Jog the world's first gay gby team changed my life. So I ma a film about | Film | The Guardian

Contents:

• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER 'HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: EIGHT INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT
• DAN PALMER: FORMER ATRALIA GBY PROP BE FIRST OPENLY GAY WALLABI PLAYER
• 'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG': FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER OUT AS GAY POWERFUL LUMN
• THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• GAY GBY PLAYER WS FIVE-YEAR BATTLE AGAST PORTATN TO KENYA

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. 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.

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

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. 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.

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

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.

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. 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.

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

“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.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

“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.

LIST | 5 GAY RUGBY STARS WHO ARE OUT AND PROUD

We need to addrs the disnnect between everyone’s sire to be clive and the actual experienc of gay players. The Lester scm-half Nick McCarthy has e out as gay, and thanked ach Leo Cullen and Stuart Lanster for their “unbelievable” support.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: EIGHT INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

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. Last month, Blackpool’s Jake Daniels beme the first UK-based male footballer to e out as gay sce 1990. 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.

JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT

“I thk is important to challenge the ia of what means to be a ‘gby player’ or a ‘gay person’. ”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. 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.

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.

DAN PALMER: FORMER ATRALIA GBY PROP BE FIRST OPENLY GAY WALLABI PLAYER

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. In this article, we’ll look at 10 Gay Rugby Players and how they are shapg the game today. In the gby world, he tak cred as the very first high-profile player to ever e out to the public as gay.

After his Saturday afternoon on the pch, is reported that Roberts would spend Saturday night on Oxford Street, Sydney’s gay quarter.

His brave actn saw other gay gby players g out publicly to nfs their sexual orientatn. Followg the footsteps of Ian Roberts who may have been the first high-profile player to openly adm beg gay, Keegan Hirst was arguably the first ever to do while still actively playg gby. Currently a Wakefield Try prop, Hirst has bee one of the most notable gay athlet, earng him a startg role after signg a ntract wh the League si 2016.

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

In an terview wh the Sunday Mirror, the now divorced father of two and self-nfsed gay tells of the moment he fally found the words to expla to his wife the reason they uld no longer be together. He fends himself by sayg, “Millns of people are the suatn, even people who have been Lrence’s (his partner) suatn and they are still married but are gay.

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

He is one of the current crop of players who have e out openly to say that they are gay.

As a young spired player he stated, “…this is pretty spirg for me as a fairly new player who happens to be gay, I had held off pursug gby bee of but the guys i play wh give no shs whatsoever and we have good banter about . A large athlete at 6 ft 4 (193 cm) and 225 pounds (102 kg), Bgham was a robt send-row man who played for the gay-clive San Francis Fog RFC and was a favore for his teammat the gby songs that he tght them. This also ma him bee an inic figure for gay gby players and sportspeople around the world.

To honor him, The Mark Kendall Bgham Memorial Tournament, simply known as the Bgham Cup and was started 2002, is a biennial gay gby unn tournament is named after the former gby player. Gareth ‘Alfie’ Thomas was a profsnal Welsh Rugby player who broke one of the biggt taboos the sport when he announced his homosexualy 2009. In 2010 he was voted the most fluential gay person the UK The Inpennt on Sunday Pk Listand received Stonewall’s Hero of the Year.

GAY GBY PLAYER WS FIVE-YEAR BATTLE AGAST PORTATN TO KENYA

He scribed his experience as a secretly gay player, revealg how social prsure and stereotyp pose a signifint challenge for many athlet today. He is a voted activist for the LGBT e, wng “Gay Sports Personaly of the De” at the Stonewall awards ceremony London back 2015.

The 36-year-old Texas-born athlete has e a long way om the homophobia she wnsed firsthand high school.

In today’s world, LGBT has gaed acceptance of homosexualy, although rejectn still do prevail ral areas.