Tacklg homophobic attus: the straight men who play for gay gby clubs | Rugby unn | The Guardian

Contents:

• GAY GBY UNN CLUB SYDNEY CONVICTS NMNS 'OFFENSIVE' FOL SOCIAL MEDIA POST
• INTERNATNAL GAY RUGBY
• HONOUR IS A REFLECTN OF HARD WORK, SAYS GAY GBY PNEER ANDREW PURCHAS
• TACKLG HOMOPHOBIC ATTUS: THE STRAIGHT MEN WHO PLAY FOR GAY GBY CLUBS
• NEW GAY ALLIANCE FOR RUGBY ATRALIA
• GAY RUGBY WORLD CUP OPENS IN SYDNEY
• RUGBY ATRALIA FORMS ALLIANCE WH GAY RUGBY CLUBS
• JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT
• THE 5 BEST SYDNEY GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SYDNEY
• INTERNATNAL GAY RUGBY
• RUGBY ATRALIA FORMS ALLIANCE WH GAY RUGBY CLUBS

GAY GBY UNN CLUB SYDNEY CONVICTS NMNS 'OFFENSIVE' FOL SOCIAL MEDIA POST

The Sydney Convicts are Atralia’s first gay and clive Rugby Unn club.

Together wh our partners at ACON we have worked to grow the nversatn around anti-homophobia sport, and been volved creatg real change for our muny. On the back of Bgham 2014 wh the support of the Atralian Sports Commissn the Convicts lnched an Anti-Homophobia & Incln Framework for Atralian Sports. The Convicts also head up the Out on The Fields survey, the first ternatnal study on homophobia Sport.

INTERNATNAL GAY RUGBY

The Sydney ConvictsThe Sydney Convicts are Atralia’s first gay and clive Rugby Unn club. Together wh our partners and sponsors we strive to grow the nversatn around anti-homophobia sport, and for many years have been volved creatg real change. This clus lnchg an Anti-Homophobia & Incln Framework for Atralian Sports on the back of hostg the 2014 Bgham Cup Sydney and leadg the 'Out on The Fields' survey - the first ternatnal study on homophobia our season we tra and play at our home ground Rose Bay, Sydney / Gadigal Land wh the Woollahra Colleagu RFC.

Homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and terphobia are not accepted wh our club. The Sydney Convicts are Atralia’s first gay and clive gby unn club.

HONOUR IS A REFLECTN OF HARD WORK, SAYS GAY GBY PNEER ANDREW PURCHAS

We were formed 2004 and are the most succsful club to have peted the Bgham Cup, the world cup of gay gby. While many Convicts players intify as homosexual or bisexual, there are a number of players and officials who intify as heterosexual. The club rais funds to mata our teams the our domtic petn and orr to travel to ternatnal tournaments, such as the World Cup of gay gby, the Bgham Cup.

As a young gay man Don Rose grew up worshipg the Wallabi while grapplg wh his own sexualy — the two inti didn't mix. "For a lot of , part of nontg your sexualy is movg away om gby, bee gby and ntact sports are hyper-mascule environments and a lot of people who e out of the closet feel like those two worlds are irrencilable, " he pots:The club has been reluctant to ment on Israel Fol's social media postsPlayers fear the the posts uld have a negative effect on young children's mental healthFol is appealg Rugby Atralia's cisn to termate his ntractThe 31-year-old is print of the Sydney Convicts, Atralia's first gay and clive gby unn club petg the suburban petn for 15 years. "Our club's purpose is to play really strong and petive gby, but 's as much about makg our players better on the field as is beg better men, " Mr Rose club has been hant to ment on Israel Fol's social media posts nouncg homosexualy, but fears the damage has already been done.

"As a proud gay man who's been a gby supporter my entire life and a kid who idolised the Wallabi, there's a danger those ments uld have really severe affects on kids' mental wellbeg. "The Wallabi fullback's of nduct hearg enters s third day is appealg Rugby Atralia's cisn to termate his four-year $4 ln ntract over his Instagram post proclaimg hell awas "dnks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornitors, thiev, atheists and idolaters". Players om the Sydney Convicts, Atralia's first gay gby unn club, want to move on.

TACKLG HOMOPHOBIC ATTUS: THE STRAIGHT MEN WHO PLAY FOR GAY GBY CLUBS

"The [game's] hight profile player makg nmnatns agast gay people has been a signifint distractn.

"There's still homophobic language and slurs that occur and when people you look up to are sayg thgs pletely ntrary to [beg clive], that really slows down and impes the procs, " Mr Rose said. IGR is Internatnal Gay Rugby (Associatn and Board) – an anisatn of member clubs of primarily gay and clive gby clubs. providg opportuni for members of the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr muny (LGBT) to pete gby through tolerant and acceptg clubs and teams, both primarily LGBT and LGBT-iendly and by elimatg homophobia gby through muny outreach, petive play and tournament events that stand for tolerance and acceptance sports; and.

We are an Associate Member of the Feratn of Gay Gam and we are regnised by the World Rugby as the reprentative LGBT anisatn. In 2001 Andrew Purchas was workg San Francis, livg wh his partner and playg the odd game of gby for the San Francis Fog, a gay gby club.

