BBC Sport - Rugby Unn - Ex-Ln Gareth Thomas reveals he is gay

welsh rugby union gay player

Former Wal and Lns pta Gareth Thomas breaks one of the major taboos surroundg sport by announcg he is gay.

Contents:

WHO IS GARETH THOMAS? OPENLY GAY WAL GBY UNN LEGEND AND REALY STAR DIAGNOSED WH HIV

The gby legend on his teammat' reactns when he told them he was gay and the benefs of revealg his HIV diagnosis. By John Nghton. * welsh rugby union gay player *

He was also the first profsnal gby unn player to announce that he was gay, when he me out 2009.

Thomas married his wife, Jemma, 2002, but they later divorced before he announced that he was gay 2009. He me out as gay 2009, makg him the first openly gay profsnal gby unn player - and will be a star on ITV's new show The Real Full Monty on Ice.

2 The former Welsh ternatnal me out as gay after his marriage broke up and said he hoped would enurage other young gay gby playersCred: Getty Imag. When did Gareth Thomas e out as gay? In December 2009, Thomas announced publicly that he is gay.

GARETH THOMAS: ‘WHEN I ME OUT AS GAY, I WANTED TO SHOW A SIGN OF STRENGTH’

There are many great gay profsnal gby players and personali. The players have bee a bean of light bee they overme the stereotyp. * welsh rugby union gay player *

He said he did not want to be known as a "gay gby player" but simply as a "gby player". The 47-year-old ma history when he beme the first openly gay gby unn player 2009, facg a media enzy at a time when there was snt regnn of diverse sexuali and inti sport.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

The former Wal gby pta has e out as gay * welsh rugby union gay player *

Was difficult to e out as gay at the time? Is tratg general, that when you’re a gay person the public eye, people tomatilly thk you want to be an outspoken activist? There would be so many non-gay footballers who would support a gay footballer speakg openly about his sexualy, yet nobody seems to fd that a pot of tert.

“Around six per cent of the total populatn are gay, but if you only have one openly gay person a sport of around 500 or 600 people, somethg’s not addg up there. It’s also still illegal to be gay 69 untri the world, so we n s here and say everythg’s fe but there’s still a way to go. “Another thg I’m really passnate about gettg across to people, is that this isn’t jt a vis that affects black Ain men or women or gay men.

Nothg the upbrgg of Gareth Thomas – once Wal’s most-pped gby unn player and still the most proment sportsman the UK to have e out publicly while still playg – uld have prepared him for the media scty he has faced the past , sce tellg the world he was gay December 2009 and then announcg that he is livg wh HIV a uple of months was forced to post a vio on Twter September revealg his HIV stat, after a tabloid journalist turned up on the doorstep of his unspectg parents to rm them of the news and ask for he ed the experience to make an acclaimed documentary, Gareth Thomas: HIV and Me. “When I me out as gay, I always wanted to show a sign of strength, ” he says.

WAL GBY LEGEND GARETH THOMAS OUT AS GAY

Wal gby unn ternatnal Gareth Thomas has announced that he is gay an terview Bra's Daily Mail newspaper. * welsh rugby union gay player *

”Gareth Thomas: ‘You n get thgs off your cht five mut, and then ’s done’ (Photo: Chris Floyd/Men’s Health)He laments the fact that there are still so few openly gay sportsmen and talks passnately about the need for sport to create an environment where someone g out would know that their rights would be rpected. In light of recent ntroversy regardg homophobic slurs by Israel Fol, we thought we would she a light on 10 fluential gay gby personali.

WELSH GBY STAR REVEALS HE IS GAY

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.

EX-LN GARETH THOMAS REVEALS HE IS 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.

HOW WAL' LGBT+ GBY TEAMS ARE BREAKG DOWN THE STIGMA OF SEXUALY SPORT'AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE’RE STILL A TEAM, AND THE BON IS WE N BE WHO WE ARE'WALONLEBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSSPORTBYJOSEPH ALICOMMUNY REPORTER17:29, 9 DEC 2020BOOKMARKVIO LOADGVIO UNAVAILABLECLICK TO PLAYTAP TO PLAYTHE VIO WILL TO-PLAY SOON8CANCELPLAY NOWTHE WEEKLY EMAIL BRGS YOU ALL THE LATT NEWS OM THE LGBTQ+ MUNY PL EXCLIVE TERVIEWS DIRECT TO YOUR BOXMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 THE WEEKLY EMAIL BRGS YOU ALL THE LATT NEWS OM THE LGBTQ+ MUNY PL EXCLIVE TERVIEWS DIRECT TO YOUR BOXINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

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

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.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* WELSH RUGBY UNION GAY PLAYER

Who is Gareth Thomas? Openly gay Wal gby legend and realy star diagnosed wh HIV | The Sun.

TOP