Lester’s Nick McCarthy out as gay and thanks club for their support | Lester | The Guardian

Contents:

• 10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME OUT
• FIRST OPENLY GAY GBY LEAGUE PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST OUT OF RETIREMENT
• GAY PRO GBY PLAYER SPIRED TO E OUT BY LOVE OF HIS BOYIEND
• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS
• U.S. PRO GBY PLAYER DEV IBAñEZ OUT AS GAY
• DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI
• DAN PALMER, FORMER PRO GBY PLAYER, OUT AS GAY TEAR-JERKER OP-ED
• GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT AFTER MANLY'S PRI JERSEY SAGA
• LESTER’S NICK MCCARTHY OUT AS GAY AND THANKS CLUB FOR THEIR SUPPORT
• KEEGAN HIRST STEPS ON TO FIELD AS BRA'S FIRST GBY LEAGUE STAR TO E OUT AS GAY
• CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: NEW ZEALAND PLAYER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY
• JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU
• THE URAGEO JOURNEY OF IAN ROBERTS, GBY LEAGUE'S FIRST OPENLY GAY PLAYER
• ONLY OPENLY-GAY PROFSNAL RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SPEAKS OUT ON MANLY JERSEY CONTROVERSY
• IAN ROBERTS' PARENTS STOPPED TALKG TO HIM WHEN HE ME OUT AS GAY
• RUGBY LEAGUE STAR KEEGAN HIRST BE FIRST BR PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY
• MEET GARETH THOMAS, FIRST GBY PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

10 GAY RUGBY PLAYERS WHO MA THEIR COME 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. The players have bee a bean of light bee they overme stereotyp and other challeng faced by homosexual athlet way too often.

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

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.

FIRST OPENLY GAY GBY LEAGUE PLAYER KEEGAN HIRST OUT OF RETIREMENT

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.

GAY PRO GBY PLAYER SPIRED TO E OUT BY LOVE OF HIS BOYIEND

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.

GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SAYS HE'S SEEN MUCH 'GAYER' THGS IN SPORTS CHANGG ROOMS

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. 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.

U.S. PRO GBY PLAYER DEV IBAñEZ OUT AS GAY

Keegan Hirst, the first Brish gby league star to e out as gay, has reversed his retirement cisn wh the hope to play for the Batley Bulldogs for the rt of 2022. “After the recent thly-veiled homophobia over a rabow shirt, I thought how n I help wh visibily and cln?

A month prr, my partner Ferg and I had created an Instagram acunt — thatgaygger — and I cid to fally share somethg I had long kept separate om my gby reer. A former English gby league star has rpond to the recent LGBTQIA+ jersey saga engulfg the Manly Sea ex-player Keegan Hirst says 's rather ironic that the group are boyttg wearg the pri k bee he's seen 'what go on changg rooms' and 'would be seen as beg MUCH gayer' than simply wearg a rabow jersey for a AlamyThe Manly Sea Eagl have ma headl across the world this week after releasg their 'Everyone League' jersey – unfortunately, though, wasn't for the right was meant to be a posive move to drive clivy soon turned sour when several players threatened to boytt their next game after refg to wear the club’s rabow Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak’atu, Tolut Koula and Toafofoa Sipley have been named as the players qutn and will subsequently miss their next fixture after beg stood down on relig saga hasn't pated anyone volved a particularly pleasant light wh both the players and the club self g unr fire. A number of big-name figur have had their say on the matter, cludg the NRL's first and only openly-gay player Ian Hirst, who me out as gay 2015 durg his time the UK Super League, has h out at the Sea Eagl players.

Dev Ibañez, who played profsnally Major League Rugby, has e out as gay social media posts, sayg he has “cid to embrace what I once felt embarrassed of and be proudly and shamelsly myself.

DISMANTLG STEREOTYP: 10 INSPIRG GAY RUGBY PLAYERS AND PERSONALI

He created his Instagram acunt yterday as “thatgaygger, ” sce he is one of the very few openly gay pro gby players, past or prent. The fal goal beme “Once I sign a pro ntract I will be more vol and bee the first openly gay MLR [Major League Rugby] player.

I had been separatg gby and my personal life/sexualy sce I was high school bee I didn’t wanna be known as “that gay gger”. I have met some credibly talented LGBTQ gby players over the years, many of whom were blackballed om playg a high level solely due to beg gay.

As of now I am the only openly gay gby player to earn a ntract wh an MLR si (At least I haven’t heard of any others, would love to talk wh anyone who has. And bee I know that I am much more than jt that gay gby player, and more than jt someone obssed wh gby. Here’s some pics of me and my partner livg our bt life together to make the homophob my iends list crge.

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

But I am nfint the homophobia will be drowned out by the valu, love and support that the gby muny is built upon. In light of recent ntroversy regardg homophobic slurs by Israel Fol, we thought we would she a light on 10 fluential gay gby personali.

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.

GAY RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER TO COME OUT OF RETIREMENT AFTER MANLY'S PRI JERSEY SAGA

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. 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.

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

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.

KEEGAN HIRST STEPS ON TO FIELD AS BRA'S FIRST GBY LEAGUE STAR TO E OUT AS GAY

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.

CAMPBELL JOHNSTONE: NEW ZEALAND PLAYER FIRST TO E OUT AS GAY

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. Atralian A-League soccer star Josh Cavallo me out as gay an October vio posted to his social media, beg hailed as the first current male top-flight profsnal soccer player to publicly do so. "He ntued: "Growg up I always felt the need to hi myself, you know, bee I was ashamed, and ashamed I'll never be able to do what I love and be gay.

