Keegan Hirst: Rugby league's first openly gay player reflects on retirement | ITV News Calendar

Contents:

• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS
• FIRST OPENLY GAY GBY LEAGUE PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST OUT OF RETIREMENT
• FIRST OPENLY GAY GBY LEAGUE PLAYER HAILS 'OVERWHELMG' SUPPORT
• KEEGAN HIRST: RUGBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER REFLECTS ON RETIREMENT
• RUGBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER LLS JOSH ALOIAI 'IGNORANT' FOR REFG TO WEAR RABOW PRI JERSEY
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E OUT AS GAY
• RUGBY LEAGUE: FOOTY BOSS, OPENLY GAY NRL PLAYER FUME AT MARCELO MONTOYA'S HOMOPHOBIC SLUR
• LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD
• ONLY OPENLY-GAY PROFSNAL RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SPEAKS OUT ON MANLY JERSEY CONTROVERSY
• THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• KEEGAN HIRST - FIRST OPENLY GAY, ACTIVE RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST 'OVERWHELMED AND HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT
• SYNONYMS FOR OPENLY GAY
• OPENLY GAY CROSSWORD CLUE

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

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. ”Another Twter er then rpond, sayg: "To me there is no such person as a gay person.

FIRST OPENLY GAY GBY LEAGUE PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST OUT OF RETIREMENT

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. Keegan Hirst, the first Brish gby league star to e out as gay, has reversed his retirement cisn wh the hope to play for the Batley Bulldogs for the rt of 2022.

“After the recent thly-veiled homophobia over a rabow shirt, I thought how n I help wh visibily and cln? And a lot of would be seen as beg MUCH “gayer” than a rabow on a jersey…. Hirst beme the first Brish profsnal gby league player to e out as gay 2015.

Media ptn, Keegan Hirst says was "nceivable" for him to thk he uld be gayThe first Brish gby league player to e out as gay says he has been "overwhelmed" and "humbled" by fans' and fellow players' support for Hirst, who is separated om his wife, said the time had e "to be te to myself". 'B of stick'"There's not any gay people Batley, not that I know of, " he told the BBC. "You expect a b of stick om fans, om players - you get whether you're gay or not - but there wasn't any of that.

FIRST OPENLY GAY GBY LEAGUE PLAYER HAILS 'OVERWHELMG' SUPPORT

"Image source, PAImage ptn, Hirst said he hoped other players would feel able "to be who they really are"Hirst said he only recently me to accept he was gay when his marriage broke down. "I jt thought was a phase - was nceivable for me to thk that I uld be gay. "I feel 's hardly an issue worthy of ment bee why shouldn't a player e out and say that they're gay?

KEEGAN HIRST: RUGBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER REFLECTS ON RETIREMENT

Vio report by Chris DawkRugby league player Keegan Hirst believ not much has changed for gay athlet sce he publicly spoke about his sexualy five years, who announced he is gay 2015, last week retired om the sport after 13 years as a profsnal. "At first I uldn't even say 'I'm gay' my head, let alone out loud, " Hirst says. No one is gay Batley, " Hirst Yorkshire native, who recently spl up wh his wife, says that he me to terms wh his sexualy this year and his journey to e out started when he saw what his beg the closet was dog to his wife.

""Particularly wh a sport that is as exprsive and tough as gby league, I thk there is a prupposn that would suppose that people who were gay would not be playg , but that's jt not right.

"Welsh gby star Gareth Thomas is the hight-profile gby player to have said he was gay while still playg the sport. It was the first erng body of a major sport to sign up to Stonewall's mpaign agast homophobia 2008.

RUGBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER LLS JOSH ALOIAI 'IGNORANT' FOR REFG TO WEAR RABOW PRI JERSEY

I haven't been out as a gay guy on the pull yet, so that'll be a new experience. Manly legend Ian Roberts has lled Josh Aloiai ‘ignorant’ for not supportg the club’s pri 57-year-old beme the first gby league player to openly e out as gay 1995 while he was the back end of his Sea Eagl took exceptn to seven players om his former club who refed to don a pri jersey reprentg a few rabow strip Round 20 of last Saab, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak'atu and Tolut Koula joed Aloiai boyttg the jersey bee of their relig and cultural Roberts at 2020 NRL lnch.

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.

JAGS' MAXEN IS FIRST MALE AMERIN PRO SPORTS ACH TO E 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.

RUGBY LEAGUE: FOOTY BOSS, OPENLY GAY NRL PLAYER FUME AT MARCELO MONTOYA'S HOMOPHOBIC SLUR

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

LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD

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.

