Dan Palmer praised after beg first Wallabi player to e out as gay | Rugby unn | The Guardian

Contents:

• FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER 'HUMBLED' BY SUPPORT AFTER G OUT AS GAY
• DAN PALMER PRAISED AFTER BEG FIRST WALLABI PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• 'MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG': FORMER WALLABY DAN PALMER OUT AS GAY POWERFUL LUMN
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED
• HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY
• FORMER WALLABI PROP BE FIRST ATRALIAN GBY TERNATNAL TO E OUT AS GAY
• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• GAY GBY PLAYER, BOBSLEDR, ACTIVIST SIMON DUNN DI AT 35
• FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY
• ‘MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG I WAS GAY,’ SAYS FORMER GBY PLAYER DAN PALMER
• INSPIRATNAL GAY ATRALIAN BOBSLEIGH STAR SIMON DUNN AD AT 35

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

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. “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.

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

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.

“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. “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. We need to addrs the disnnect between everyone’s sire to be clive and the actual experienc of gay players.

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.

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

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. 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.

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

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. Oct 30th, 2020Oct 30th, 2020Former Atralian gby star Dan Palmer has bee the first Wallabi player to e out as gay, and jt the send the men's ternatnal a powerful lumn published by the Sydney Morng Herald today, Palmer penned a stirrg acunt of his time as a young man at the height of Rugby Unn tryg to e to terms wh his now 32-year-old revealed the stggl he faced tryg to nceal his homosexualy throughout his reer, durg which he ntemplated endg his life rather than have people disver his tth.

(Getty) (Getty)Sadly, Palmer's story is emblematic of the handful of other profsnal athlet that have e out as gay recent s, says Erik Denison, lead rearcher of the Sport Incln Project at Monash Universy, highlightg the lack of progrs on the issue.

DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED

"Dan's story is almost the same as athlet who e out before him, like Gareth Thomas 10 years ago, and David Kelley, who is the very first gay athlete to e out as an NFL player back the 70s, " Denison exclively told Wi World of Sports.

And that's really what we need to foc on; why gay athlet ntue to feel that they're gog to be rejected. "Through Denison's rearch to homophobia sport, he found the overwhelmg factor that ntributed to an unwelg environment for gay men was the systemic e of rogatory language.

HUGE SUPPORT FOR FORMER WALLABI PLAYER WHO HAS E OUT AS GAY

"It really down to the language that is beg ed, leav the imprsn that gay athlet are unwele that environment, " he fends the Wallabi' performance agast the All Blacks: 5 Ms wh Fzy"What we found the rearch is that om a very young age young men hear homophobic slurs which are ed nstantly as part of banter.

"And bee they hear homophobic words every time when someone drops a ball or for msg up builds this associatn and their md that is que strong between beg gay and beg unsirable or beg weak.

And we nsistently hear om gay athlet when we terview them, they felt like beg gay was patible to beg a gby player and an athlete.

FORMER WALLABI PROP BE FIRST ATRALIAN GBY TERNATNAL TO E OUT AS GAY

"Men e homophobic and sexist language sport, sentially to nigrate or to scribe anythg that is weak, that is not manly. "Palmer, 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 out as gay. The Lester scm-half Nick McCarthy has e out as gay, and thanked ach Leo Cullen and Stuart Lanster for their “unbelievable” support.

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.

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT

Dan Palmer, a profsnal gby player who once peted for the Atralian natnal team, has e out publicly as gay. It’s a powerful mt-read story that foc on givg the rear a glimpse to the emotns and mental state of a gay athlete locked a closet wh the key seemgly thrown away.

He se Palmer’s story as simultaneoly a lson about the negative impact of homophobic language sports, as well as hopeful spiratn for others.

The top eight teams qualify for the was the only club planng to wear a pri jersey this Manly forward Ian Roberts, who the 1990s was the first high-profile gby league player to e out as gay, said he was not surprised by the players’ cisn. Ian Roberts, the former gby league player, has nmned Atralia’s ma sportg bodi for makg “empty promis” to elimate homophobia, as a llectn of groundbreakg new studi reveal ongog harm to young LGBTQ+ people sport.

GAY GBY PLAYER, BOBSLEDR, ACTIVIST SIMON DUNN DI AT 35

A special issue of ternatnal journal Sport Management Review released on Wednday is voted to LGBTQ+ issu and fds sports lears have not upheld their rponsibily to end is spe a timele of amic rearch and other work datg back 50 years, all of which siarly nclud homophobic attus and behavurs are mon sport and harmful to all athlet, regardls of sexualy and genr cis wh the release of two separate Monash Universy studi that shed light on the high number of LGB adolcents who hi their sexualy om teammat and the extent of homophobic language male of the Sport Management Review studi, one by Monash and the other by Wtern Sydney Universy, report the mments ma by sports around the world have not been followed wh meangful scribe largely superficial rpons signed to generate publicy or revenue, and nclu LGBTQ+ diversy will ntue to be ignored after the Covid-19 panmic unls polil, public and rporate prsure driv actn.

FORMER NEW ZEALAND GBY PLAYER CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE BE FIRST ALL BLACK TO E OUT AS GAY

“I n’t tell you how many sport CEOs and board members have told me they thk endg homophobia sport is important and they want to help.

‘MY OWN ATH FELT PREFERABLE TO ANYBODY DISVERG I WAS GAY,’ SAYS FORMER GBY PLAYER DAN PALMER

“In 2014, all the CEOs of Atralia’s major sports signed a formal mment to elimate homophobia.

”One of the separate Monash studi analysed survey rpons om 1173 lbian, gay and bisexual adolcents aged 15-21 across Atralia, New Zealand, the Uned Stat, Uned Kgdom, Canada and found 82% of young men and 77% of women tried to hi their sexualy om at least some of their teammat. Roberts, who 1995 beme gby league’s first openly gay player, said stori like those of recently out former Atralian gby unn player Dan Palmer and NFL player Ryan O’Callaghan monstrate “experienc seem to be gettg worse, not better”. “I’m vastated to learn that gay kids who e out to their teammat are the most likely to be the target of homophobic abe, ” Roberts told Guardian Atralia.

”Dpe 15% of high-school stunts sayg they are not heterosexual, only three gay mal have e out Atralian profsnal sport. The AFL is the only major profsnal sport the world to have never had a gay or bisexual male player e out. Prev rearch dit victims of sexualy-based bullyg are more likely to self-harm and attempt other separate Monash study vtigated why teenage and adult male athlet e homophobic language sport.

INSPIRATNAL GAY ATRALIAN BOBSLEIGH STAR SIMON DUNN AD AT 35

8%) self-reported g homophobic slurs the prev two weeks and even more (69%) reported their teammat had ed this language.

“We found most male athlet e homophobic language to nform to the behavur of others around them, ” said -thor Nick Flkner, a senr rearch fellow at Monash’s BehavurWorks Atralia. ”Palmer, who October beme the first Wallabi player to e out as gay, said “homophobic language is often ed as banter or to get a lgh team environments”. “Homophobic language further isolat closeted teammat and signals to aspirg gay athlet that they will not be accepted.

"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 mediaBut 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.