Gay cricketers won’t e out until 'stigma' is tackled, boss warned

Contents:

• HEATH DAVIS BE FIRST MALE NEW ZEALAND CRICKETER TO E OUT AS GAY
• YOU WILL BE SHOCKED TO KNOW THE INDIAN CRICKETERS ARE GAYS!
• GAY CRICKETERS WON’T E OUT UNTIL ‘STIGMA’ IS KNOCKED FOR SIX, BOSS WARNED

HEATH DAVIS BE FIRST MALE NEW ZEALAND CRICKETER TO E OUT AS GAY

Gee Cecil Iv (1 October 1867 Germany – 4 June 1950) was an English poet, wrer, penal reformer and early homosexual law reform mpaigner.

Gay sportsmen. Former New Zealand Tt player Heath Davis has bee the untry’s first male ternatnal cricketer to publicly speak about beg, 50, played five Tts and 11 one-day ternatnals for the Black Caps between 1994 and 1997 and was known as an timidatg, if nsistent, pace s after his Tt but, Davis publicly revealed his sexualy for the first time, an episo of the documentary seri Scratched: Aotearoa’s Lost Sportg first ternatnal male cricketer to e out publicly was the former England wicketkeeper Steven Davi was durg Davis’s first tour to England 1994 when he started to really disver himself, he told The Spoff, though he had told his mother at an early age he was gay.

”He gused some of his teammat knew he was gay before he told a uple of them 1997 but he was never qutned about .

YOU WILL BE SHOCKED TO KNOW THE INDIAN CRICKETERS ARE GAYS!

“I certaly wasn’t livg a gay life, wasn’t part of the scene, didn’t have a partner. There was nothg to tie to, if you know what I mean, ” Davis entered his first gay relatnship when he was 27 years old, while playg for Wellgton, but he was reluctant to appear public as a uple. When an offer of a ntract me om Auckland, Davis saw an opportuny to move away om the cy he did not felt fortable beg out the uple ma the move to Auckland, Davis told his new team’s manager he was gay, which was passed on to his team members and “didn’t seem to be that big an issue” is now on a new journey – one that exists tensn wh his sexualy.

Photograph: supplied by Heath DavisAn ternatnal study on homophobia sport, released May, revealed that New Zealand gay and bisexual men were the most likely to keep their sexualy secret both youth and adult sports, wh many sayg they feared bullyg om teammat and discrimatn om ach and than half of all participants believed team sport is more homophobic than the rt of New Zealand society, while gay men were much more likely to believe this (69%) than anyone Wellgton Firebirds player, Stephen Mather, said Davis told him about his sexualy 1997, when there were no other outwardly gay men playg first class cricket at that time. ”Homophobic attus sport still very much exist, said Malee Chapman, The Spoff’s edor and producer of the documentary seri. And this XI all have one thg mon – they are gay.

Set up 1996 wh the aim of providg an “opportuny for people to watch and play cricket irrpective of genr or sexual orientatn, ” a world where beg gay wasn’t always accepted, Grac have bee a haven for people to e to terms wh their sexualy while also allowg them to play cricket. They’ve often e om societi where is illegal to be gay and the opportuny to meet like-md dividuals is somethg that Sam Nimaiyar, who was born India, has valued immensely. But for Chris Sherwood – the club’s prs and publicy officer – beg able to play cricket and not stand out for beg gay is one of Grac’ unique appeal.

GAY CRICKETERS WON’T E OUT UNTIL ‘STIGMA’ IS KNOCKED FOR SIX, BOSS WARNED

“It’s nice not to be ‘the gay one, ’” Sherwood said. “I always feel like if I was a straight team, ’s like ‘oh Chris, he’s the gay one’ and then I have to e out. “This is the reason ’s difficult for people to e out bee there’s all this banter about gay beg lser somehow and to sudnly go ‘that’s me, I’m gay, ’ ’s que a difficult thg to do.

Modi moved om India to the UK 2004 and although he had known he was gay for the prev 18 months, he’d never had any gay relatnships. Upon movg to London, a batn of his membership at Grac, his new gay iends and his ex-boyiend – whom he still creds for much of the posive aspects of his life – Modi cid to e out to the most important person his life – his dad. In tradnal Indian culture, where arranged marriag are often the norm, to have an openly gay relative would harm a fay’s abily to attract potentially prospero spo.

Although is timated that the law change affected 104 ln gay Indians, is still not monplace to be openly gay Indian society.