'Brave' cricketer Davi reveals he is gay

Contents:

• GAY CRICKETERS WON’T E OUT UNTIL ‘STIGMA’ IS KNOCKED FOR SIX, BOSS WARNED
• HEATH DAVIS BE FIRST MALE NEW ZEALAND CRICKETER TO E OUT AS GAY
• STEVEN DAVI BEME THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL CRICKETER - AND HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPIER
• 'BRAVE' CRICKETER DAVI REVEALS HE IS GAY
• RYANA MACDONALD-GAY
• E GAY
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND PACER HEATH DAVIS PUBLICLY COM OUT AS GAY
• STEVEN DAVI REVEALS HE IS GAY

GAY CRICKETERS WON’T E OUT UNTIL ‘STIGMA’ IS KNOCKED FOR SIX, BOSS WARNED

"It was only after movg to the UK and hearg about Grac that Modi felt able to rencile his inti as a gay man and a cricket lover. Across sport generally, events such as the Gay Gam and EuroGam have been providg LGBTQ+ athlet wh a space to pete for years.

Cricketer Steve Davi is the first and only English male pro to e out as gay. Gay cricket ach and activist Sam Schofield has cricised the England and Wal Cricket Board (ECB) for “lettg down” the LGBTQ+ muny. After Jake Daniels beme England’s first pro male footballer to e out as gay more than three s, Schofield spoke of the need for more LGBTQ+ role mols cricket.

HEATH DAVIS BE FIRST MALE NEW ZEALAND CRICKETER TO E OUT AS GAY

Comparatively, the women’s divisn has players like Natalie Sciver and Kathere Bnt, an openly gay cricketer uple. Set up 1996 wh the aim of providg an “opportuny for people to watch and play cricket irrpective of genr or sexual orientatn, ” a world where beg gay wasn’t always accepted, Grac have bee a haven for people to e to terms wh their sexualy while also allowg them to play cricket. They’ve often e om societi where is illegal to be gay and the opportuny to meet like-md dividuals is somethg that Sam Nimaiyar, who was born India, has valued immensely.

But for Chris Sherwood – the club’s prs and publicy officer – beg able to play cricket and not stand out for beg gay is one of Grac’ unique appeal. “I always feel like if I was a straight team, ’s like ‘oh Chris, he’s the gay one’ and then I have to e out. “This is the reason ’s difficult for people to e out bee there’s all this banter about gay beg lser somehow and to sudnly go ‘that’s me, I’m gay, ’ ’s que a difficult thg to do.

STEVEN DAVI BEME THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL CRICKETER - AND HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPIER

Modi moved om India to the UK 2004 and although he had known he was gay for the prev 18 months, he’d never had any gay relatnships. Upon movg to London, a batn of his membership at Grac, his new gay iends and his ex-boyiend – whom he still creds for much of the posive aspects of his life – Modi cid to e out to the most important person his life – his dad. In tradnal Indian culture, where arranged marriag are often the norm, to have an openly gay relative would harm a fay’s abily to attract potentially prospero spo.

Although is timated that the law change affected 104 ln gay Indians, is still not monplace to be openly gay Indian society. Whether is bee of tradnal attus or homophobic beliefs that still permeate through the untry as a rult of relig iologi, the numbers of openly gay people India is disproportnate to the populatn of India.

It’s impossible to ppot a sgular actn that will fively change the perspective of the Indian populatn of the LGBT muny, but speakg to Modi and Nimaiyar, is clear that they believe that havg famo Indian ins – whether they are sports stars or celebri other walks of life – voice their support for the LGBT muny, is somethg that uld signifintly help gay people. However, she advised him not to e out to his brother and father bee “they would rather you be a rapist or murrer than gay. And isn’t jt the ethnic ntgent of the club who have had to al wh homophobic abe durg their liv.

'BRAVE' CRICKETER DAVI REVEALS HE IS GAY

” Not only was Root standg up on behalf of all gay cricket players, but subsequently srg a century after makg the ment, he did what the members at Grac’ have learnt to do – let the cricket do the talkg. The England cricket pta Joe Root has been wily hailed for his rponse to alleged homophobic abe after tellg an opponent that “there is nothg wrong wh beg gay” was out the middle durg the third and fal Tt Sat Lucia on Monday when he had a heated altertn wh the Wt Indi fast bowler Shannon the stump microphon did not pick up Gabriel’s ial remarks, he was spoken to about his language by the umpir at the time. On Tuday night he was charged wh a breach of the Internatnal Cricket Council’s of nduct for g “language of a personal, sultg, obscene and/or offensive nature” UK sport mister, Mims Davi, said Root served huge praise for immediately llg out the remarks and said his actns should “serve as an example to anyone who se homophobic abe” to do the same.

Her sentiment was shared by the former England hockey pta Kate Richardson-Walsh, who is gay. “The more players, fans, clubs and anisatns that stand up for equaly sport, the sooner we kick discrimatn out and make sport everyone’s game, ” she Davi, the former England wicketkeeper who me out as gay 2011, appld Root’s stance on Twter.

RYANA MACDONALD-GAY

However, his rponse to the bowler’s sledgg was immediate – wh Root tellg the Wt Indian bowler twice “Don’t e as an sult” before addg: “There’s nothg wrong wh beg gay. “Root, as England pta, stood up the middle of a Tt match to what he thought was homophobic abe and said ‘I’m not havg that’.

E GAY

There’s no room for homophobia on or off the cricket pch, which is why I appld what Joe Root did.

FORMER NEW ZEALAND PACER HEATH DAVIS PUBLICLY COM OUT AS GAY

Homosexualy is illegal Sat Lucia, and those nvicted n face a prison sentence of between five and 10 years. Gee Cecil Iv (1 October 1867 Germany – 4 June 1950) was an English poet, wrer, penal reformer and early homosexual law reform mpaigner. Former New Zealand Tt player Heath Davis has bee the untry’s first male ternatnal cricketer to publicly speak about beg, 50, played five Tts and 11 one-day ternatnals for the Black Caps between 1994 and 1997 and was known as an timidatg, if nsistent, pace s after his Tt but, Davis publicly revealed his sexualy for the first time, an episo of the documentary seri Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sportg first ternatnal male cricketer to e out publicly was the former England wicketkeeper Steven Davi was durg Davis’s first tour to England 1994 when he started to really disver himself, he told The Spoff, though he had told his mother at an early age he was gay.

STEVEN DAVI REVEALS HE IS GAY

”He gused some of his teammat knew he was gay before he told a uple of them 1997 but he was never qutned about . “I certaly wasn’t livg a gay life, wasn’t part of the scene, didn’t have a partner.