Years after g out, gay athlet upset by lack of change | AP News

Contents:

• DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER 'HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY
• DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED
• INSPIRATNAL GAY ATRALIAN BOBSLEIGH STAR SIMON DUNN AD AT 35
• 'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG': FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER OUT AS GAY POWERFUL LUMN
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• FORMER WALLABI PROP BE FIRST ATRALIAN GBY TERNATNAL TO E OUT AS GAY
• YEARS AFTER G OUT, GAY ATHLET UPSET BY LACK OF CHANGE
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS

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

Palmer tailed the mental health issu and dg problems he experienced when g to terms wh his sexualy, although he said he never felt discrimated agast durg his playg the long-nng Israel Fol saga, which rulted the wger’s sackg by Rugby Atralia after he posted on social media that “hell awas” gay people, was a ntributg factor his cisn to wre the lumn. Many others have done so the women’s game, to far ls Denison, a rearcher wh Monash Universy’s School of Social Scienc who has nducted studi examg homophobia and homophobic behavur gby, said the siari between the stori of Palmer and Thomas highlighted the lack of progrs on the issue sport environments. “There has been a dramatic improvement public attus towards gay people general society, but we haven’t seen the same chang sport where the nstant e of homophobic language creat a culture where gay people feel unwele, ” Denison said.

“I’m hopeful that people wh the gby muny will regnise the siary between the stori and unrstand the urgent need to addrs the culture that mak gay people feel unwele and that they have to hi their sexualy to be accepted gby. ”Much progrs has been ma by gby unn recent years, cludg a formal agreement ma between Rugby Atralia and LGBTQ+ and clive teams to fight wh no openly gay active male players, Michael Smh of Internatnal Gay Rugby said there was far more work to be done to create sportg environments which men felt fortable to be themselv.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

“Dpe all the progrs we’ve ma around gay rights society, gay athlet still feel like they need to hi their sexualy. “Atralian gby, and the gby teams which Dan played for, have been credibly supportive of the need to addrs homophobia. We need to addrs the disnnect between everyone’s sire to be clive and the actual experienc of gay players.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

The Atralian former gby unn player Dan Palmer says his cisn to e out as gay was, part, motivated by a sire to break down often ntradictory stereotyp associated wh beg a ‘gby player’ or a ‘gay person’ the week sce his powerful lumn was published by the Sydney Morng Herald, Palmer has received hundreds of emails and msag om around the world, cludg om many people who have enuntered siar stggl wh their own btally open reunt tailed the mental health issu and dg problems he experienced, cludg feelgs that “my own ath felt preferable to anybody disverg I was gay” 32-year-old, 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 his lumn, Palmer wrote he had always felt fortable the gby environment, tegorisg his battle as one “primarily wh myself rather than wh obv external prsur or discrimatn” Guardian Atralia he scribed the issue as plited, regnisg the pcy of male players to have publicly intified as LGBTQI spe wir societal progrs. ”Palmer also ced “the ignorance of Israel Fol”, and the damagg impact of the sacked Wallaby’s social media post claimg “hell awas” gay people, as a key driver his rolve to speak out.

DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED

The top eight teams qualify for the was the only club planng to wear a pri jersey this Manly forward Ian Roberts, who the 1990s was the first high-profile gby league player to e out as gay, said he was not surprised by the players’ cisn. The Lester scm-half Nick McCarthy has e out as gay, and thanked ach Leo Cullen and Stuart Lanster for their “unbelievable” support. 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.

"Palmer tailed the mental health issu and dg problems he experienced when g to terms wh his sexualy, although he said he never felt discrimated agast durg his playg mediaBut the long-nng Israel Fol saga, which rulted the wger's sackg by Rugby Atralia after he posted on social media that "hell awas" gay people, was a ntributg factor his cisn to wre the lumn. Many others have done so the women's game, to far ls Denison, a rearcher wh Monash Universy's School of Social Scienc, who has nducted studi examg homophobia and homophobic behavur gby, said the siari between the stori of Palmer and Thomas highlighted the lack of progrs on the issue sport environments. ”ProgrsMuch progrs has been ma by gby unn recent years, cludg a formal agreement ma between Rugby Atralia and LGBTQ+ and clive teams to fight wh no openly gay active male players, Michael Smh of Internatnal Gay Rugby said there was far more work to be done to create sportg environments which men felt fortable to be themselv.

INSPIRATNAL GAY ATRALIAN BOBSLEIGH STAR SIMON DUNN AD AT 35

Dan Palmer, a profsnal gby player who once peted for the Atralian natnal team, has e out publicly as gay. It’s a powerful mt-read story that foc on givg the rear a glimpse to the emotns and mental state of a gay athlete locked a closet wh the key seemgly thrown away. He se Palmer’s story as simultaneoly a lson about the negative impact of homophobic language sports, as well as hopeful spiratn for others.

Atralia’s first openly gay bobsledr has sudnly died aged 35 “after a rough year of personal loss” Dunn, who also played gby for the gay and clive Sydney Convicts team, spired the LGBTI muny wh his sportg feats.

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

Tragilly he was found ad Surry Hills, Sydney, on Saturday, his agent and the police, who was om Wollongong, moved to Canada to further his bobsleigh reer and beme the first gay man to reprent a untry at the eventually retired, but ma a eback 2021 an attempt to qualify for the 2022 Wter a bicep jury led him out of the terviewed Dunn 2020 while he was an ambassador for GiveOUTDay, a fundraisg event for LGBTI said at the time he was asked by a fellow gby player if he was “really gay” bee he was tacklg so hard.

But I see remarks like that as a chance to te people – and flatten a few people the procs, ” he told He had recently posted on Instagram about breakg up wh Felix his partner of five years, sayg had been a “rough year” met his partner London when he was playg for another gay gby team, the Kgs Cross Steelers. ”Dunn was an advote for the LGBTI muny and took on Israel Fol over his ntroversial claim that all gay people would go to hell. ”Dunn began playg gby when he was 17 Wollongong but told he stopped bee of the homophobia the sport.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

Dunn was appalled when 2019 a meme began dog the rounds that ed him as an example of a “normal gay” who “don’t force upon you the fact they’re gay”. “Simon reprented all, he always said ‘I am not the spokman, I am jt a gay whe male tellg you about my experienc, and experienc om those wh whom I listened and learnt’.

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. (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.

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

"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.

YEARS AFTER G OUT, GAY ATHLET UPSET BY LACK OF CHANGE

"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.

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

"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. Rugby is one of the most loved sports the world and due to s physily, is regard as a “manly” sport, which mak more difficult for gay players to publicly acknowledge their preference.

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

Nigel Owens, one of the bt refere the world, is openly gay and has been vol about how the gby world has been hugely acmodatg.

It is the sport’s rponsibily to posively promote anti-homophobia, and anti-bullyg general, so that the majory of people who are acceptg have a lour voice than those who prott.