ONLY OPENLY-GAY PROFSNAL RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SPEAKS OUT ON MANLY JERSEY CONTROVERSY

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.

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

-- Jaguars assistant strength and ndng ach Kev Maxen has bee the first male ach major Amerin men's profsnal sports to publicly e out as gay, tellg he ma the cisn bee he didn't want to hi who he is any longer and to possibly spire others siar 's a cisn and move that drew praise and support om owner Shad Khan, who was a vol and emphatic supporter of a cy ordance that expand protectns on the grounds of sexual orientatn, genr inty and genr exprsn.

Outsi lebacker Carl Nassib beme the first active NFL player to e out as gay and to play a game Associated Prs ntributed to this report. Photo / SuppliedThe CEO of the North Queensland Cowboys has lled Marcelo Montoya out for directg a homophobic slur at Kyle Feldt Friday night's Sunday, New Zealand Warrrs wger Montoya was referred directly to the NRL judiciary for his rogatory ment about Cowboys premiership-wner Feldt durg the Warrrs' goln pot the charge was hand down, Montoya and the Warrrs released a statement apologisg for the slur, which was picked up on the referee's microphone. "We were extremely disappoted to learn a homophobic slur was ed by an opposg player durg our match agast the Warrrs on Friday night, " said Reibel.

"Over the weekend, Ian Roberts, the world's first openly gay profsnal gby league player, qutned why the NRL, Warrrs and Cowboys had taken so long to speak publicly about the cint. Roberts, a former State of Orig and Cowboys player, said he was "sadned" by the Roberts march durg the 44th Sydney Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras Para last month Sydney.

KEEGAN HIRST - FIRST OPENLY GAY, ACTIVE RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER

"For his slur, Montoya beme the send player to be referred directly to the judiciary unr the current judiciary will plead his se before the panel, which will ci his penalty later this om SportTop football ach red-rd after alleged ‘homophobic’ mentTop club fights to have ban on ach for alleged "homophobic" ment overturned. Roberts is the only male profsnal gby league star history to e out as gay and he adms the players' refal to wear the rabow-loured 'Everyone League' strip uld impact the wir LGBTQIA+ muny. “This is very personal to me as an olr gay person, bee I’ve lost iends to suici, ” Roberts said.

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.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

Stereotyp mean ls thkg and for the league muny, surround by a ep emotnal moat, there was no way he uld be tough and father always advised him to “go for the biggt guy” and, crippled by a life nial, he uld sublimate his rage and claw back self-worth by excellg at everythg physil, cludg was all a smokcreen for a new phase of his life, glorly gurated at Sydney gay pub The Exchange. “I had a sh of eedom and belongg and saw my first role mols, livg openly as gay men and women. Roberts would nvce them that he was gog to “50-50 clubs”, further throwg them off the trail by paradg wh betiful “girliends” at club 1984, an unlikely hero emerged for 19-year-old Roberts the form of New South Wal premier Neville Wran, who passed a law crimalisg homosexualy.

FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST 'OVERWHELMED AND HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT

”It was the same year that Bronski Beat’s tortured g out anthem Smalltown Boy stormed world dancefloors, crystallisg the horror experience which a young suburban man is bashed for attendg a gay club and disowned by his father. Eventually old school Souths ach Gee Piggs nonted Roberts about his sexualy, pleadg wh him to stop gog to the gay clubs.

Early the 1989 season a gossip em wrten unr a nom plume appeared the Sun Herald statg Roberts had been spotted a gay club.

In the followg game Roberts was baed by Bulldogs players and openly vilified by fans, the thought of a gay player fuellg the passns of the wilst Jack, pictured after a brawl wh Roberts 1991.

SYNONYMS FOR OPENLY GAY

Roberts was bone tired om pretendg, but they both advised him to keep a fay secret until after his years later Roberts tormented gby league media and fans further by agreeg to a nu shoot Blue, a new gay magaze, but did not fively say he was gay. The opposg crowds went wild and the homophobic abe grew to new heights.

OPENLY GAY CROSSWORD CLUE

For the gay muny, sexualy was a matter of life and ath. Gay bashgs and killgs were rife across Sydney, creatg a siege mentaly. Many the muny viewed Roberts’s g out as a way to save liv, particularly wh high rat of gay teen suici blamed on a lack of posive role mols.

Roberts appreciated the honty but uld not buy to the belief that the fans and sponsors would not tolerate a gay man. Peter FzSimons the Sydney Morng Herald was clear on the impact of the announcement: “Roberts is not the first gay footballer, but the first wh the urage to live openly. “In the 90s gay men were murred and bashed by vigilant.