The urageo journey of Ian Roberts, gby league's first openly gay player | Rugby league | The Guardian

Contents:

• THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• IAN ROBERTS SAYS HE RECEIVED HORRIFIC HOMOPHOBIC ABE AS THE FIRST NRL STAR TO E OUT AS GAY
• RUGBY LEAGUE HARDMAN'S PARENTS STOPPED TALKG TO HIM WHEN HE ME OUT AS GAY
• I WAS A GBY HARDMAN WHO BROKE AN OPPONENT’S JAW – BUT WHEN I ME OUT AS GAY TO MY PARENTS THEY STOPPED TALKG TO ME
• ONLY OPENLY-GAY PROFSNAL RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SPEAKS OUT ON MANLY JERSEY CONTROVERSY
• IAN ROBERTS' PARENTS STOPPED TALKG TO HIM WHEN HE ME OUT AS GAY
• GAY NRL IN IAN ROBERTS “FULLY RPECTS” MANLY PLAYERS OVER PRI JERSEY BOYTT
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

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

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. 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. 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.

”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.

IAN ROBERTS SAYS HE RECEIVED HORRIFIC HOMOPHOBIC ABE AS THE FIRST NRL STAR TO E OUT AS GAY

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.

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.

RUGBY LEAGUE HARDMAN'S PARENTS STOPPED TALKG TO HIM WHEN HE ME OUT AS GAY

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. 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. ”Moments and events accumulate to create change and as the first gay ntact sport player to e out durg a reer, Ian Roberts ss wh sports diversy pneers Jackie Robson and Marta Navratilova.

I WAS A GBY HARDMAN WHO BROKE AN OPPONENT’S JAW – BUT WHEN I ME OUT AS GAY TO MY PARENTS THEY STOPPED TALKG TO ME

Bashed the street, attacked by fans and shunned by teammat: Ian Roberts opens up on the homophobia he faced after beg the first gby league star the world to e out as gayThe former Sydney and Manly ont rower told the world he was gay 1995 Shortly after, he was knocked out by two thugs at Sydney Harbour and abedRoberts, now 55 and a relatnship wh a school teacher, said changed him Published: 15:43 BST, 15 April 2021 | Updated: 16:54 BST, 15 April 2021.

Pictured: Former NRL player Ian RobertsNRL star Ian Roberts has opened up about the horrific abe and homophobia he alt wh after beg the first gby league player the world to e out as former South Sydney and Manly ont rower told the world he was gay 1995 a landmark announcement that shocked Atralia. Pictured: Former gby league player Ian Roberts on April 4, 1995 - the year he me out as gay Pictured: Ian Roberts playg for the Cowboys durg a NRL match between the Canberra Rairs and the North Queensland Cowboys held at Bce Stadium May 17, 1998The Sea Eagl star wrtled the culpr to the ground before secury tervened and they were charged wh also relled a time durg an terstate trip where his roommate - a well known player who Roberts would not intify - said he felt 'unfortable' sharg a room bee 'Ian is a f***ot'. Even when I was at Souths, everyone knew I was gay, ' he player said he wanted to e out 1990 when he left South Sydney for Manly, but when he saw the way the prs treated English soccer player Jt Fashanu, he rensired.

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

Pictured: Ex Rugby league player and Actor Ian Roberts and Ben Prix attend the openg night of 'The Trocks' at the State Theatre on October 5, 2005 Sydney Pictured: Former NRL player Ian Roberts is seen takg part the 38th annual Gay and Lbian Mardi Gras para, Sydney, March 5, 2016'I ed to feel for my mum and dad at gam bee people would scream s**t out - I was worried they had to hear that but there are certa thgs you n't protect your fay om. Roberts has been a relatnship wh a school teacher named Daniel for 15 years, and says would be 'naive' to thk there were not players petg now who are homosexual.

IAN ROBERTS' PARENTS STOPPED TALKG TO HIM WHEN HE ME OUT AS GAY

Ex-Atralia star Ian Roberts, who was regard as one of the tought tacklers gby league the 1990s, has opened up about g out as gay to his parentsIan Roberts actn for Manly Sea EaglFormer Rugby league star Ian Roberts has revealed he didn't speak to his parents for over a year after tellg them he was gay. But he adms he was stgglg to open up about his sexualy, havg grown up a hoehold wh "a lot of misogynistic and homophobic language". Roberts, who also spent time wh Wigan Warrrs, was playg for Manly Sea Eagl when he was asked by his parents if he was gay.

The former gby star relled the nversatn 1995, wh his late father tellg him: "We jt need to hear you say you are not gay, and that is good enough for .

GAY NRL IN IAN ROBERTS “FULLY RPECTS” MANLY PLAYERS OVER PRI JERSEY BOYTT

" The ex-Wigan man adms he didn't e out sooner due to the backlash received by ex-footballer Jt Fashanu when he announced he was gay. Batley Bulldogs star Keegan Hirst beme the fist Brish player to e out as gay back 2015 and still plays the Champnship after reversg his plans to retire last year.

FORMER gby league star Ian Roberts has opened up about the difficult journey he had g out as gay to his parents and the world. Born to what he scrib as a hoehold wh "a lot of racism, and misogynistic and homophobic language", he never felt fortable tellg his parents about his sexualy.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

Rellg the discsn wh his parents, he told the BBC: "My dad retold the story and said 'we jt need to hear you say you are not gay, and that is good enough for '. Dcribg the rponse om his team-mat at the Manly Sea Eagl - who already knew he was gay - he said: "It was kd of a bondg moment for .

"There were elements of phback - of urse there were - but if I knew what I knew now I would have e to top-level gby league as a gay man. "Dad said 'I am equally proud of all my children, but I will say that I am so grateful that one of my sons was gay bee I fally saw the world as really was'. Pic: Twter/Ch10Openly gay gby league great Ian Roberts says the Manly rabow jersey ntroversy has exposed a vastatg tth around the LGBTQIA issue has domated the sportg headl this week and threatened to rail the Sea Eagl' NRL season, after the club nfirmed seven players would s out Thursday night's match agast the Roosters, prott agast wearg the rabow signed jerseys.

Roberts is a Manly club legend and remas the only profsnal gby league player Atralian history, to e out as said broke his heart to hear about the player protts agast the rabow jersey, and warned the ntroversy uld have larger ramifitns for members of the LGBTQIA Roberts expos vastatg tth“This is very personal to me as an olr gay person, bee I’ve lost iends to suici, ” Roberts said.

Ian Roberts, reflectg on a remarkable life that is set to bee the subject of a documentary film, wonrs whether would be easier for a footballer to e out as gay today than when he beme a trailblazer way back 1995.

The project is tentatively tled Light: The Ian Roberts approached Roberts after the Manly Pri jersey bacle and the latter eventually felt the time was right to tell his were few tougher than Ian Roberts durg his 1990s Getty Imag“There’s such a wi spe of subject matter, and not jt around gby league and the gay thg, ” Roberts said. ”In Atralia, NBL star Isaac Humphri and the A-League’s Josh Cavallo are the only high-profile male sportg stars to announce they were openly gay sce Roberts.

Not at Cavallo of Alai Uned and NBL star Isaac Humphri are the only openly gay men Atralian profsnal Getty“I don’t have many regrets and I don’t know if you ll a regret. “That’s another good thg about this story, back the ’90s was ok for me to be gay around the team bee everyone knew I was gay, but nobody spoke about . Roberts, who was well-known for his powerful tackl and brave on-field meanor, ma history by beg the first proment Atralian athlete to e out as gay, openg the door for wir clivens and acceptance sport.