ian Hirst, who me out as gay 2015 durg his time the UK Super League, has h out at the Sea Eagl players. And a lot of would be seen as beg MUCH ‘gayer’ than a rabow on a jersey.

“WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO BE ROLE MOLS FOR OTHER GAY FOLKS WHO WANTED TO PLAY SPORTS, BUT NEVER FELT GOOD ENOUGH OR STRONG ENOUGH. MORE IMPORTANTLY, WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO SHOW THE OTHER TEAMS THE LEAGUE THAT WE ARE AS GOOD AS THEY ARE. GOOD GBY PLAYERS. GOOD PARTIERS. GOOD SPORTS. GOOD MEN.”

”Another Twter er then rpond, sayg: "To me there is no such person as a gay person. All people are equal no need for gay pri.

Gay people are equently ostracised, ridiculed, beaten and even killed simply for beg gay. Gay people around the world are still executed, arrted and persecuted for beg gay. What do mean to gay kids who want to play gby?

KEEGAN HIRST: ‘I’M PROUD TO BE A GBY LEAGUE PLAYER AND I’M PROUD TO BE GAY’

“Beg gay isn’t a belief.

A 501(c)3 nonprof anizatn, the Rebelln is a Divisn III mens team petg at the amatr level the Southern California Rugby Football Unn and Internatnal Gay Rugby Associatn.

“No matter who you are and what you do, beg gay shouldn’t get the way, ” he says. ”In 2015, Hirst beme the first openly gay gby league player Bra – Gareth Thomas was playg unn when he went public on his sexualy – while playg for Batley and sce then, his life has changed ways he never imaged. “When I me out, I was clear that I didn’t want to go on a csa and be a gay in, a p-up, ” Hirst says.

NASHVILLE’S GAY RUGBY TEAM STRIPS DOWN, SHOWERS UP FOR 2016 CALENDAR: PHOTOS

“I jt wanted to be me – but almost immediately, I was gettg msag om guys who were married but knew they were gay, people who played sport but stopped bee they were gay and didn’t want to e out. ”Hirst dreamed of beg a gby player om a young age but beg a role mol for gay people was never his tentn. “I jt didn’t want to thk I was gay for que some time, ” he says.

But John Kear, my ach at Batley, jt said: ‘It don’t matter to me if you’re gay, you’re my pta and that’s all that matters.

Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianHirst’s reer has gone om strength to strength sce g out. “But I’m proud to be me, I’m proud to be a gby league player and I’m proud to be gay.

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

Dev Ibañez is the first openly gay Major League Rugby player and is dited to LGBTQ+ advocy sport. Dev was announced Global Ambassador for Internatnal Gay Rugby (IGR) and a Stonewall Sports Champn 2021.

Shortly after a handful of gby unn clubs for gay and bisexual men om the UK and USA had found the Internatnal Gay Rugby Associatn and Board (IGRAB) October 2000, The Washgton Renegas held an rmal, ternatnal, vatnal tournament at their home DC May 2001. As a gay man and regular gby player, Mark not only played for San Francis Fog but also helped to set up Gotham Knights New York Cy and was well known throughout the fledglg IGR was credibly shockg that jt three month’s followg the vatnal, Mark would loose his life the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks, onboard flight Uned October 2001, followg the 2001 vatnal, the San Francis Fog succsfully lobbied IGRAB for the right to put on a XVs gby tournament  San Francis  June tournament was fashned the style of the Rugby World Cup, wh both the tournament and cup prize named honor of Mark followg a unanimo cisn by all the members of IGRAB. As did last year, the Nashville Grizzli gay and clive gby team jt released s 2016 fundraisg lendar and the gby beef is on display aga to raise money for the team and their hostg of next year's Bgham Cup!

GAY PRO GBY PLAYER SPIRED TO E OUT BY LOVE OF HIS BOYIEND

“We were found 2006 and are the only gay and clive gby team Nashville. RELATED: USA Rugby and Int'l Gay Rugby Sign Agreement to Rid the Sport of Homophobia. “We will host the Bgham Cup, world champnship of gay gby, here Nashville May 2016.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

Named after Mark Bgham, who died the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Bgham Cup is the biggt tournament the world for gay and clive teams and this will be the first year has been hosted the South. RELATED: Keegan Hirst Be First Brish Pro Rugby League Player to Come Out as Gay: ‘Now I Feel Free'. And Don't Miss Last Year's Hotns: Nashville's Gay Rugby Team Gets Wet, Muddy, and Shirtls for New Calendar: PHOTOS.

As Towleroad reported earlier this year, USA Rugby, the natnal erng body for the sport of gby unn the Uned Stat, has signed “a memorandum of unrstandg” wh Internatnal Gay Rugby ahead of next year's Bgham Cup Nashville.

KEEGAN HIRST - FIRST OPENLY GAY, ACTIVE RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER

First Openly Gay Major League Rugby PlayerProfsnal gby player, ach and LGBTQ+ sports ambassador. 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.