NEW GAY ALLIANCE FOR RUGBY ATRALIA

Bgham told his players was a chance to be “role mols for other gay folks who wanted to play sports, but never felt good enough or strong enough”.

Eight gay gby clubs turned out. I’m so proud of what we’ve achieved over the last 15 years promotg gay gby and equaly more generally. Purchas had the four Atralian football s and Cricket Atralia sign a mment to implement anti-homophobia polici.

It seemed a w for gay sports people, and a posive, progrsive look for Atralian outsi the ARU – which has held the Bgham Cup s trophy bet and Wallabi flanker David Pock has an outspoken advote – the signatur of the sports’ CEOs amounted, effectively, to lip service. For Purchas they “sum up the sence of what gay gby is about”.

GAY RUGBY WORLD CUP OPENS IN SYDNEY

The most mon qutn Man Traer gets asked when he proudly tells people he plays for the Sydney Convicts is: “Why would you play for a gay gby club?

“Why wouldn’t I play for a gay team? ”Although he is straight, Traer feels a nnectn to the gay muny, havg been raised by gay parents, and after givg away petive boxg due to an jury he saw an opportuny to redisver his love of sport. “It was a really good opportuny for me to not only learn a new sport, but bee they are a gay clive team gave me an opportuny to give back to the gay muny, ” he says.

RUGBY ATRALIA FORMS ALLIANCE WH GAY RUGBY CLUBS

Beg a young straight guy, playg a gay team giv me the chance to challenge those norms and stereotyp. ”Jeremy Schmz, a straight man who plays for the world’s first gay-clive gby club, London’s Kgs Cross Steelers, feels the same way.

’ That kd of homophobic slur manifted self throughout the gby club. “I didn’t know that was a gay gby club when I turned up, ” he says. “Already to my six-year-old son, thgs that are not good are ‘gay’, ” Traer says.

JOG THE WORLD'S FIRST GAY GBY TEAM CHANGED MY LIFE. SO I MA A FILM ABOUT

At that age, they don’t even know what they’re sayg and ’s hard to rrect a child and try to expla to him why llg somethg he don’t like gay is not appropriate, bee he hasn’t even learnt the Schmz actn for Kgs Cross Steelers. ”New rearch released this week shows Traer and Schmz are not alone their sire to rid tradnal male sportg environments om homophobic language.

A rearch team found the e of homophobic slurs is not always ditive of homophobic attus. “I thk about beg mascule and beg a homosexual man, they never dovetail.

It’s not gog to be done by jt the straight muny, jt the gay muny, jt the sportg muny, jt the tnal stutns. Rugby Atralia says hop to grow the number of gay gby players Atralia and te people about homophobia through a new alliance wh a number of gay-clive the alliance, a new mtee will be formed by RA wh four Atralian gby clubs - Sydney Convicts, Melbourne Chargers, Brisbane Htlers and Perth Rams - as well as UK-based Internatnal Gay Rugby.

THE 5 BEST SYDNEY GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS SYDNEY

"We want gby to be a game that all Atralians n enjoy regardls of their age, race, background, relign, genr or sexual orientatn, " said RA chief executive, Raelene the latt sport on Channel 7 or stream for ee on 7pl >>"This formal alliance between Rugby Atralia and the clubs is a key step forward fosterg and matag a Rugby environment that is safe, welg and enjoyable for all members of the LGBTIQA (lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, tersex, queer/qutng, asexual) muny.

INTERNATNAL GAY RUGBY

"The move to strengthen ti wh the gay muny a year when the 's relatnship wh the group me unr the May gby's star player Atralia, Israel Fol, had his ntract termated after he posted a picture to social media April sayg that homosexuals and other "sners" would go to is currently embroiled a multi-ln dollar dispute wh the eply relig Fol, who is appealg s se will go to urt Febary should further mediatn fail December.

The Sydney Convicts, Atralia’s first gay gby club, and the current holrs of the Bgham Cup. The 7th Bgham Cup, known as the gay gby world cup, has opened Sydney, Atralia, wh the support of the Atralian Rugby Unn (ARU).

Hundreds of gay and gay supportg players om around the world are takg part the event, which ends on Sunday. To ci wh the openg, the ARU announced s new Incln Policy, signed to stamp out discrimatn and homophobia gby and ensure a posive environment for everyone volved the game. “There is absolutely no place for homophobia or any form of discrimatn our game and our actns and words, both on and off the field, mt reflect this, ” he add.

RUGBY ATRALIA FORMS ALLIANCE WH GAY RUGBY CLUBS

The tournament is named after the late openly gay Mark Bgham, one of four passengers who attempted to take back Uned Airl flight 93 om hijacker’s durg the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US. Bgham was an origal member of one of the first gay gby teams the world, the San Francis Fog RFC and also helped found the New York team, the Gotham Nights.

This year’s Bgham Cup is beg hosted by the Sydney Convicts, Atralia’s first gay gby club, and the current holrs of the Cup. In prelimary rults om recent rearch missned by the anisers of the Cup, 85% of lbian, gay and bisexual people and 75% of heterosexual participants said they have wnsed or experienced homophobia a sportg environment eher playg or as a spectator Atralia. In an effort to enurage more gay gby players to the sport and te people about homophobia, Rugby Atralia (RA) has entered to an alliance wh a number of LGBTIQ clive gby clubs.