In a September terview wh USA Today, 25-year-old mor league baseball player beme the only active baseball profsnal to be out as gay! Natnal Hockey League prospect Le Prokop me out as gay July, the first active player the league to e out. The 28-year-old Natnal Football League player and Rairs fensive leman ma history when he me out as gay on Instagram durg Pri Month, beg the first veteran NFL player to e out as gay while signed to a regular-season ntract.

The Bachelor star and former football player (who was signed by the San Diego Chargers as an undrafted ee agent and was on the practice squad of the Oakland Rairs and the Philalphia Eagl) me out as gay April, sayg he had fally e to terms wh his sexualy and the "next step all of this was sort of lettg people know. "He wanted everyone to know he was "still the same Colton everybody met on TV" and is "proud to be gay. Hiltz had prevly e out as gay while llege and has been a visible and affirmg prence for gay athlet the past.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH KEV MAXEN OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

Corey Walsh, the 27-year-old pro BMX rir and Vans spokperson, said he isn't normally the type of person to "let people " on his personal life, but felt was important to e out as gay a March Instagram post bee "there are a lot of people still stgglg wh the same suatns" and he "jt wanted to let people know that they are not alone.

Champn long track speedskater Conor McDermott-Mostowy never hid beg gay om his fay, iends, and fellow athlet, but he also wasn't one to rate his locker wh rabow Pri flags eher. He ially feared negative stereotyp about gay male athlet but threw those ncerns asi after his two-tle performance at the U.

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

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. A gay gby league player is g out of retirement as a prott agast the seven Manly Sea Eagl players who boytted their club's pri Hirst, who slammed the seven players at the time of the saga, has cid the bt way to tick to them is by lacg up the boots once aga to give the LGBTQIA+ muny visibily on the sportg Manly Sea Eagl ma headl across the world last week after releasg their 'Everyone League' jersey – unfortunately, though, wasn't for the right was meant to be a posive move to drive clivy soon turned sour when several players threatened to boytt their next game after refg to wear the club’s rabow Aloiai, Jason Saab, Christian Tuipulotu, Josh Schter, Hmole Olak’atu, Tolut Koula and Toafofoa Sipley were named as the players qutn and subsequently missed their next fixture after beg stood down on relig entire oral didn't pated anyone volved a particularly pleasant light wh both the players and the club self fdg themselv unr, who me out as gay 2015 durg his time the UK Super League, was one of the many people who nmned the actns of the the former Wakefield player has cid to rpond to the boytt by g out of retirement.

"After the recent thly-veiled homophobia over a rabow shirt, I thought how n I help wh visibily and cln? "Cred: Supplied/NRLWhen news first broke of the boyttg players, Hirst was quick to ll them out on social media, claimg he's seen thgs sports changg rooms that would be emed 'much gayer' than simply wearg a rabow shirt..

ONLY OPENLY-GAY PROFSNAL RUGBY LEAGUE PLAYER SPEAKS OUT ON MANLY JERSEY CONTROVERSY

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. No one is gay Batley, " Hirst Yorkshire native, who recently spl up wh his wife, says that he me to terms wh his sexualy this year and his journey to e out started when he saw what his beg the closet was dog to his wife.

""Particularly wh a sport that is as exprsive and tough as gby league, I thk there is a prupposn that would suppose that people who were gay would not be playg , but that's jt not right.

"Welsh gby star Gareth Thomas is the hight-profile gby player to have said he was gay while still playg the sport.

IAN ROBERTS' PARENTS STOPPED TALKG TO HIM WHEN HE ME OUT AS GAY

No one is gay Batley, ” the prop cisn to go public prompted a wave of support om teammat and fans, many takg to social media to praise the 6ft 4 Yorkshireman. ”Nigel Wood, the chief executive of the Rugby Football League, the sport’s erng body, ngratulated Hirst but said he hoped that one day would not be nsired exceptnal for a player to announce they were gay.

RUGBY LEAGUE STAR KEEGAN HIRST BE FIRST BR PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

“Particularly wh a sport that is as exprsive and tough as gby league, I thk there is a prupposn that would suppose that people who were gay would not be playg , but that’s jt not right.

The Welsh gby unn star Gareth Thomas, now retired, is the hight-profile gby player to have said he was gay while still playg the sport. He summoned the urage to tell his wife he was gay a few weeks ago after realisg that she blamed herself for their breakup.

Hopefully if there’s other gay players out there – which I’m sure there are – if they have the urage to do then ’s a good thg.

MEET GARETH THOMAS, FIRST GBY PLAYER TO E OUT AS GAY

”The Rugby Football League beme the first erng body of a major sport to sign up to Stonewall’s mpaign agast homophobia 2008, when logos proclaimg “Some people are gay. Matthew Hodson, the chief executive of the gay men’s health chary GMFA, scribed Hirst’s announcement as a signifint moment for a sport nsired one of the most macho the world. “I thk ’s really important that for other people who have e om very tradnal backgrounds, and have that expectatn of ‘this is what a man is’, to fd out that gby players, builrs, other sportspeople are gay.

"There were one or two people who said 'you're not bisexual, you're jt gay' but largely was overwhelmgly posive.

Wh the announcement, the fensive end om the Las Vegas Rairs be the first out gay player the said he never really ma a big al about g out to his teammat.