The only gay on the pch | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• WHO IS GBY REF NIGEL OWENS? WELSHMAN BRAVELY ME OUT AS GAY, FOUGHT BULIMIA AND OVERME SUICI
• NIGEL OWENS: 'I ULDN'T ACCEPT I WAS GAY'
• ‘I NSIRED CHEMIL STRATN,’ SAYS GAY GBY REFEREE NIGEL OWENS
• RUGBY’S TRAILBLAZG GAY REFEREE NIGEL OWENS REVEALS SUICI ATTEMPT AT AGE 11 DUE TO BULLYG — YEARS BEFORE TRYG TO KILL HIMSELF A BATTLE WH SEXUALY
• CRAIG MAXWELL-KEYS: PREMIERSHIP GBY REFEREE ME OUT AS GAY VIA WHATSAPP
• PNEERG GAY GBY REFEREE NIGEL OWNS LLED AN ‘ABOMATN’ HATEFUL, HOMOPHOBIC LETTER
• THE ONLY GAY ON THE PCH
• CLOSED PTNG SCREW-UP WR THAT GBY REFEREE ‘IS A GAY’

WHO IS GBY REF NIGEL OWENS? WELSHMAN BRAVELY ME OUT AS GAY, FOUGHT BULIMIA AND OVERME SUICI

In 2007, the Mynyddcerrig-native shocked the sports world by g out as gay.

6 In 2007 Owens shocked the sports world by g out as gayCred: SWNS:South Wt News Service. It's such a big taboo to be gay my le of work, I had to thk very hard about bee I didn't want to jeopardise my reer. A GAY REF IN A MACHO SPORT.

NIGEL OWENS: 'I ULDN'T ACCEPT I WAS GAY'

"It's such a big taboo to be gay my le of work, I had to thk very hard about bee I didn't want to jeopardise my reer, " he nfsed. "When I beme a referee, beme clear that there was nobody the sport who was gay.

"Although that’s not to say that the sport is openly homophobic. Owens knew he was gay his late teens.

‘I NSIRED CHEMIL STRATN,’ SAYS GAY GBY REFEREE NIGEL OWENS

When gby referee Nigel Owens me out as gay 2007, he said was “a big taboo” to be LGBT+ his le of work. Welsh gby player Gareth Thomas later me out as gay, and other players have opened up about their inti too. Did you enunter much homophobia after g out as gay?

But on the odd ocsn – on the very, very odd ocsn that there were homophobic ments shouted at me om the spectators – was heard by other people and was reported to the relevant bodi and they managed to al wh the suatn.

Rugby has allowed to be who we are, so nobody uld say that gby is a homophobic sport.

RUGBY’S TRAILBLAZG GAY REFEREE NIGEL OWENS REVEALS SUICI ATTEMPT AT AGE 11 DUE TO BULLYG — YEARS BEFORE TRYG TO KILL HIMSELF A BATTLE WH SEXUALY

He hadn't met a gay man before and his feelgs were totally alien to him, so much so that he sperately tried to supprs them. ''I didn't want to be a gay person. ''Alongsi his battle wh prsn and anxiety, Owens veloped bulimia and beme hooked on steroids as he stggled to accept that he was gay.

I didn't want to be a gay person Aged 24, Owens attempted to take his own life due to his self loathg over his sexual orientatn - a regret he says will plague him for the rt of his life.

Rugby referee Nigel Owens is one of the most proment gay men sport. As an openly gay figure one of the most mascule of sports Nigel Owens is a rary – but he might never have achieved his inic stat gby unn if he had gone ahead wh plans for a chemil stratn. “I didn’t want to be gay, ” Owens, who me out 2007, told CNN.

CRAIG MAXWELL-KEYS: PREMIERSHIP GBY REFEREE ME OUT AS GAY VIA WHATSAPP

“I actually went to the doctor at one stage to see if I uld be chemilly strated any way, if would get rid of me beg gay.

