Steven Davi beme the first openly gay profsnal cricketer - and has never been happier | Daily Mail Onle

Contents:

• HEATH DAVIS BE FIRST MALE NEW ZEALAND CRICKETER TO E OUT AS GAY
• STEVEN DAVI BEME THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL CRICKETER - AND HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPIER
• GAY CRICKETERS WON’T E OUT UNTIL ‘STIGMA’ IS KNOCKED FOR SIX, BOSS WARNED
• YOU WILL BE SHOCKED TO KNOW THE INDIAN CRICKETERS ARE GAYS!
• FIVE PROMENT SPORTS PERSONALI WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY

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

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 .

“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.

STEVEN DAVI BEME THE FIRST OPENLY GAY PROFSNAL CRICKETER - AND HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPIER

”Homophobic attus sport still very much exist, said Malee Chapman, The Spoff’s edor and producer of the documentary seri. Gee Cecil Iv (1 October 1867 Germany – 4 June 1950) was an English poet, wrer, penal reformer and early homosexual law reform mpaigner.

Openly gay cricketers?

Apart om Alex Blackwell and Steven Davi, are there any other openly gay cricketers? Steven Davi is the first cricketer to e out as gay and says footballers fear that qutn Updated: 23:53 BST, 4 May 2013 Steven Davi do not nsir himself brave. But when the Surrey and England wicketkeeper beme the first profsnal cricketer to state publicly that he is gay he adms that he feared he would bee a figure of years later, the 26-year-old says he has never been happier.

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

He is ntent his cisn and ready to rurrect his ternatnal the week that basketball star Jason Colls beme the first man playg a major Amerin team sport to clare that he was gay, Davi spoke to The Mail on Sunday about his own experience of openg up about his sexualy, his iendship wh pop star Sir Elton John — and his hope that one day soon a current profsnal footballer will follow his lead. ’In Febary former Leeds Uned footballer Robbie Rogers did adm to beg gay, but only after announcg his retirement om the sport.

‘I’d tell any young guy who knows they are gay and is nsirg a reer profsnal sport that tim are changg and thgs are gettg a lot easier. ‘Elton would be on Skype to Johnny Depp and one time I walked to the sue and Elton was there havg ffee wh Coldplay, ’ said beme iends wh Sir Elton after the sger wrote to him followg his cisn to reveal that he was gay, the first top English cricketer to take the step.

Devastated: Davi (left) was cshed by the ath of Tom Maynard (centre) Pneer: NBA star Jason Colls me out, beg the first openly gay active player major sports 'They said seeg me do had given them strength to do and they were so much happier. ’VIEWS FROM OTHER SPORTSFOOTBALLVeteran gay rights mpaigner Peter Tatchell says the Football Associatn mt give a stronger and more public lead the game’s efforts to bat 92 Premier League and Football League clubs signed a ernment charter agast homophobia last year, and the thori are phg the clubs to adopt more active Tatchell, who has lobbied the FA for actn agast for more than 20 years, says the are ‘low-key and almost visible mov and not real actn’ add: ‘The FA should be givg a stronger, more public lead.

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

‘The Football Associatn are dog good grassroots work, to te agast homophobia at unty and junr league level. There have been no high-profile FA mpaigns to challenge anti-gay chants. Three years ago the FA approved the makg of an anti-homophobia vio but then refed to promote .

’So far 56 clubs have signed up to an FA scheme lnched Febary and aimed at gettg all clubs actively volved anti-homophobia iativ. The FA are also arrangg meetgs next month wh clubs whose fans were mentned a dossier piled by Brighton about homophobic abe at their gam.

(pictured below: Robbie Fowler apologised for gay tnts he directed at Graeme Le Sx) WOMEN'S SPORTEngland pta Casey Stoney believ women’s football has a far more mature attu to homosexualy than the men’s game. Men’s football remas the last major team sport the UK wh no openly gay players, whereas the women’s game has a number of high-profile lbian of them, 30-year-old Stoney, 30, has won 109 ps for England and not enuntered any hostily, and she believ is time for men’s football clubs and fans alike to take rponsibilty for changg ‘prehistoric’ attus. ‘Havg spoken to a lot of male profsnal players, the one issue that keeps croppg up is the amount of grief an openly gay player might get om fans, ’ she says.

FIVE PROMENT SPORTS PERSONALI WHO HAVE E OUT AS GAY

I know recently there was the Football v Homophobia mpaign and was disappotg to hear that some clubs almost refed to take part that. ‘Homophobia was rife society not so long ago, but I believe the man and woman on the street have changed their thought procs — and is time football ught up, pecially the men’s game. ’(below left) Casey Stoney, who says men's clubs need to change prehistoric attus RUGBY UNIONOpenly gay referee Nigel Owens received wispread support om si and outsi gby unn and has no regrets about his cisn to e out six years feared abe om fans and had even attempted suici, but spe some fans ‘ocsnally over-steppg the mark’ he sists his experience has been almost totally posive.

‘I agonised over whether to e out bee back then there were no openly gay sportsmen or women profsnal gby or any other team sports, ’ he said.