They n’t tell other people they’re gay bee they’re fightg themselv. However, he believ the mcular world of gby unn is way ahead of other global sports when to acceptg gay stars, although Gareth Thomas beme the first profsnal player to open up about his sexualy as recently as 2009. “It annoys me sometim when people say gby is homophobic.

Rerd-Breakg Rugby Unn Referee & Gay Sports Personaly of the Year. Publicly me out as a gay 2007 makg him the first openly gay gby referee. Stonewall’s Gay Sports Personaly of the De.

PNEERG GAY GBY REFEREE NIGEL OWNS LLED AN ‘ABOMATN’ HATEFUL, HOMOPHOBIC LETTER

Nigel Owens is a profsnal gby unn referee who ma history by g out as gay 2007. One of the most regnisable figur the game, Nigel is the world’s first openly gay referee and has overseen some of the sport’s biggt match. Away om the pch, he has bee an tablished LGBT speaker who n rell the difficulti of beg gay such a mascule sport at rporate, public and Pri events.

Nigel always stggled wh his sexualy, particularly due to homosexualy beg stigmatised the world of sport.

THE ONLY GAY ON THE PCH

This clus beg named ‘Gay Sports Personaly of the Year’ 2007 and 2015 ‘Gay Sports Personaly of the De.

A te gay in, Nigel leav a roundg impact on dienc at events. Owens, 47, is known as gby’s trailblazer, the first man the sport to e out as gay and to she a light on his battle wh prsn and attempted suici. Across the hour that he discs mental health, prsn, bereavement and homosexualy, the word ‘acceptance’ is one he returns to often.

It took Owens until the age of 26 to accept he was gay and another seven years before he told anyone. Owens on the first gay footballerNIGEL OWENS believ football’s first player to e out as gay will be supported by the sport — but he urg to be for the right reason. Gay gby referee Nigel Owens has spoken out about ncealg his sexualy, explag that he once hid a date a Pizza Hut Swansea when a former Wal ternatnal player walked .

CLOSED PTNG SCREW-UP WR THAT GBY REFEREE ‘IS A GAY’

The Welsh ternatnal referee, who publicly me out as gay 2007, explaed that he nstantly lived fear of others disverg his sexualy earlier on his reer. Nigel Owens is the only openly gay official top level gbyReferee Nigel Owens has weled the ban of two people for shoutg homophobic abe at him durg England's loss to New Welsh official, 43, who is the first openly gay man to referee at the hight level, said he would be willg to meet the supporters. A send vtigatn is still ongog to a separate cint of alleged homophobic abe a different part of the ground.

Homophobia 'is creepg to gby'The official, who is one of the assistant refere at Twickenham on Saturday for England agast Atralia, praised the RFU for g down hard on he said gby has bee "more accsible to people who are probably not tradnal gby supporters".

The most difficult thg I ever had to do my life was acceptg I was gay. "I've been there myself and I know they n tip you over the edge, I had a send chance, let's make sure that we don't put other people that suatn - bee there's no need for society and no need for was the only Welsh referee at the 2007 World Cup"People say that I've broken down barriers by beg a gay man sport, but the te hero here are the on who don't stand by, who stand up and brg to the attentn of the erng bodi. 2005: Appoted ternatnal refereeMay 2007: Com out publicly as gaySept 2007: World Cup but, takg charge of Argenta v GeiaNov 2007: Named gay sports personaly of the year by StonewallMay 2008 & 2009: Refere Heeken Cup falsSept 2011: Refere at World CupOwens was appoted an ternatnal referee 2005 and announced he was gay two years has sce officiated at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, and was only the send man to referee two nsecutive Heeken Cup fals - 2008 and alertg the RFU, supporter Keh Wilson wrote a letter to the Guardian newspaperexternal-lk statg a group of supporters shouted "nasty, foul-mouthed, racist, homophobic abe" at the official durg England's 24-21 feat.